I see two higher end PIC Programmers listed on Don's site, the Kit117 and
the Warp-13, but am uncertain which to buy. I am completely new to PICs.
I've been reading/archiving the list and various docs for nearly a year and
now I'm ready to dive in. I would like to buy the programmer that is most
expandable and has the most compatibility. I've noticed that neither claim
support for 17cxxx series chips, but on the kitsrus.com homepage - in the
question answer section for the KIT117 - I see the following:

Questions: What about the PIC17C7xx series?
Answer: PICALL can theoretically do it but there is virtually no demand at
this time.

        I noticed a lot of the PIC17c7xx chips have built in i2c support, which I
am interested in. So being able to program these in the future would be a
plus. How hard would it be to add support for these chips to the Kit117?
What about for the 18cxxx series and others? Same deal? I've noticed this
programer doesn't require software registration but other kits like the
kit96/P16Pro do. Why is this? The program for the Picall/kit117 is said to
support the p16pro and it doesn't require registration. This is what I read
on Bojan's site located at geocities. Why would someone register the P16PRO
PIC Programmer software then when they can use the PICALL software? Getting
back to the Warp-13, is there any reason not to buy this programmer over the
KIT117? I am under the impression that it emulates a Picstart Plus so it is
compatible with MPLAB and can be used program chips directly from it. This
is a nice plus. Do other programmers simply have their own programming
software which reads microchip .hex files made from mplab rather than taking
programming instructions directly from mplab? Also, will the Warp-13 ever be
compatible with 17C7xx chips like the Kit117 eventually should be? It seems
to me the Warp-13 is the most compatible and complete kit(it's assembled,
includes necessary cables) but the Kit117 more expandable and flexible. I am
a novice at soldering but the components on the Kit117 seem spaced fairly
far apart and I am willing to put in plenty of my own time(I am a student, I
have time to burn) if the result of the Kit will be a better programmer than
the Warp-13. Also, Don, if your reading this, can you tell me what the total
for a Kit117 is with all necessary items like cables, PSU, etc.. - enough to
get up and running. I hope you guys can help me get some of this cleared up.
Thanks.

Lindsay