dsPic development

I'd like to try a new project on a dsPic device. I need 2 x 16bit DACs and
a smaller number of ADCs but it wasnt clear to me which device is a best
fit and also how the DACs are programmed. Is it just a matter of using a
particular pin, and driving it by setting a register?

The MPLAB ICD 3 with Explorer 16 Kit seems to offer dsPic development,
but the device they supply doesnt have the 16 bit DAC's I think, and it
looks like you need a special custom adapter to fit dsPic's to this development
kit. Any recommendations to program this chip?

Thanks!

sil

ICD2 works just fine for dsPIC development. ICD3 may work better, but I haven't used one.

I never saw the point of a development kit. Just get the chip on a breakout board or whatever and do what you need to do.

The DAC, a LOT of people struggle with it and I'm not totally sure what the problem is, I think they've got problems with the buffer going empty. I'd recommend you use DMA with it to keep a reliable buffer going.