>At 12:16 AM 1/31/06 +0000, Howard Winter wrote:
>
> >...
> >   So I even have one of the old Picstarts, bare board with the zif socket.
>
>Hey, you've just rememinded me that I have one of those - practically new, 
>still in its box.  I wonder if anyone wants to buy it?

I'm thinking that this is what one got in 1996 if one ordered a kit from 
Microchip.  We had one of these hanging around and I gave it to one of the 
techs who indicated an interest in learning to program.  Not that I 
expected him to get much use from it, but it came with lotsa books.  I knew 
that if he started asking questions, that he was really interested and I 
could set him up with something more useful.

Then a lunchtime associate brought me one that /he/ had hanging around, so 
I took that one home.  He thinks he may have even /another/ one...so I'm 
beginning to wonder what's the best thing to do with these.  Most would say 
"trash"; the fact that these things wind up in my hands probably tells you 
I'm the landfill-friendly sort.  Anyway, here's my approach to kit #2:

  - Databooks, containing datasheets for many PIC's : Recycle bin, it's all 
available on line.
  - Other guides, available as PDF on Microchip site : Download PDF, put 
books in Recycle bin.
  - Guides not found on line : Hold onto for the time being, thankfully 
these are not large.  Wonder if anyone ever wanted to try the software, 
would they need a book to figure it out anyway.
  - Floppy disks : Hold onto, to make copies to the infinite backup 
library, to be lost sometime in the future on a defective CD :-)
  * Interesting hardware bits
  - Serial data cable : always useful  (well, even serial is going away!)
  - Power supply (wall wart): Keep--looks like it will run my ICD2, which 
came without one.
  - JW chips : I've heard so much about these, and now I have some!  And 
yet, I will probably never bother with them, even though I own a UV 
eraser...  But...I collect things :-)
  - Programmer board : Keep, because it's pretty.  (And has parts that I 
might, but never will, use).

Update: Checked last night.  Yes it's called PICStart.  I see I already 
binned the rest of the books.  Power supply is 9v 0.75A, matches the ICD-2 
supply I have at work.  Board has ZIF socket,
MAX232 converter, etc.

Oh, and I saved the (big) box.  It holds all the PIC toys I've acquired so 
far (including, lunch associate also had a PICkit 1...)

Barry

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