microcontroller programmer - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: peterthenovice
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2013, 12:10:00 am
content: is there a microcontroller programer that support both microchip and atmel as in dave april fools vid.

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2013, 12:36:26 am
content: There are plenty of universal programmers - both in-circuit programming and external IC programming.Are you after a programmer, or a programmer/debugger like the Microchip and Atmel boards?The products from the manufacturers have the advantage of support for the latest products. It can take some time for programmers from other companies to catch up.

author: peterthenovice
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2013, 12:39:10 am
content: I would like to work with both pic and atmel but i don,t won't60 different programers for each set of chips.i found this:http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-SP300-Programmer-for-51-AVR-ATMEL-MICROCHIP-SST-STC-PIC-AT-93-24-25-29-39-49-/170960016291?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27ce02d3a3

author: MikeK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2013, 01:26:46 am
content: Quote from: peterthenovice on April 06, 2013, 12:39:10 amHere's what it says for Microchip MCU support:QuoteAnd that's it!Save your pennies, man.

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2013, 01:27:16 am
content: Just understand that you are talking about two different things.The devices Dave was joking about are in-circuit programmers and debuggers. They can program a device after it is soldered into a board, and once it is in the board, the type of package does not matter.The SP300 you mention is a useful device, but everytime you buy a micro in a different surface mount package, you will need to buy a new adapter for the SP300. after a while, you will find that the costs of adapters is far more then a PicKit 3 which never needs any any adapters. Also if you choose a new micro chip, there is an extremely good chance that the SP300 (or whatever other brand of programmer you buy) will not support it. The Microchip and Atmel devices will.Rather then programming devices before assembling a board, it is becoming more and more common to program devices in circuit after the board is assembled, and for a custom project, you will need to reprogram many times after assembly to develop the software. Even for extra external EEPROMS, it used to be common programming them before assembly, but it is now more common to use serial on-board eeproms (often in tine 8 pin packages) that can be programmed in-circuit either via a JTAG connector, or via the microcontroller.When you buy, say, the Microchip PicKit 3, you are getting a programmer and debugger for all their microcontroller chips, even the ones released last week.If you are planning on only using Dual-in-line packages with sockets so you can program with a device like the Sp300, you will soon learn that it really limits your choices of microcontroller unacceptably, and you will also find that what you really wanted is direct in circuit programming on your board. You do not want to have to unplug and replug chips everytime you reprogram. The SP300 will only get used maybe once or twice a year.It is not just for convenience. It also means that if you come up with a design you can sell, you can contract a company to source parts and assemble the boards, and then when the boards are delivered, you can program them. You do not have to give the programming files to the broad assembler, so they cannot just start cloning your board and selling it at half your price.Sure, get the SP300 or the one Dave reviewed recently (was it the TL866? something like that), but if you want to use Microchip IC's, it is not a bad idea to get the PicKit 3 as well. If you want to use any of the Atmel devices, get the Atmel board. You will definitely not want to program with 60 different families of microcontroller. You will learn one or two and get really comfortable and efficient with programming with those families. The cost of a PicKit 3 is tiny compared to the effort involved in mastering the microchip PIC programming and debugging, and the PicKit 3 will make your life very much easier if you want to use Microchip devices.Richard

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2013, 01:52:41 am
content: Peterthenovice,I was wondering if you realize how much the PIC/AVR boards can do?They are fully integrated into the programming development environment so while programming, you can immediately compile the code and write it out to your protoype board. Not only that, but you are able to single step though instructions on the board in the same programming IDE and debug the code on your actual hardware. You can view the data in the microcontroller's registers. There are limitations so this feature is not always useful (like when you have a lot of real time code or timers) , but it is a brilliant feature when you are leaning a new chip, and you are trying to work out how the chip's hardware works.All external IC programming devices run closed-source propriety software that will never integrate into anything. In most cases, the quality of the software on programmers is pretty bad. They do no debugging, no single stepping. Nothing but programming the particular subset of devices that that model of programmer supports. If you are lucky, the programmer will support many common ICs that are older then about 3 years, but nothing recent.