> I'm trying to learn to program PICs, and it seems that the 16F84A is the
way to go.

I disagree, the f84a is yesterday's way. Go either for the 16f628 (roughly
twice the goodies at a lower price) or the 16f877 (roughly four times the
goodies at twice the price). When you can get one you might even go for an
18fxxx, but those are hard to come by, and there is not much experience with
them yet.

> Does anyone have a suggestion for a programmer and compatible and working
software, that will run in Windows XP (preferably) and costs less than $50?
Also, it MUST be compatible with 16F84A, some of the ones I find on the net
doesn't clearly state the F or the A...

Yes, I can sell you such a programmer (see below) *BUT* as you had problems
with two designs that most people seem to be using without problems I
strongly suggest you try to get those working, or at least find out where
you went wrong. Otherwise you might run into the same problems again and
declare yet another programmer design a failure.

You might want to know that the 16f628 and 16f877 can be programmed in a way
(called LVP) that sacrifices one IO pin, but makes the rpogramming hardware
somewhat simpler.

You might also consider whether you need a programmer at all. The 16f877 can
be programmed with self-programming software (called a bootloader). Once
that is done you connect a serial port (use a max232 for reliability) and
off you go. There are plenty (free) bootloader software and designs
available. If you don't have the programmer (or a friend with a programmer)
to get the bootloader code in in can sell you a pre-programmed 16f877. I'm
sure there are lots of other people who can do the same.

You might have found out that the 16f84a is the PIC that is the easiest to
buy from local electronics shops. When you can't buy 16f628 or 16f877
locally I sell them. www.phanderson.com is also a good source, but I
understand that he is closed for the summer. You can also try
www.dontronics.com

<AD>
flash PIC programmer kit, see http://www.voti.nl/wisp628
(pages still under construction)

BTW I sell the kit, but the design and software are free, so you can build
your own if you want. You need a pogrammed 16f628, but again the software is
free - just find someone to program it for you.

If I recall correctly Sweden is EC but not Euro, in that case the price for
the kit is US$20.93 + US$7.00 S/H (both including ST)

note: the current PC software does NOT work under an NT-derived Windows
unless a driver is installed to enable direct serial port access.
</AD>

Wouter van Ooijen
--
Van Ooijen Technische Informatica: http://www.voti.nl
Jal compiler, Wisp programmer, WLoader bootloader, PICs kopen

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