PIC16f84A electro-staticity??????

[HANDzCLEANx]

Hi all.

This is in relation to the PIC16f84A

Could anyone please tell me how to test wether the PIC is broken or not??

Is the PIC electro-static sensitive???
If so, what is the worst thing that can happen if I touch the pins(wastes the chip or just erases instructions on it)????

Cheers
******

 

[andrew2022]

Could anyone please tell me how to test wether the PIC is broken or not??
quote]

it not workin when it used to/not allowin to be reprogrammed etc...

 

[HANDzCLEANx]

thx for the reply....

I bought a DIY programmer/experimenter from (kits r us; dont know if you know them)

The software, that they gave with, has a bunch of fucntions lie, Program, Erase, Read,Test, Verify........

The PC-board is basically divided into 2 parts, the programmer and a 5-LED experimenter.

I've build the kit(I cant see any errors with the soldering) and I have touched some of the pins.......

When I test the circuit(the the KITS software function) it passes the test.

But whenver I program my instructions(and given sample files) it give me an error of "Verify Error at address 0000h".

I have only started programming/learning PICs about 2 weeks ago, and as I recall, the addres "0000h" or zero cant be accessed(not at my level anyways ).

So when I take out the PIC and place it in the experementor circuit, it doesn't work.

Thats why I ask how much damage does ones finger do to the PIC??

Everytime I "read" the instuctions from the PIC, I seem to recieve the same bunch of HEX number(I know its the instructions, but I cant "decompile" them back to ASM, yet), so any help???

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[RonDumas]

seems to me when I first tried to program my first pic I got the same error. Found it was too low of a power supply. Think I was using a 9 volt wallwart when the spec called for a 16volt. The programmer is Epic programmer by Melabs.

 

[HANDzCLEANx]

Thanx, i think that might be the prob, since I supplied 12v and it requiers 13-20v.

Thanx for the help( I was really stupid to think that it would be OK to use 12v)......Thanks again..

I haven't been here long, but it looks like a top-notch site so far.

cheers
*****

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Thats why I ask how much damage does ones finger do to the PIC??

PIC's are extremely robust devices, I've never managed to kill one yet - even though I've burnt my fingers on them after plugging them in the wrong way 8)

Everytime I "read" the instuctions from the PIC, I seem to recieve the same bunch of HEX number(I know its the instructions, but I cant "decompile" them back to ASM, yet), so any help???
quote]

A blank (14 bit core) PIC reads 0x3FFF for all locations, if it reads anything else it's not blank. The usual cause of verify errors is the PSU too low, as already mentioned.

 

[RonDumas]

Good point Nigel. I too burned my finger on a 16f876 and thought it was cooked. Still works today.

You're right HANDzCLEANx, this forum is awsome.