Does the TQFP pic come in a windowed part?  If so, make a few boards with it,
and keep the extras in the uv-eraser, ready for in circuit serial programming.

Personally, I'd find the equivilant dip or plcc part, socket it, and wire a
cable to the board (1-2" cable... keep it short).  It is then easy to take it
out, program it, and put it back.

-Adam

Dave Johnson wrote:
>
> I'm working on a project where the target board is tiny, using surface
> mount parts (including the PIC in a TQFP). But of course I need to
> reprogram the PIC umpteen times during development. What's the usual
> strategy here? It's impractical to breadboard this project so that I
> could use a windowed part, but of course I don't want to throw away a PIC
> every time I need to fix a firmware bug, not to mention removing and
> replacing the part from the board.
>
> I suppose the ideal solution would be an ICE, but I can't afford it.
> Maybe some sort of adapter to use the windowed part?
>
> Any suggestions/strategies are appreciated.
>
> Dave Johnson