Here goes . . .

I did some more research and found that I can use at least 12VAC or 17VDC, is this true?

zachtheterrible said:

I did some more research and found that I can use at least 12VAC or 17VDC, is this true?

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Yes, it has a bridge rectifier, it's on the diagram, top left corner : **broken link removed**

Hiya Joel,
I've just been up the shed checking the programmer out again and probing the Vpp40 on the parrallel port and there's nothing happening it stays at 0 volts when programming, I've even toggled the pin in hardware options. Oh and I'm using winpic and icprog for the testing. So I'm going to use your approach and just make up the simple programmer on Lothars site as all I need to do is program the 16f876 for the ICD clone. I'm not giving up on pcb's all together I'll just pick an easier circuit to etch and work up from there. I stayed up last nite and designed the ICD in lochmaster so now all I've got to do is recheck the circuit then I'll build it. By the way I looked in mplab files for the bootloader for the 876 but came up with a blank. Could you tell me the correct file name for it as there seems to be a few files with ****876 there.

Cheers Bryan

The correct filename for the bootloader is actually "BL010101.hex".

Are you using WinPic or WinPicProg? Those are two different programs And one sucks. :lol: Make sure you are using WinPicProg and that the Vpp40 line is set to the right LPT port line (usually D4).

You're giving up on that PCB way too quickly... Chances are it's working!

Joel Rainville said:

zachtheterrible said:

I did some more research and found that I can use at least 12VAC or 17VDC, is this true?

Click to expand...

Yes, it has a bridge rectifier, it's on the diagram, top left corner : **broken link removed**

Click to expand...

That kind of threw me off, that it'll accept either AC or DC. Well, I just ordered a 12.6VAC transformer among all the other stuff, so now all I can do is hope for the best :lol:

Thanks for the correct hex file Joel, oh and I meant winpicprog too. One thing thats got me confused is ICprog says it programs and verify's OK but winpicprog gives the error at 0x00000 straight away. :shock: O'well I'm going to try and load the bootloader and see if I can talk to the pic in hyperterminal even if I have to make up lothars JDM to do it. Oh and with the pcb I'm not happy with the traces as it didn't etch 100% and I ended up running solder over all the tracks and checking each for shorts. I've spent too much time on this programmer and I know it's not good practice to give up but I want to keep what hair I have left.

Cheers Bryan

Joel Rainville said:

Are you using WinPic or WinPicProg? Those are two different programs And one sucks. :lol:

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Both are good. One even allow me to config/setup a new PIC not come with its default list and programmed it correctly.

Hi bryan1,

If you cannot make the P16PRO40 work, chances are the ICD2 clone would be twice as difficult to get right. But then the luck might be on your side this times round.

In your P16PRO40, you should not have gone for the 74HC14 but use 7406 or 7407 instead. They are special, high voltage(collector 30V) TTL IC that have open collector output. Many people don't know about it and replace them with normal buffer/inverter and head straight for total failure.

12V or 13V is good for any PIC you would normally use so LM317 cannot be a problem as long as its output voltage stays within the range.

zachtheterrible said:

I did some more research and found that I can use at least 12VAC or 17VDC, is this true?

Click to expand...

Yes, it actually specifies the supply on the circuit diagram!.

But it's VERY IMPORTANT that the supply is high enough, and ripple free, it must be high enough (and smooth enough) to provide a stable, ripple free, 13V on the MCLR pin. Two 9V batteries in series work well, and obviously cure any ripple worries!.

By far the biggest problem people have is caused by using unregulated wall warts, where it reads OK on a meter, but it contains large ripple levels, this prevents the PIC entering programming mode.

eblc1388 said:

Joel Rainville said:

Are you using WinPic or WinPicProg? Those are two different programs And one sucks. :lol:

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Both are good. One even allow me to config/setup a new PIC not come with its default list and programmed it correctly.

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Aren't you wondering what's going on behind the scenes when the software locks-up after almost every operation in WinPic? It can probably be summed up to "bad amateur programming". There are good ideas there, the implementation is just plain bad.

eblc1388 said:

If you cannot make the P16PRO40 work, chances are the ICD2 clone would be twice as difficult to get right.

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My point exactly. I fear that if the ICD2 doesn't work right from the start that Bryan will throw it all away and become a monk, or something...

Joel Rainville said:

My point exactly. I fear that if the ICD2 doesn't work right from the start that Bryan will throw it all away and become a monk, or something...

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Not really Joel, today I tried to use lothars jdm design but that went amiss with that dreaded 0x00000 error then it rebooted the old win 95 puter and refused point blank to restart ICprog. But all is not lost tomorrow I'll go and get a 7406 and the other bits I need and make up a 16pro40 on a breadboard as all I need to do is put the bootloader on the 876. I'm determined not to let this beat me, Ive set myself a challenge as I have swapped my 16pro40 that I made for some R/C servos. The major problem I found with the circuit board is although I used my U-beaut power supply @ 17 volts and used a 317 calculator to determine the correct resistors to give me 13.1 volts, the voltage keeps on changing and won't stay above 13 volts. I even checked with the fluke the mlcr pin while programming and the high voltage varied from 12.93 to 11.54 volts when high.
Anyway enough ranting tomorrow is another day and I won't be that far away from sucess.

Cheers Bryan

The major problem I found with the circuit board is although I used my U-beaut power supply @ 17 volts and used a 317 calculator to determine the correct resistors to give me 13.1 volts, the voltage keeps on changing and won't stay above 13 volts. I even checked with the fluke the mlcr pin while programming and the high voltage varied from 12.93 to 11.54 volts when high.
Anyway enough ranting tomorrow is another day and I won't be that far away from sucess.

Cheers Bryan

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Didi you include necessary capacitors? (100nF and few uF)