Tony Nixon wrote:
.........
>I've called it the PicPocket (for now).
>
>It's actually a stand alone unit that can program most of the 12Cxxx and
>16Cxxx range of PICs and doesn't need a PC to run. It can also operate
>off 2 X 9V batteries.
.................
>You can choose a chip from an inbuilt data base and add or delete the
>chip data by modifying a text file and upload it from the PC. That way
>you can keep only the chips that you are interested in and discard the
>rest.
..............
>

Hi Tony,

I think this is very good idea. I have 5 or 6 different PIC hex files
that I routinely use on a moments notice, and having a painless way
to choose and program chips would be a time saver. I also like Rob
Severson's idea about making it daisy-chain-able.

The two biggest problems I can see are hex file storage and socketing
for 8-, 18-, 28-, and 40-pin chips. Assuming you are using I2C EEPROMs
for storage, you'll need a very large one to make this whole idea
attractive. And the multi-pinout socket problem is always problematical.
===================


James Newton wrote:
>I'd be interested in having some minor ability to stimulate a target circuit
>(function generator, etc..) and read voltages and signals from it (DVM,
>'scope, logic analyzer, frequency counter). I'm talking very basic stuff
..........
>P.S. Don't say CUMP!
>

Uh oh, "minor" <-- shades of deva vu!!

Tony, it would always be great if you could program a chip and
"immediately" test it, especially in a completely automated fashion,
but ....... let's make a guess about relatively amount of work involved:

Your idea, work = 100%, add in the second "minor" test capability, bump
up work by 400%, and increase pcb real estate and product cost by 250%.
Make testing fully automated, increase work by 1000%. Been there, done
that. [and you will recall I voted 34 and 7 in the last poll <:-)].

best regards,
- Dan Michaels
Oricom Technologies
http://www.users.uswest.net/~oricom
===================================

--
http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic:
"[PIC]:" PIC only "[EE]:" engineering "[OT]:" off topic "[AD]:" ad's