On Sun, Feb 05, 2006 at 06:30:37PM -0800, kravnus wolf wrote:
> A good programmer is important especially when one
> spends so much time with MCU. Yes a GOOD multimeter
> and oscilloscope are important. 

It all depends on your POV. As a bootloader user, programmers
are completely out of my development cycle. My target is
connected directly to the PC with no intervening programmer.
So being the easiest to construct is the most important aspect
for a programmer.

My trivial programmer can be constructed in a breadboard,
can download bootloaders to target chips, and be torn down
all in less than an hour. From them on the target chips with
bootloaders on them can be programmed independent from a 
programmer for the rest of their lifetime. RS-232 interfaces
such as Wouter's El-cheapo interface are small and simple
enough to be wired directly onto the target. Or a dongle can
be constructed if necessary.

The last true programmer I used was a PS+ over 10 years ago. 
I hated the process.

BAJ
> 
> John
> 
> > money to get into the PIC world. Programmer is only
> > a 
> > small part of the total investment. To me a
> > multimeter and
> > an oscilloscope are much more essential than a
> > programmer. 
> > Guess I am a bit biased since I am an electronics
> > engineer.
> > 
> > 
> > Regards,
> > Xiaofan 
> > 
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> 
> 
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