On Sat, 2 May 2009 10:18:59 -0400
olin_piclist@embedinc.com (Olin Lathrop) wrote:

Hi Olin,

Thanks for the reply.

> > The code generates 0x3F71,
> 
> How do you know?  Did you look at the HEX file?

I know it, because my programmer software shows the config word as read
from the hex file. BTW, the config line is:

        __config _BODEN_ON & _PWRTE_ON & _WDT_OFF & _XT_OSC & _LVP_OFF

> > The programmer is a home-brew serial classic, but it has served
> > faithfully for many years, and I'm not ready to suspect the hardware.
> 
> But the software is a candidate.  If all the other locations were
> programmed correctly then the hardware is probably working.  However,
> the config word is programmed differently and probably has some special
> case in the programming code.

Yes, I wrote the programmer code too. But it had worked with
same-algorithm pics before.

Anyway, it seems the culprit was the f873a. Today I got hold of
another one, and everything works fine - the config word is read back
correctly, and code protection is off, as it should be.

I reprogrammed the original f873a, and the error repeated. So I think I
can safely say the problem is in the chip! 

Thanks for replying promptly.

John
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