All in favor.......... YEAH! Opposed............ The yeahs have it, the PICSTART Plus is named the best first time, new user, programmer to buy. At 03:53 PM 12/8/99 -0500, M. Adam Davis wrote: >I have to agree with Dan about the picstart plus. > >Of the professionally produced programmers available, generally they >will cost about half as much as a picstart, but they may not support all >pics, they generally lag behind new pics by a few months, and some >charge for upgrades in firmware or software. I found out with the >Parallax programmer that every time new chips came out, I had to buy an >'upgrade' for my programmer, which wasn't expensive, but it was a >hassle. It didn't have a zif socket, and the software (at the time) was >all in dos. > >Of the homebuilt/hobbyist programmers available most do not program all >of the PIC line, they usually lag a few months behind in supplying >software/firmware/schematics to support new chips, generally are less >integrated (run this program to assemble, this program to burn, etc), >and when the author stops doing the pic thing, you end up on your own. > >With the picstart when a new chip comes out, a new version of the >programmer software (MPLAB) comes out, available for free. The picstart >supports every PIC sold. MPLAB is an integrated environment, which >allows user expansion. I can program my PICs in C, compile, simulate, >and program without switching applications. The downsides are that the >schematic/software/firmware are closed (ie, not available), and the >interface is also closed (though some are working on 'opening' it...). >It does not program as quickly as some programmers (though it's not >meant for production use). > >The extra $50-$100 it cost me is worth it for what I use it for. > >-Adam > >Steven Rightnar wrote: >> >> Can I get some sugjestions on finding a programmer. I am a beginner and I am >> looking for one that would have good supporting documentation. I have found >> the schematics for many different programmers what worries me is that after >> I build it I will be on my own to figure out any problems that arise. >> >> With regards, >> >> Steven > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- Sent from the desk of: Terry Allen Steen, EE engineering@marinapower.com 332 McLaws Circle, Ste 111 757-258-8800 (Voice) Williamsburg, Va 23185 757-258-8805 (FAX) ----------------------------------------------------------------- !I AM A WHALE MAIL USER! If you have a large file to send, goto http://www.whalemail.com send them to: mplengineer Give me your account and I will use it also ----------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our web-site: www.marinapower.com -----------------------------------------------------------------