Charger IEEE Forums

[smw0002]

I have a PIC16F84 microchip and would like to buy a programmer for it. I have experience in parallax basic stamps, but nothing else.

Will this one work:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310087736394&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:Watchlink:middle:us

If not, which one should I get?

Also, what freeware program can I use to program it?

[Ande]

I've never used the PIC before so can't say for sure if this would work.

Charger IEEE prefers using the Atmel line of Mega AVR's for our microcontroller work....they're MUCH better supported in the hobbiest community than PIC's.

Is there a specific reason you want to go with the PIC over another device?
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[smw0002]

I found a guide online that said pic was easy to start with. I checked ebay and got a cheap one. The guide did not list what programmer was needed.

I am willing to try atmel if you can tell me what kind of chip and programmer to get.

[JEliser]

Knowing absolutely nothing about PICs, that eBay listing does seem like a hardware match to your chip. As far as software, a friend used to use PICs and I believe he had some proprietary software for loading the chip. This was a while back, so they may have opened it up or some may have some 3rd party software that will load the chip.

As far ATMELs go, here are a couple of choices:
AVRDRAGON
http://www.atmel.com/dyn/Products/tools_card.asp?tool_id=3891

Arduino
http://www.arduino.cc/

You can find software supporting both and a bunch of places that sell the hardware.

Another good place to look around: www.sparkfun.com
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-Anonymous

[smw0002]

I went to the advanced charger trainer this weekend.
What were the microchips used there?
How would I setup a parallel programmer for it?
Also, what H bridge was used?

[tony]

we used Atmel ATmega16 microcontroller.
if you want to set up a programmer, stop by the lab sometime, we can give you a schematic, and we used the L298 H-Bridge
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