-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 source= http://www.piclist.com/piclist/2004/02/13/034619a.txt? Wouter van Ooijen says: >Isn't this how most 'proper' programmers work? > Download a hex file from a PC to some onboard memory, which then uses a > PIC to program the target PIC... >Yes, except for the 'then' which implies that the full image is first >stored and only then programmed. PICs don't ahve enough RAM for that. My PIC Controller board project, http://jump.net/~vima/PIC/Controller/evaluationboard.html , is envisioned for a classroom environment, so that there will be several of them in various stages of completion and correctness at any given time. I have made it a general goal that the more completed boards can be used as a dispersed development environment for the boards under assembly. One goal is to be able to take a newly assembled board, put in a PIC of unknown state, and clone it using only the two boards, one power supply, and the inter-board connectors. Each board can be an ICSP target, and also an In Circuit Programmer-Debugger. I have this ability on the current prototype board (hardware circuitry, not full software) and it is cleaned up slightly on the pending board revision. I have successfully programmed 16F877s on my boards from a Motorola 68HC11 based programmer using my own code. I have programmed from a prototype of Olin's programmer, using a derivative of my 68HC11 environment for the host software, as well as Olin's host software. So I am very confident that I can bring this project off. If my code that reads a "file" is changed to "read the (selected) code space" and then the whole program is compiled to the PIC, the clone project is finished. Please feel free to use my code, and of course Wouter's bootloader could help flesh out the project. - ---Aubrey McIntosh http://www.piclist.com/member/AM-vima-Y84 PIC/PICList FAQ: http://www.piclist.com -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 7.0.3 for non-commercial use iQA/AwUBQC10xgKlSw8yssF7EQJPdQCg35CwJwFc+rW0PPHEQRX1ZVMFwQsAoKyN ODN1DmYaXXA41UHRLw+2kfLm =/Kej -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.