Adam,

 I second the motion.  I agree 100% with what you said.
 Very well put.


                                     Regards,

                                       Jim





On Wed, 08 December 1999, "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

jim@jpes.com