2003-04-13
PIC Programmer
This is my ugly implementation of Jens Dyekjær Madsen's PIC programmer. I omitted the ICSP header as I do not plan to use it. My veroboard embedding of the topology borrows heavily from Paul Scrivens' veroboard version, but mine has a lot more links on the top of the board.
I built it to program OTP 12C50XA chips which are quite cheap (about $2 AU in bulk). I am planning to make a CW beacon controller to bang out "test de vk2zay", maybe with some sequences of vees and a period of long steady carrier for use in my VLF experiments.
Work on a Linux driver is under way as a back burner project. I've become more interested in the ATMEL devices, in particular the 89C2051, which is a flash 8051 compatible. At only 40 cents more for more pins and a faster clock rate, they sound pretty attractive. The lack of an internal clock and reset is a bit of a drawback compared to the tiny 8 pin PICs, at least for the beacon project, but for larger projects they sound like a lot of fun. I've worked with 8051s before, I rather like the instruction set, even if the assembler is in Intel (backwards: opcode dest source ...) order.
The 2051 requires parallel programming, so I will have to Macgyver up some kind of parallel port programmer with a switchable voltage to the reset pin.
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