PIC programer

[davidbball13]

hello i just found thus programer on ebay. it seems very simple and is just what i need/want for now.

**broken link removed**

it looks great and very cheap. any thoughts??? any one have it?

 

[davidbball13]

i would love to get a junebug or something of that matter but i dont have this kind of money and this make it look so simple.
also could someone tell me the language that the code on the page is in. i think it is assembly but i dont know much about programing

 

[davidbball13]

also......... what program would i use for linux for this. dont i need a program to make the .hex files and a program to put them on the chip.

Edit: i found somthing called picprg.
or i could install wine again and just run the windows program.........

 

[colin mac]

I would say look around ebay and pick out a cheap USB programmer instead.
You might get a good one for around the same price.
The language is C.

 

[futz]

hello i just found thus programer on ebay. it seems very simple and is just what i need/want for now.

**broken link removed**

it looks great and very cheap. any thoughts??? any one have it?

That's a ridiculous price for a crappy programmer. JDM's suck.

Get a PICkit 2 or clone. Same money, but 1000% better programmer. And they do debugging too, which the JDM won't.

DipMicro has PICkit 2 clones for $28 and clones-without-case for $23. I'm sure there are other vendors that have them for similar prices.

 

[Krumlink]

Yes get a PICkit2 or Junebug. JDM's are junk, and that is for the 16F84A it says, which is even worse than a JDM!

 

[AllVol]

You might get a good one for around the same price.

My thoughts exactly. For about 10 bucks more, you can have a real PICkit2 programmer (without the development board), but including the MPLAB compilers and programs to convert to hex, etc., plus more documentation and support than you'll ever use.

The unit you are describing is a serial programmer, which means that you have to connect to a serial port on your computer via a cable (which I don't remember seeing; you'd have to make one) and most serial ports on new computers are way in the back next to the printer port.

Also, since the Ebay programmer is built around the obsolete and expensive 16F84, you will have trouble programming other chips, such as the 16F690, for example, which has entirely different Vdd and Gnd connections, as well as the ICSP clk, ICSP dat and !MCLR pins. But with the PICkit2 and a simple five-wire connection which has been illustrated by many members here, you can program virtually all of the 12,16 and 18 MCU's

But, its your call.

 

[jimmythefool]

Not to mention all the extra useful features on PICKIT2, like Logic analyser.
UART etc
I would be lost without mine!

 

[AllVol]

Not to mention all the extra useful features on PICKIT2, like Logic analyser.
UART etc
I would be lost without mine!

I'm just trying to figure all that out, but I'll get there.

 

[AllVol]

hello i just found thus programer on ebay. it seems very simple and is just what i need/want for now.

**broken link removed**

it looks great and very cheap. any thoughts??? any one have it?

But just look at all the support and assistance you would have right here on this forum if you had a PICkit2 or clone.

By the way, someone. Does the clone come with all the software PICkit does, including the UART and Logic feature?

 

[futz]

By the way, someone. Does the clone come with all the software PICkit does, including the UART and Logic feature?

Doesn't matter. All that software is free at Microchip's site.

 

[3v0]

I like the Junebug because it is all through hole parts. That makes it repairable. The tutor/target is handy to have. It works with all the PICkit2 software like the LA and UART tools.

Tools break. I have a dead tiny ICD2 and a ebay USB ICD2 clone that make nice paper weights. AND if you Junebug does not work. You can get help here.

 

[davidbball13]

wait but with a pickit2 dont i need a icsp cable with this i just put the chip in and burn the program.
i am going to look for a usb one

 

[3v0]

wait but with a pickit2 dont i need a icsp cable with this i just put the chip in and burn the program.
i am going to look for a usb one

Using an ICSP cable is a very GOOD thing. Without it you have to take the chip out of your target, put it in the programmer, program it, take it out of the programmer, and then put it back in the target board. Man... that is why they invented ICSP!

I you want a ZIF socket you can connect on to the PICkit2 with an ICSP cable. Once in a while I need to do non ICSP programming. I make a board with one socket for each size PIC. I put the pic in the right socket, plug it in and hit program. I do this so infrequently that I did not even bother with ZIF sockets.

Also you want to have the debugger ability and all the other things the PICkit has.

 

[davidbball13]

That's a ridiculous price for a crappy programmer. JDM's suck.

Get a PICkit 2 or clone. Same money, but 1000% better programmer. And they do debugging too, which the JDM won't.

DipMicro has PICkit 2 clones for $28 and clones-without-case for $23. I'm sure there are other vendors that have them for similar prices.

whats wrong with it. i am just looking for somthing to get started with. because on all of the other ones i have to buy the pickit2 and then i have to buy a PIC and then i have to buy an ICSP cable and then the crystal and then the caps. it just seems easer for now if i get this. if i works i am fine with it.

 

[colin mac]

this looks like a much better programmer for the same price.
**broken link removed**

 

[davidbball13]

this looks like a much better programmer for the same price.
**broken link removed**

looks great but i would still have to buy a pic. and do i need the crystal and those caps for it

 

[blueroomelectronics]

It's just a JDM programmer with a FT232 and ZIF socket.

 

[davidbball13]

this looks like a much better programmer for the same price.
**broken link removed**

also on this one were do i put the pic in the ZIF socket were would pin one be.

 

[futz]

whats wrong with it?

if i works i am fine with it.

That's just the thing. JDM's very often just plain don't work. We get messages in this forum constantly from people who can't get JDM programmers to work. They were designed long ago for old fashioned computers. Computers have changed. JDM's sometimes work, but very often not on modern computers.

i am just looking for somthing to get started with. because on all of the other ones i have to buy the pickit2 and then i have to buy a PIC and then i have to buy an ICSP cable and then the crystal and then the caps. it just seems easer for now if i get this.

And we're giving you excellent advice for the best way to get started. A few cables, connectors, crystals/caps are very very cheap. The crystal & caps are not really necessary on most PICs, as they mostly have internal oscillators. PICs are cheap too.

That 16F84A is an antique. Better to start with a more modern chip.

Buy a JDM if you want, but don't be surprised if it won't work and you end up scrapping it and buying something better anyway. You won't get your money back from an Ebay seller.

For an experimenter, programming PICs in a ZIF or standard IC socket like this thing sucks! It's a horrible way to work. You program your chip, pry it out and plug it into your target circuit, find out it doesn't work, pry it out, plug it into the programmer, make your change, pry it out and plug it into your target circuit, find out it doesn't work, pry it out, plug it into the programmer, make your change, pry it out and plug it into your target circuit, find out it doesn't work, pry it out, plug it into the programmer, make your change, pry it out and plug it into your target circuit, find out it doesn't work, pry it out, plug it into the programmer, make your change... Hundreds and thousands of times! It's slow and tedious. The pins on the chip wear out and break off. I've done it (long time ago) and hated it. ICSP was the best change I ever made to my setup.

With ICSP you have a simple 5-pin connector on your target circuit with a cable to the programmer. When your program doesn't work, you make your change and hit a couple keys or mouse clicks to reprogram the chip and test again. Simple and quick.

And another huge badness with the JDM - no debugging. Hardware debugging is something that, once you've tried it, you wonder how you ever got along without it. PICkit 2 and ICD2 programmers do debugging, working with the MPLAB IDE software to make finding out what went wrong with your code vastly easier than doing it without a debugger.