A quick update on this idea: Ralph Stickley had already implemented a program to monitor register values over an available hardware serial port. His PC software polls the PIC with register numbers and receives a response via an ISR that consists of the current value of that register. This DOS program (written in Borland C 3.1) for the PC and the asm code added to your PIC project makes use of any available hardware RS-232 port to poll and display all the on-chip register variables. The PC software parses the MPLINK map file so that the variables are displayed using their names rather than just the register number. More people who are starting out with PICs or other uCs should be aware of how useful something like this can be when debugging a project. It is small enough to be left in (if the serial port is not required for the project) and used on site. I could envision mailing the customer with a particularly hard to trouble shoot (happens on-site only type) problem an old 1200 baud external modem set for auto-answer with a DB25 to header cable adapter and having them connect it to the device in place and to a spare phone line and then dialing in and remotely watching the device run. You can get it at: http://www.piclist.com/stickleyregmon Combining this with Tony Nixons or the Hitech bootloader on a '877 starts to make a nice $20 total cost development system... no device programmer or ICD required. Who will add the other tools on the list? see also: http://www.picnpoke.com/demo/ROMzap.zip http://www.picnpoke.com http://www.htsoft.com/files/samples/bootldr.zip http://www.htsoft.com http://www.piclist.com/projects.htm http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/shb7/posc.html http://204.210.50.240/techref/default.asp?url=tools.htm --- James Newton mailto:jamesnewton@geocities.com 1-619-652-0593 http://techref.homepage.com The Technical Details Site. Members can add private/public comments/pages ($0 TANSTAAFL web hosting) -----Original Message----- From: pic microcontroller discussion list [mailto:PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]On Behalf Of James Newton Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2000 11:17 To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU Subject: Re: 16F877 Importance: Low Just to make sure I'm clear on this: The 16F877 can write to FLASH (all FLASH not just part?) and not just to EEPROM? You have written code that needs to be programmed into the part via a traditional programmer and that listens (via RS232?) for data which it then programs into the FLASH memory following itself, verifies it(?), and then jumps to it on restart (if it doesn't see an RS232 connections or a pin is jumpered differently, etc...) so that this data becomes the new program? You will sell these preprogrammed 16F877's with a serial cable/header as a super low cost ICP development system? Can you add: - RS232 debugger / monitor to your code? - A port monitor? - Triggered high speed copy of pins to RAM with RS232 control / reporting for a super simple logic analyzer (20MHz max ~300x8 samples or ~5Mhz and ~2400x1 samples per trigger)? - A/D support for pic o'scope (20uS per sample gives 0-25kHz, ~300x8 to ~600x4 samples ) with display on PC via RS232? - DVM (0 to 5v, 10bits = ~3 digits single channel via A/D or multiple channel at lower res. via PWM capture with simple external hardware) display on PC via RS232? - Function generator based on copy of RAM to port pins (20Mhz max ~300x8 or ~5Mhz and ~2400x1 steps) under PC control via RS232? - Signal generator via PWM (?Hz low useful frequency ~300 waveform steps with simple external hardware RC) under PC control via RS232? - Regulated variable switching power supply with intelligent current limiting. see: http://204.210.50.240/techref/default.asp?url=idea/ebb.htm Can it be integrated with MPLAB? If I'm understand you correctly, this has larger implications than what others may have realized. What would this development system cost? $20? Standing by for expected riot.... James Newton mailto:jamesnewton@geocities.com phone:1-619-652-0593 http://techref.homepage.com NOW OPEN (R/O) TO NON-MEMBERS! Members can add private/public comments/pages ($0 TANSTAAFL web hosting) -----Original Message----- From: pic microcontroller discussion list [mailto:PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]On Behalf Of Tony Nixon Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2000 19:05 To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU Subject: 16F877 Woo Hoo, Just got my first 16F877 to program and verify itself from it's own little boot loader. The simplicity of doing this certainly masks the technology behind these chips. If none are around, I will put together a small program to read ROM part of the INHX8M files, and communicate with the loader via the serial port. I'll put it all on my web site for download. I also found out that these chips survive when placed into a socket the wrong way around. I just got stung again with my new pentium. It seems Win 98 decided to change some font names, notably Courier New to Courier New Cyr. Older PCs don't recognise this font and neither does Acrobat even though they appear the same on screen. (Sigh!) Haven't engineers got anything better to do than change things all the time ;-) -- Best regards Tony http://www.picnpoke.com mailto:sales@picnpoke.com