[Elecraft] OT: PIC programming hardware and software informatio

[John J. McDonough]

> Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2014 09:20:34 -0800 (PST)
> From: Lee Buller <k0wa at swbell.net>
> To: Elecraft Reflector <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
> Subject: [Elecraft] OT:  PIC programming hardware and software
> 	information
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> 
> 
> I know there are a lot of you people who are into PIC programming and I am looking at doing so.
> 
> After reading for many hours in the Internet, I have become awash in PIC programming hardware and software.? I need someone who is knowledgeable to recommend something to me to get into this field.? Requirements are:
> 
> I would like to build it myself (DIY)
> USB or RS232
> No Parallel
> I would like to program 18F stuff but others would be good too.
> Software?

Microchip's MPLAB-X is the software.  Free, incredibly powerful,
platform-agnostic.

For hardware it gets a little more involved.  These days DIY programmers
are getting pretty scarce.  It is easy to build a serial port
programmer, practically impossible anymore to find programming software
that works with it, although is you are sticking to Windows XP prior to
SP3 or Linux there are options.

There are dozens, maybe hundreds of third-party programmers.  With any
of the third-party programmers you can expect limitations on the variety
of PICs you can program, and often you need to use them with
vendor-specific software as well.

I would recommend using Microchip's programming hardware, and there are
two current choices for hobbyists.

The PICkit 3 is quite low priced, integrates seamlessly with MPLAB-X,
can be used both as a programmer and debugger, and connects to your
target project with a six pin header, so very cheap and simple.

The ICD 3 is fairly expensive, integrates seamlessly with MPLAB-X, can
be used both as a programmer and debugger, and connects to your target
project with an RJ-12 plug which is kind of perfboard-unfriendly.

The PICkit supports most PICs and is generally kept up to date on the
newer models as they come out.  The ICD 3 supports all PICS and being
the flagship, supports new PICs before they are available.

The ICD 3 is also many times faster than the PICkit.  You probably won't
see the difference with the PIC18, but if you move to more powerful PICs
the difference is significant.

At this point in time, unless you are planning on sticking to very
simple projects or plan on commercializing your products I would
investigate the newer families like the dsPIC30F or even the PIC32.
These are much easier to use, way more powerful, and only slightly more
expensive.  More expensive is an issue if you want to ship thousands of
copies but for one off even a fairly expensive dsPIC isn't a big deal.
The most expensive dsPICs are still around $10 and most are half that.

Consider: PIC32MX150F128B-I/SP - 28 pin SPDIP, 78 MIPS, 128K flash, 32K
RAM, $3.12 quantity one.  PIC18F2550-I/SP, 12 MIPS, 32K flash, 2K RAM,
$4.30. Both parts support USB, the PIC32 is far easier to work with,
except it is a 3 volt part.  The dsPIC30 series is 5 volt,
dsPIC30F4012-30I/SP, same package, 30 MIPS, 48K flash, 2K RAM, doesn't
support USB but does include the DSP engine, $5.32.  

Of course, if you are willing to work with surface mount packages, the
options are much broader.

I would stick to the Microchip stuff because it is far less hassle and
gives you the broadest options. You might pay a couple bucks more for
the programmer, but you will be paid back in far less hassle.

I had contemplated doing an Elmer 160 like course for the dsPIC, but I
don't think I'm going to have the time for that.  But, there is a video
at

  http://elmer166.org 

that gives you a feel for MPLAB-X.  (Much easier to watch if you go to
YouTube and select HD quality). MPLAB-X has gotten a little slicker
since I did that video, but it is basically the same.  The video shows
making a project, compiling, simulating and running on a homebrew target
board in under 4 minutes.  The page also contains links to a repository
with dozens of dsPIC examples and a blog with ruminations on selecting a
particular PIC.

73 de WB8RCR