Another ICSP programming ?

AtomSoft said:

He clearly stated that he tested another chip with the same setup and it worked. Then he tried the original and it doesnt. Sounds like a chip gone bad. So with that said, the chip is obviously not "perfectly fine"

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Just read back. You're right. I must have missed that part. Sorry for that.

However, the OP also says that it still programs, so why throw it away?

I wouldnt trust it is all... It might corrupt other data if its not fully functional. Just my thought. I would still use it too but not for anything important

AtomSoft said:

I would still use it too but not for anything important

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Okay, I'll agree with you on that

I have mine running life support LOL I have use them to count the heart beat but i don't see mine being sold any days soon LOL

All jokes aside I always use a new chip when done testing.

What does the AP stand for in that write up?

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Application Program

Thanks derstorm... Btw whats ur name?

burt u are funny , im imagining that senario now lol yeah i always use a new ic for finals also...

Thanks derstorm... Btw whats ur name?

burt u are funny , im imagining that senario now lol yeah i always use a new ic for finals also...

AtomSoft said:

Thanks derstorm... Btw whats ur name?

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I have many names. A lot of members here call me D8, Der, etc, but I suppose you could (all) call me Matt if you wish. It is a nickname I picked up early on in high school, and it's stuck ever since. People sometimes call me that because they can't pronounce or spell my first name If you don't mind, I'd like to keep that one to myself

Best wishes, and a Merry Christmas to you!

Ok no problem and Merry Christmas to you too. Matt (and everyone else)

OK here are several points separated by numbers to keep them that way

1. I put the chip in my pickit 2 stand alone programmer and at 1st it would not work (no devise found). then from the tools menu, I selected 'Vpp first entry mode' The device showed up, I erased it and did a blank check. All blank.
Then I put it back in the original target w/ ICSP Pickit 3 and it programmed without any problem w/ everything the same .

2.In the Pickit 3 "known problems" section there is a recomendation for a problem such as this, to select the 'Vpp first entry mode'. The pickit 3 version that I have does not have that menu option. I checked the latest version and same thing.

3.I believe the glitch or whatever was not in the 18F1220 but in the programmer or MPLAB. I'll keep using it and report if there are problems again.

Thanks Aaron

Have you tried the standalone GUI I pointed you to in post #10 ? I don't use MPLAB (it's far too complicated) I use the Pickit 2 and it's standalone GUI. That and notepad with a bit of MPASM.
We have a Pickit 3 at work, can't say I'm very impressed with it.

House0Fwax said:

Have you tried the standalone GUI I pointed you to in post #10 ? I don't use MPLAB (it's far too complicated) I use the Pickit 2 and it's standalone GUI. That and notepad with a bit of MPASM.
We have a Pickit 3 at work, can't say I'm very impressed with it.

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I'm sorry I sound like a dummy but I don't understand what a GUI is and I didn't know what to look at in that link you sent. Help me a little more please. And thanks for trying! Aaron

It's the AP you was asking about it looks like the pic I posted.

It doesn't have

Vpp first entry mode' The device

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I posted the AP for you it's in the zip

AGCB said:

I don't understand what a GUI is

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GUI is 'Graphic user interface'. As in a program that you call up on your computer. Things to click on as opposed to things you have to type in, what they call 'Command line interface' Where one mistake could spell doom.
As it is, Burt has supplied a link to the 'Gui', it's a lot less complicated than MPLAB.

House0Fwax said:

I use the Pickit 2 and it's standalone GUI. That and notepad with a bit of MPASM.

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So, are you saying that you program in a stand alone board and do not use ICSP?

I still use ICSP, though I don't use MPLAB. I write code in notepad, compile it with MPASM and then program the pic with the Pickit 2 using a breadboard adaptor that I made and use the Pickit 2 GUI. I can't deal with MPLAB, I have tried, but I just don't like it.

AGCB when you run into a problem with a chip remove the chip and place it in a solderless bread board and hook up for ICSP and just program it by itself.

That is the easy way to test a chip. Just the bare chip I have a small board just for that I use it to flash chips that send people with firmware on .

5 wires a pickit2 or 3 and small bread board and you in business.

This shows the junebug but the same idea with the pickit2 or 3

Sounds like you needed this to start with:
**broken link removed**

The ZIF socket is the best way to program chips fast. Without having to place then on a breadboard

Here's a little 18 pin ZIF adaptor I made for my PICKit2/3 - you could of course use a normal socket if you wished, it also fit various smaller PIC's as well.

Thanks for the replies guys, Houseofwax, Burt, Jason and Nigel. I guess what I am learning in this particular problem episode is that the simplest ways of doing things, although they may take longer, are sometimes the better or maybe the only way.

I started w/ uCs a year and a half ago. I started w/ MPLAB and am comfortable w/ it (although I sure would like to learn more about simulation w/ MPSIM). I also started w/ a pickit 2 clone and a programmer module board w/ 40 pin ZIF. Eventually I wanted to get away from needing to take the pic out of the target to put in the programmer module every time so I figured out how to do ICSP. About the same time I started using a 16F1827 and so needed a Pickit 3. I did not like losing the use of the ICSP pins so with Nigels recommendation, I put in a 3P2T switch to move the programmer in and out of the circuit thereby having full use of all pins for the project. It works great! Until this episode, I did not think I would need that old programmer setup again. But it is what cured the problem. This morning I reprogrammed the chip w/ pickit 3, ICSP about 20 times w/o a glitch. SOOO, I'll keep that pickit 2 stand alone setup in mind when I run in to this sort of thing in the future. That Vpp 1st entry mode is valuable.

And now I know what a GUI is although I've been using it all along. Ha.

Thanks again for the interest of all that replied to this message. I allways learn more than bargained for on this forum. Aaron

Once you learn to use the in circuit debugger that is part of the PK2 and PK3 you maybe happy enough to give up the two pins. The sim and ICD use the identical debugger interface with breakpoints etc. You can rapidly switch between them.