> This calls for a little balance on "building-your-own" ....
> .... and keep the money for the Pickit in the pocket for a while ....

That is fine, I don't mind a little balance. I can however give my
reasoning in more detail for arguing for the PicKit 2:

1) It supports a variety of the newer Microchip devices that a random
programmer grabbed from the web is unlikely to support (I agree, the
PicKit 2 will probably never supprt the 16F84A. This is, in my eyes, a
good thing. The fact that it doesn't yet supprt the 16F628A series is
disappointing, but I read that it will be remedied soon) like the
16F688, which I think is a wonderful PICmicro to start your experience
with.
2) It comes with all sortware, datasheets, example code and a lot of
support from the Microchip people directly.
3) It is quite easy to use as an ICSP programmer, as you just need to
add a header pin to your circuitboard to which you can attach it. It
can even power your circuit through this configuration.
4) There is no risk that you will blow up either your parallel port or
your serial port with it (and sometimes the rest of your motherboard).
Even if you do find all the parts in your drawers, you should be aware
that not all parallel ports and serial ports are properly buffered on
the motherboard and accidents could become VERY expensive.
5) The PICkit 2 uses USB, which means it will work with almost any
computer. Many computers currently sold don't even have a parallel
port or serial port anymore. USB also allows for 10x as much current
to be drawn from its port, which is quite useful in combination with
item 3.

I first built my own programmer, I did not have all the parts for it,
so I spent about $25, if I include the adapter and the parallel port
cable. It worked well, programmed the 16F84A without problems, and I
even managed to program a 16F628 and a 16F877. In a way, these are all
more ancient devices. After this, I bought an Olimex JDM style
programmer. This managed to do the 16F628A, 16F877A and even the
16F688 and I probably would have continued using it until I won the
PicKit 2 and discovered how much superior it was over the other
programmers I had, and realised that if I had started with it, I
would've been spared a lot of money and head aches, and would have had
more enjoyment of building circuits that actually use the PICmicro.

Greetings,
Maarten Hofman.

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