Is PICKit express worth the extra for the "express" part? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Oculus
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 02:13:49 pm
content: I finally decided to try out PIC and therefore went on a hunt for a simple, relatively cheap programmer. And of course from what I understand PICKit is the way to go.Put that aside, there's two variations of PICKit 3 (well, there's more, but only two that got my attention atm). That would be the bare bones one (or so I understand) and the express one, to be more specific:Bare bones (36,66 €):http://eu.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Microchip-Technology/PG164130/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtqy0n2JbDgYFNAcWahhP9AExpress (59,14 €):http://eu.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Microchip-Technology/DV164131/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvNge7VWnI0LZHQG2jJZJ5SSo, the express one is €22,48 or around $28+ more expensive then the bare bones one and the question is, is the express worth that extra price on it?

author: Rufus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 02:49:20 pm
content: If you can buy from Farnell this is cheaper and better than bothhttp://it.farnell.com/microchip/dm164135/demoboard-pickit3-8-16-32-bit/dp/2082441

author: andersm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 02:55:10 pm
content: The "Express" is a kit consisting of thePICKit 3 and a PIC18F45K20 demo board.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 02:59:09 pm
content: I bought the kit, didn't use the PIC18 board yet, just took a pic16 chip and put it on a breadboard and started playing with it.

author: ecat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 08:59:51 pm
content: The express kit comes with a demo board. Quite nice to have for playing around and even if you never use it in a project the main reason for buying it is peace of mind: Pickit, demo board, MPLab, join them together and you should have a fully tested and working system all ready to play with. This significantly reduces the complications and uncertainties which come with a new tool.When it comes to kits, this...Quote from: Rufus on April 23, 2013, 02:49:20 pmis quite simply an unbelievable bargain.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 09:06:28 pm
content: Those demo boards are worth it I reckon. At least you know then that the only variables are in the code !

author: Oculus
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 11:11:00 pm
content: That board really does look like a bargain, but what's the catch? Maybe I'm just too skeptical, but it kind of looks weird when I seehttp://it.farnell.com/microchip/dm164135/demoboard-pickit3-8-16-32-bit/dp/2082441going for €35,00 with PICKit 3 included, while PICKit 3 alonehttp://it.farnell.com/microchip/pg164130/debugger-pickit-3-icd-dspic-usb/dp/1771323costs €35,79. It sounds as if they have a batch of defective or something PICKit's laying around and wants to get rid of those, because from the price point it would seem more logical to give away a demo demo board with PICKit but not the other way around. Dunno, maybe I'm just paranoid over such things a little bit

author: andersm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 11:36:51 pm
content: Quote from: Oculus on April 23, 2013, 11:11:00 pmSo they can be repaired or replaced under warranty? Yeah, that makes sense.

author: Rufus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 11:38:28 pm
content: Quote from: Oculus on April 23, 2013, 11:11:00 pmNo catch although documentation on the board is skimpy. They were given to students attending some Microchip training seminars last year. The seminars is obsolete which makes the board obsolete. They are getting rid of remaining stocks.You can download the seminar code from Microchip but it is from MPLAB X 1.0 times and before the XC compilers. It was mentioned in another thread here and I posted a link to the board schematic. I got a couple and the PICKit 3 was version R5 - I don't know if that is current.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2013, 01:23:57 am
content: Element14 in Oz want $61.32 + GST for the same DM164135 package. Says they have 239 in UK stock.

author: ben_r_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2013, 10:31:31 pm
content: I dont think it is personally. I say take the extra money you saved by not getting it and pick up a few various other PICs to play with. You have your own infinitely customizable demo board in the breadboard you hopefully already have.

author: glatocha
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2013, 03:02:10 am
content: I took this one:http://www.microchipdirect.com/productsearch.aspx?Keywords=DV164139It has the USB dome board with PIC14k50. There is a large board area to solder additional stuff. There is place for headers around the chip. you are getting also one extra PCB without components and a debug header for this chip. It goes for 70$ but I like it a lot. Recommend for sure.