On 12/22/98, at 1:57 PM, James Cameron wrote:

>> I just wish the Wirz kit came with a more user friendly [...]
>
>Ah, think of it as a challenge.

     Ah yes, the almighty challenge :)

>Cold?  Oh, right, a northerner.  It's summer here.  In that case, I
>would have used a small value resistor, like about 220 ohms, in series
>with the power from the adaptor.  This will most likely let all the LEDS
>light up, but will not allow sufficient current to flow to destroy
>things.  your mileage may vary; check Ohms Law.

     Yes, cold as hell I'd say :) It's not really that bad for this time of
year, we normally get around -30 degrees celcius. But still cold enough
to make me think twice about getting those batteries.

>Take too long to explain.  ;-)  You've tested ability to read a PIC, now
>try writing one.  If you can then shut everything down, bring it back
>up, and read what you wrote, then I'd claim success.

      Well I have to say I am really jumping with joy now. I have downloaded
Nigel Goodwin's 16 bit windows software (while re-reading the Dontronics
info yet again) and I have tried the little w84 program code, wrote it, turned
off the unit and read it again and bingo, the damn thing works. (with the
max232 chip in place too). So I am really happy to see it is working, I think
this is the FIRST time I ever build an electronic circuit and that is works on
the first try. I flipped the big switch into run mode, but I guess I need some
extra circuitry to see the LEDs blink in succession. I mean I doubt it would
bling the onboard ones. But I will start pouring through the PIC book hungry
for example circuits I can put into my little dt001 board and try it.

      Seeing as it programmed the 16f84 chip correctly, do you think it is safe
to assume the rest of the circuitry on the dt001 is operational?

>It's daytime here.
>If you are lucky, you get a response by mail within a minute.
>I use IRC as well, if you are desperate.
>Nick Quozl on mpx.sydney.oz.org

Well I wouldn't go so far as saying I am desperate now (now that it works),
but I will definitely keep that in mind for the next time I am stuck and
in dire need of technical expertise such as yours!

Thanks once again for the enlightenment. Don's last message which
showed me I had not entirely grasped all the info on his page was also
very useful, I thank you both for your very quick and accurate help!

I look forward to my experimenting in the world of PICs.

Andrew