----- Original Message -----
  From: "peter green"
  To: "Microcontroller discussion list - Public."
  Subject: RE: [PIC] Why the preoccupation with bus powered
  programmers?
  Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 23:39:11 -0000


  note, some quoted stuff rearranged to make responding to it easier.

  > I'd still really like to find a good, home build-able, JDM like
  > programmer.
  JDM like != good, such programmers are totally incompatible with
  USB-Serial adaptors and put the pics ground at negative voltage
  making them largely unsuitable for ICSP (you can do ICSP with them
  but you have to be extremely carefull).

  NOTE: See my later post for a clarification of "JDM like"

  > Something that will take a 40 pin ZIF socket,
  there are few programmers that have a big zif socket and support
  lots of pics in it for the simple reason that it's hard to do, some
  lines need to be very flexible (anything from an input to a power
  supply) which means either lots of discrete transistors or special
  purpose chips.

  Or I assume, a PIC and a few less components?

  > something that I can build without having to drive 3 hours to
  > "Bob's rare European electronics emporium" to get parts for.
  i'm assuming you have found yourself a source of pics, so your best
  bet is probablly to first build a cheap'n'nasty programmer and then
  build one of the PIC based intelligent programmer designs (using
  your cheap'n'nasty programmer to program the pic for it).


  > program nearly
  > all PIC's,

  > Something that has good software or better, MPLab support, and to
  really
  > add to my wish-list, has software support on Linux.
  for programming nearly all pics, your best bet is probablly to look
  for a design for a clone of one of microchips programmers. The
  number of pics is insane.

  At this point, I also have to expand my definition of "most PICs"
  I meant most hobbyist PICs, that I'm interested in. Which presently
  means mostly older low end and mid range lines.
  12x and 16x, For example, 12F675, 12F629, 16F628(A), 16F648(A),
  16F87X(A) and a few common 18x you see in projects.

  I apologize that I keep thinking of this list as having mostly a
  hobbyist audience. Which I'm seeing not to be true.

  I built my own PIC programmer for the same reason I built my own
  welder. I'm cheap, I like to do it myself, and I only need to
  use it to solve the hobbyist problems I have of my own, or maybe to
  help friends out.

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View/change your membership options at
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