Which is better PICkit2 or PICkit3?

[Dreak]

I'm programming PIC controller. PICkit is universal programmer. PICkit2 is said to have certain flaws. Is it true. Need guidance

 

[Ian Rogers]

OOOh....You dare to ask the folks on here..... GHOSTMAN!!! (sore topic)

You need pickit 3 to program the latest chips from microsoft... The pickit2 is better though...... (There has been a release, on the microchip forum, for up to date firmware to support these new chips, but it's not official)

You WILL need pickit3 to program the majority of PIC32's.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I've got both, they work pretty well identically - the PICKit3 has the advantage of support for more recent devices - the PICKit2 has logic and serial analyser facilities.

If buying NOW, it makes sense to go for he PICKit3.

 

[DerStrom8]

I'm just going to reiterate what Ian and Nigel have said. I have a PICkit2 and it works beautifully with most of my PIC16s and the early PIC18s. However, I have heard that Microchip has stopped updating the support information and software for the PK2 since they've moved on to the PK3. If I were you at this point, I would consider most what kinds of chips I would be programming. I find the PK2 very user-friendly for the older chips, but if you plan to program larger PICs (PIC24 or PIC32), I'd suggest going with the PK3.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I find the PK2 very user-friendly for the older chips,3.

In what way is the PK3 any less friendly?.

It works in exactly the same way.

 

[DerStrom8]

In what way is the PK3 any less friendly?.

It works in exactly the same way.

I wasn't saying the PK3 was any less friendly. I have not actually used the PK3. I was just going by what I have heard from people who have tried both, and from my experience with the PK2. To be honest, if I was buying one of them right NOW, I'd buy the PK3.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I wasn't saying the PK3 was any less friendly. I have not actually used the PK3. I was just going by what I have heard from people who have tried both, and from my experience with the PK2. To be honest, if I was buying one of them right NOW, I'd buy the PK3.

Right - they work exactly the same, you don't even know which you're using - apart from they are different colours

 

[Ian Rogers]

Right - they work exactly the same, you don't even know which you're using - apart from they are different colours

There are still a few debugging issue's (break points) still being worked on...

But as a programmer I find it exactly the same.... I still reach for pickit2 rather than 3.... old habits and all that!!

 

[Dreak]

Yes Sure. what I've heard is that PK2 has issues with PICs with flash memory greater than 32K. I'm using PIC18 with 64K flash.