I use lynx, a good text-based web browser which usually works
well on most sites including the Microchip web site.  A year or so
ago, I indicated having difficulty finding the PIC data sheets.
I wasn't sure if I was just not looking in the right place or what.
Andrew Warren who is always quite helpful offered to give me the urls
of any data sheets I needed, but I still wasn't sure what was going
on.  The data sheets are pdf files and I can download pdf's to my
heart's content with lynx even though they can't be immediately read.
One just selects the link and then tells lynx to download and it
works.  I can download any binary file this way, pdf, jpg, wav, etc.

        I finally decided to get to the bottom of this mess and figure
out what was or wasn't happening and I think I now know.

        I get to the web site with no problem and end up selecting

http://www.microchip.com/index2.htm

Which puts me on a page that looks like:

                                            Microchip Technology Inc. (p1 of 4)

   Corner Art
                    ___________________________________

   Product
     Information
   PICmicro(TM) Devices
   Memory Devices
   Security Devices
   Developer's
     Toolbox
   Application Notes
   Consultants
   Datasheets
   Development Tools
   Knowledge Base
   Related Sites
   Company
     Information
   Overview
   Employment
   Events & Seminars
-- press space for more, use arrow keys to move, '?' for help, 'q' to quit.

        Whoopee! data sheets!  I select that link and get:


        By selecting "Data Sheets," and moving down the usual
introductory screens that are mostly links back to the other parts of
the site, I come to:

                      Microchip Technology Inc.: PICmicro(TM) Devices (p4 of 5)
   PIC16CE62X Family
   8-Bit CMOS Microcontroller with Analog Comparators and EEPROM Data
   Memory
   PIC16C7X Family
   8-Bit CMOS Microcontrollers with A/D Converter
   PIC16C71X Family
   8-Bit CMOS Microcontrollers with A/D Converter
   PIC16F8X Family
   8-Bit CMOS Flash/EEPROM Microcontrollers
   PIC16C9XX Family
   8-Bit CMOS Microcontroller with LCD Driver
   PIC17C4X Family
   High-Performance 8-Bit CMOS EPROM/ROM Microcontrollers
   PIC17C75X Family
   High-Performance 8-Bit CMOS EPROM Microcontrollers
   Silicon Search
   Find the part that best fits your design without wading through
   lengthy listings.
   Japanese Versions
   View all current datasheets that have been converted over to Japanese.
   Please note: All Japanese datasheets still require the English
   versions for voltage specs.
-- press space for more, use arrow keys to move, '?' for help, 'q' to quit.


I select 16f8x since I am looking for the sheet for the 16f84.

        The closest I seem to get to the holy grail is the page you
see below.  The funny thing is that if I want application notes or
some of the marketing stuff which seems to intrude in to everything
else, the pdf's are right there.  I think the problem is something to
do with this particular path.  I would like to figure out how to
bypass the problem as I do not absolutely have to have this data sheet
today, but would like to figure out a solution which works for the
general case of wanting to know what a particular PIC does and just
being able to find out by looking it up.  Here is the page capture:

                           Microchip Technology Inc.: PIC16F8X Family (p2 of 8)
   Investor Relations
   Search
      Options
   Text Search
   Microchip Technology Inc.
   PIC16F8X Family
     Folder Microchip WebSite
   Dots Folder Literature
   Dots Folder PICmicro(TM) Devices
   Search Options Search Folder
   Text Search Search Page Right Level 1 tree

   Dots Document PIC16F8X Family

                              PIC16C84 Literature Number: DS30445c Status
     Download Options:   First Page 7 Brief N/A 7 Datasheet In Production

   Data
   RAM Speed
   MHz I/O
   Ports ADC
   8-Bits Serial
-- press space for more, use arrow keys to move, '?' for help, 'q' to quit.

        Any ideas as to what is happening? Normally, in lynx,
selecting an option is pretty much like it is in other browsers.  I
can't show you the highlighted links, but they were there to start
with.:-)

        I also tried to use the text search option but it said that it
was temporarily out of service for a couple of days.  They must be
Loon AR days because that was last week some time when I first saw that
and this is Tuesday.  I would have probably tried 16f84.pdf to see if
anything came up.

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK
OSU Center for Computing and Information Services Data Communications Group