Michael, Any of the following PIC Programmers should do quite nicely: 1). David Tait's TOPIC programmer ( topic03.zip [128k] ). http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~donmck/dtait/topic03.zip Unfortunately David Tait no longer supports it, but many folk have his pages up. Eg. at: http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~donmck/dtait/index.html 2). Michael A. Covington's NO Parts Pic Programmer (NOPPP) http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/noppp/index.html (well documented) His NOPPP is also in Electronics Now (EN September 1998). 3). Myke Predko's ElCheapo Pic Programmer (well documented) http://www.rentron.com/Myke4.htm ----------------------------------------------- Several of the others are very good too, and you'll probably want to check out Nigel Goodwin's software and S.G.Willis's circuit as well. Nigel Goodwin Programmer (1996) File: PIC84PGM.ZIP. ( Prg: PICPROG.EXE. CFG files allow inv/non-inv buffer & 4066/pnp circuit options, so it's configurable to work with D.Tait, Don McKenzie, S.G.Willis and other's boards. Disassembler provided too.)(Worth grabbing to check out!) http://www.lpilsley.demon.co.uk/ ----------------------------------------------- S.G.Willis Programmer (1995) 'PP87' (Cct: Pp87word.doc. Uses 7406. Di, Do, Ck, Prg, Rst=pulldown) ----------------------------------------------- Robert Spur - Analog Design Specialists has a programmer design. (Cct: 00589A.PDF, Prg: AN589.ZIP containing ADS_1ST.CPP) Have a look at http://www.microchip.com -------------------------------------------------- The first programmer I built was Derren Crome's design, as in Everyday & Practical Electronics magazine (EPE Feb 1996, EPE March 1998) because it was so simple, and their was a lot of tutorial info about it in EPE. The programmer ( SEND.EXE ) was designed to program .OBJ assembled by TASM. (Not to be confused with the commercial TASM). Included is David Tait's HEX2OBJ converter, for those wishing to use MPASM assembled .HEX with D. Crome's SEND.EXE, and also a version of SEND called SENDHEX.EXE to do so directly. And Nigel Goodwin did include a version with the EPE design to convert binary .OBJ back to TASM assembly (EEDISASM.EXE). EPE also ran a whole series of articles introducing programming the PIC 16x84. (See EPE & their PICTutor at http://epemag.wimborne.co.uk ) Then I made one of David Taits programmers, but I replaced part of his power supply section with a modification of the charge pump from Charles Mannings design. This was to reduce the voltage requirement of the programmer. (Combination of best features :) More recently I got into Atmel's AT89C2051 for myself, and also AT89C8252. Now I'm interested in the PIC 12C508/509A which would suit some of my projects, and wanted to use my spare 16F84's to develop for the '508. Then I discovered Talking Electronics had a web site up, at http://www.pipeline.com.au/users/talking/default.htm and provides just such a kit for the beginner. (I'll be asking the list about this myself after exams :) -------------------------------------------------- Charles Manning's articles are in Electronics Australia magazine. (EA November 1995 (intro to PIC), EA April 1996 (programmer cct), EA May 1996 (example application circuit). (Uses: 7405) -------------------------------------------------- Steve Marchant (EA) (Cct: PROG84.PDF, Prg: PP84.EXE. Target-cct & i/f: PIC84.pdf) Note that Steve Marchant claims software compatability with Robert Spur's 00589A.pdf hardware design. -------------------------------------------------- About David Tait's PIC Programmers: 1994 - 'BASIC Programmer' File: PIC84PGM.ZIP (Cct: PP.ASC, Prg: PP.EXE. Used 7406, 4066) . 1995 - 'SIMPLE Programmer' File: PIC84ART.ZIP (Cct: ppschem.pcx. Used NPN transistors) 1996 - 'CLASSIC Programmer' File: PIC84V04.ZIP (Cct: PP.PCX, Prg: PP.EXE Used 7407) 1996 - 'TOPIC Programmer' File: TOPIC03.ZIP (Cct: TOPICLOW.GIF, Prg:TOPIC.EXE. Uses 7406) With a few considerations, In-System Programming is easy to achieve. EEPROM Programming Specifications in 30189D.PDF, and ICSP details in: 31028A.PDF (on MicroChips website http://www.microchip.com ). The following programmers are ISP compatable: - David Tait's TOPIC, - Robert Spur's 00589A.PDF, - Steve Marchant's PROG84.PDF, - Derren Crome's programmer, - and a few more. With a few design details of the target circuit (eg, jumpered /MCLR pullup), most non-ICSP Programmers could be made to work In-System. Watch where the power comes from. Other Programmers: - Ken Segler. File: Pgm16cxx.zip, Configurable to use Tait or Reiss's hardware or your own. - Mark J. Cox File: BLOWPIC.ZIP. (1994) Very simple ascii circuit, and asm source code) (Cct: in BLOWPIC.ASM, Prg: BLOWPIC.COM) (LPT) - Andrew M. Errington, 1995. File: PROG84B.ZIP. Windows VB programmer, using the circuit described in Microchip's Application Note AN589. - Jens D. Madsen File: JDM.ZIP. (Cct: newpic0.gif, Prg: pgm84v28.zip. Serial.) ( http://www.ozemail.com.au/~cyendle/psx/pcb2.html ) - Stephen M. Nolan, 1996. File: PICBAS.ZIP. (Prg: DOWNLOAD.EXE) incl. BASIC Source. - Russ Reiss Some of the buffer chips used in some of the programmers: - 7404: Inverting TTL buffer. - 7405: Inverting Open Collector buffer, - 7406: Inverting Open Collector buffer, collector can handle pullup to 30V. (Compare 7416) - 7407: Non-Inverting Open Collector buffer, collector can handle pullup to 30V. (see 7417) The 7404,7405 7406, 7407, (& 7416, 7417) all have the same pinout: In pin-1 & Out pin-2, In pin-3 & Out pin-4, In pin-5 & Out pin-6, pin-7 to Ground, In pin-8 & Out pin-9, In pin-10 & Out pin-11, In pin-12 & Out pin-13, pin-14 to +5V. And a few general links: - PICmicro WebRing http://members.tripod.com/~mdileo/pmring.html - PICList FAQ: http://www.wasp.co.za/~tjaart/piclist.html - PIC Archives: http://come.to/thepicarchive - PICList Archives: http://www.iversoft.com/piclist/ - Hints and tips Notebook: http://websites.ntl.com/~matthew.rowe/micros/virbook/index.htm Any corrections or comments appreciated. - ----- Original Message ----- From: Michael Melinosky To: Sent: Friday, November 12, 1999 8:31 AM Subject: Programmer Recommendations > So the serial port programmer was giving me too much troubles.... > > I'm looking to build a parallel port F84 programmer is easy and simple to use. I tried out a serial port programmer that turned out to be too much hassle (Mike M was right :) ) and decided that I should try something different instead. I don't have a lot of experience with pics so I'm kinda looking for a simplier interface. I was wondering if anybody could recommend one that they might have started with. > > Thanks for all the help. > > Mike >