Simple PIC Programmer
Not having touched a PIC for about 18 months, and having been offered some freelance work programming a new PIC device, I needed a quick reintroduction to their architecture, software and little quirks. I ordered a couple of 16F84 devices and looked around on the web for a simple programmer.
The simplest one I could find was a serial port programmer: JDMprog. It uses a small number of low-cost components, and is unique in that it doesn't need an external power supply, getting its power from the serial port.
I've designed a little PCB for this programmer, which is very easy to make at home. My prototype is depicted above. It's nice and compact (2.25" by 1.75"), single-sided, with seven wire links. The original JDMprog unit used a 25 way connector, I've substituted a 9 way part. It supports the newer 16F628 device as well as the 16F84.
Here is the layout:
and here is a zipped file containing the schematic and the artwork for a laser printer: jdmprog.zip.
It's supported by Bonny Gijzen's excellent IC-PROG software: http://www.ic-prog.com/.
If you are new to PICs, go here to find out how to get started with them.
