PIC samples

[polar bear6]

i have just registred at Microchip.com and I want to order some samples.
but i dont know wich to order, i dont have a pic programmer but im getting one soon, or i will try to make one.
but anyone know what Pic's i should order?

and another thing, i didnt want to make a new topic about this.
if a schemetic says i need a 250uF cap, and i dont have one, can i just use 1x220uF, and 3x10uF wierd in series, or paralell, take the + at the + and the minus - on the -
will that work?

[Admin]

Ummm I have only used the PIC16F877 . . . its really great . . . but I havnt been keeping up with the newer PIC's.

Yes, if you wire all four of those capacitors together in parallel as you said, it will work.

[polar bear6]

thanks for the help, but microchip didnt have the PIC16F877 in sample, is it any diffrent from the PIC16LF877A and the PIC16F877A-I/P?

[Admin]

Ummmm no idea, check the datasheets.
It might just be a package size difference, or perhaps a few minor feature differences.

[polar bear6]

hehe, on the PIC16F877 datasheet it starts with "A newer device is available. Please consider PIC16F877A". so i think they are pretty much the same, or the PIC16F877A is better maybe?
well, anyway, i have ordered:
Sample Item - Quantity Requested
PIC16F877A-I/P - 3
PIC16LF877A-I/P - 1

don't know what the I/P stands for but don't think its very important right?
but thanks a lot for all the help, i really appreciate it.

[Afroman]

"if a schemetic says i need a 250uF cap, and i dont have one, can i just use 1x220uF, and 3x10uF wierd in series, or paralell, take the + at the + and the minus - on the -will that work?"

A 220uF cap is so close to 250uF that you may as well use the 220 alone and save those 10uF caps for later. There is no circuit on earth that works with 250uF that won't work with 220uF

"don't know what the I/P stands for but don't think its very important right? "

For most people, it isn't important. The I stands for industrial, and E stands for extended. These refer to the temperature ranges under which the chips can operate. You won't care about this unless you want to run a pic in 100ºC environments.
The P stands for the DIP package (the kind most hobbyists want)

[weiwei07]

Do you guys know where can i get the schemetic for PIC16F877A downloading kit?

And if any of you guys have it please kindly send it to my mail box at [email protected]

Thank you very much

[Admin]

Do you guys know where can i get the schemetic for PIC16F877A downloading kit?

I think what you want is a PIC16F877 programmer:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rls=DGUS%2CDGUS%3A2006-11%2CDGUS%3Aen&q=PIC16F877+programmer+schematic

[frank26080115]

if you have a serial port on your computer, you can build this JDM based programmer
http://www.instructables.com/id/Business-Card-PIC-Programmer/

or you can buy this:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9

if you only have USB ports, get a PICkit2 clone from
http://cgi.ebay.com/Clone-Microchip-Development-Programmer-PIC-KIT2_W0QQitemZ230180528021QQihZ013QQcategoryZ4661QQcmdZViewItem
I have one of those, interestingly it makes a audible noise when programming

[airman00]

Well I use the U2 programmer


I use the PIC Basic Compiler ( no i didn't pay the $250, i got it for free...)

The pic I have been using recently is the PIC16f685 . Its awesome! 20 pins, onboard A2D converters, like 7 kb memory!
if you had used the PIC16f84 previously, and want an easy switch over then use the PIC16f88 ( internal osc, and same pin out as 16f84)
PIC MICROS ARE THE BEST

[paulstreats]

there is a schematic here and a forum archive for programming pic 877a usin ic-prog:
http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/archive/index.php/t-703.html

if you look through the posts 1 of them tells you which serial port pins to connect to which pins on the pic.

I do recommend a professionally made programmer to prevent you damaging the pic though.

What makes the 877a better than the 877 is its self programming capability, you only need to hard program it once with a boot loader, then after that you can program it through tx/rx serial transmission using its internal uart which makes in circuit programming and on the fly programming a lot easier