Not sure what I need - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: M0BSW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 04:03:44 pm
content: Hi everyone, ok my dilemma I have a programmer now I don't' know what I need to have a go and wright my own strings and then turn them to hex files for the programmer to put on to the pic chip,& is there any free programs I can try that you can wright your program on which will then turn it to a hex file

author: FreddyVictor
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 04:28:25 pm
content: maybe start by looking atthisthread - lots of useful info

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 05:30:16 pm
content: Do you have any specific reason to use pic over avr? If not, install the Arduino IDE, get an arduino board and you have everything you need (you don't need a programmer or to deal hex files). If you will want later to design your own boards from scratch, the Arduino IDE will generate the hex files for you.Arduino boards comes in all shapes, sizes and prices. Take a look for example at this onehttp://digistump.com/products/1

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 06:50:26 pm
content: later edit: Ok, I misread your original message.What programmer do you have ?For PICs, get MPLAB X from microchip :http://www.microchip.com/pagehandler/en-us/family/mplabx/It has several compilers built in, you just start a project, write code, select a compiler, compile the code, program the chip. If you have a pickit 3, you can select it as a programmer from the interface and simply program the chip from the interface.--------If you want to go the PIC route, the programmer is pickit 3.You can buy it from Microchip, Farnell, Digikey, anywhere pretty much, but it costs about 45$:Details :http://www.microchip.com/Developmenttools/ProductDetails.aspx?PartNO=PG164130Stores:http://www.microchipdirect.com/ProductSearch.aspx?Keywords=PG164130http://uk.farnell.com/microchip/pg164130/debugger-pickit-3-icd-dspic-usb/dp/1771323http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?x=0&y=0&lang=en&site=us&KeyWords=PG164130You can also get the programmer with a pcb that has a PIC18 built in and a small prototyping space to put parts on :http://uk.farnell.com/microchip/dv164131/debug-express-pickit-3-pic-dspic/dp/1686530http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?x=0&y=0&lang=en&site=us&KeyWords=DV164131+You write the code in MPLAB X (a ide) and hit compile and you get the hex files and also write the hex directly from MPLAB X into the chips, no need to worry about selecting hex files manually.With Atmel chips (attiny atmega328 etc) you can find cheaper programmers, third party programmers etc, you could also make your own... that's where you may have to learn how to use hex files.Arduino boards can be programmed through usb because the arduino board has a small bootloader code in the chip which allows the chip to receive your code through usb and program itself with the new code. This way you don't need a special programmer.However, if you want to make smaller boards or just buy chips for less than a dollar and want to program them, you will need a standalone programmer.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 07:04:36 pm
content: But if you are just starting out and learning how these things work, an Arduino is going to be much more suitable than a raw micro with programmer and IDE.I strongly second the suggestion to get an Arduino. There are huge numbers of tutorials and examples on the web to get started with programming it and learning how to control it.

author: M0BSW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 10:45:30 pm
content: The programmer is a The USB PIC K150 microcontroller programmer, I've gone this route as most of the ham radio circuits I want to build have pic chips in the heart of them, I have many circuits to go at.Thank you for the advice and taking the time to reply.

author: notsob
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 11:03:46 pm
content: Good PIC tutorials at gooligum and pcbheavenhttp://pcbheaven.com/http://gooligum.com.au/

author: M0BSW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 11:19:02 pm
content: Quote from: notsob on March 08, 2014, 11:03:46 pmThank you just had a quick look ,very interesting, I'll take a better look in the morning.

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2014, 12:39:20 am
content: QuoteGooligum is absolutely the best.

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2014, 12:49:21 am
content: Since you are likely looking at older chips in those ham circuits, I would recommend pickit2: very reliable and multi-talented.However, its support for newer chips is limited.

author: M0BSW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2014, 09:00:32 am
content: Quote from: dannyf on March 09, 2014, 12:49:21 amThank you Danny, I have approx. 30 circuits to play with, so I will cut my teeth with the old type, I guess not a bad thing to do.Paul

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 09, 2014, 09:22:04 pm
content: Quote from: M0BSW on March 08, 2014, 04:03:44 pmI started doing a PIC project using the free SDCC compiler; I wanted to give it a try to see how I got on with it, compared to the PIC Hi-tech compiler; i'm about 80% complete with ~1500 lines of C code so far, but i'm really quite impressed! So I'm sure it would easily be able to handle your PIC ham projects.

author: M0BSW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2014, 09:34:26 pm
content: Quote from: jucole on March 09, 2014, 09:22:04 pmThank You i'll have a look for it.