Hehe. If only I could get my LV ICSP to work I could test the loader... BTW: If you have a system where you will be using a RS232 connection, why not use that as the bootloader ? Saves all the other pinns for regular I/O :) (That's why I made mine USART based.) Kyrre ----- Original Message ----- From: "Byron A Jeff" To: Sent: Saturday, June 26, 2004 11:21 PM Subject: Re: [PIC:] 16F88 RS232 bootloader. > On Sat, Jun 26, 2004 at 01:40:56PM -0700, Bob Axtell wrote: > > I am VERY interested in the F1688 Bootloader project. I have a > > specific need for one, so that the client can change the 688 firmware > > whenever needed. > > I think we all have a need for a 16F819/16F88 bootloader! Have you taken a > look at Tato's PLoader here?: http://propic2.com/ploader > > It's a bit banged serial loader targeted for the 16F819. While I haven't > gotten to testing yet, it should work fine for a 16F88 as written, and with > trivial modifications (setting/resetting PCLATH) the loader should be > able to move to the last page of the 16F88 program memory space. > > See my post to Victor as to why I like the bit banged idea. > > Now Kyrre's is sounding like a tight USART based loader what will have its > uses too. > > I'm glad that I can stand on the sidelines and cheer, because I do think that > it'll benefit many of use as we proceed. > > > > > It might be very helpful if you make 1 or 2 more registers available for > > debugging, where you can press the reset button, and if those registers > > are not the DEFAULT value, let them be read by your bootlegger as a > > primitive debug tool. The way it would work is to copy to these > > registers anything valuable you'd like to see, or verification of a > > pathway (by setting bits in the debug register as the particular routine > > is passed through) > > That's one way to tackle it. I'll tell you how I've handled it in the past. > When using Wouter's Wloader on my 16F877 projects in the past, I realized > (with a light switch from Woj, the author of linwload) that the single pin > serial interface was still available when the application was running. So > instead of just having a couple of registers, that it's possible to send > messages and data through the bootloader serial interface. You can see a sample > of this in action in my sunrise/sunset outdoor light controller here: > > http://www.finitesite.com/d3jsys/clock.asm > > THe dbgout routine along with delay/idelay near the bottom will send a single > char down the bootloader serial interface. Routines like printdate and printstr > then use the single character routine to send messages. It made desktop > testing trivial as you could program, execute, and debug all in a single > session with a single application. Finally note how the use of the Timer 2 > period register makes short work of the bit rate generator. > > [IDLE THOUGHT ALERT!]: It would even be cooler if the USARTs bit rate generator > could be decoupled from the USART hardware and be used as a 4th independant > self resetting on rollover timer. I'd use it like I'm using timer 2 here but > bitbang the serial interface with it.[/IDLE THOUGHT ALERT!] > > > > I'll be glad to help you guys debug or verify the Bootloader; having a > > card made right now... > > I need to wire up a quick card and get to testing. But my lawn tractor needs > to be fixed first. Priorities, Priorities! > > BAJ > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics > (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics > -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics