PIC programmer - software for?

[VK2GOM]

I bought a device on eBay that supposedly programs PIC's. I plugged it into a USB port and it downloaded its own drivers from Windows Update to become Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COM5).

It came with nothing else, no CD, no instructions, nothing.

I have some free software called WinPic800 that supposedly programs PIC's via one of these devices. However, there is no information as to what the hardware is. I've tried selecting various types of programmer hardware, but the device isn't recognised.

Just wondering if anyone else has bought the same device from eBay and managed to get it recognised in any programming software?

Update: The device might be a 'K15 USB' programmer going from pictures on Google Images, but I still can't find any software for it



73 - Rob VK2GOM / GW0MOH

[VK3ALB]

I find that sellers of gear like this usually have all the important information but just don't mention it in their auction.

You have to ask the right question.

Have you contacted the seller and asked him if he has suitable programming software available?

[VK2XSO]

I use PICFLASH. It's a basic loader created by Mikroelectronika.
There doesn't seem to be a standalone version of it on their downloads page, but if you download the PIC suite, you'll find it in there.

http://www.mikroe.com/search/downloads/

It's very straight forward. If you compiled code has all the directives, then just loading the .hex file will automatically set all the parameters.
hit [write] and it's done. It works with a few different programmers but obviously I've not tried them all.

If you're programming and developing PIC chips, you might get distracted by the rest of their site.
In which case Santa will be grumbling about how heavy his bag is until after he's visited your place.

[VK4APN]

I bought a device on eBay that supposedly programs PIC's. I plugged it into a USB port and it downloaded its own drivers from Windows Update to become Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COM5).

It came with nothing else, no CD, no instructions, nothing.

I have some free software called WinPic800 that supposedly programs PIC's via one of these devices. However, there is no information as to what the hardware is. I've tried selecting various types of programmer hardware, but the device isn't recognised.

Just wondering if anyone else has bought the same device from eBay and managed to get it recognised in any programming software?

Update: The device might be a 'K15 USB' programmer going from pictures on Google Images, but I still can't find any software for it



73 - Rob VK2GOM / GW0MOH

If it is a Kitsrus or DIY electronics kit i.e.K128, K149, K150, K182 see this http://www.kitsrus.com/pic.html - although this is quite dated now , another possibility is http://www.pic16.com/en/wzcapi/mini_2006.htm
or you might be able to use MPLAB.
Another thing to search on is "Prolific USB-to-Serial" problems, it seems that some copy's are not the genuine article and are effectively shut off by later driver updates!
Good Luck
Paul vk4apn

[VK2GOM]

Hi Paul, thanks for your reply. Sadly none of those worked. I tried each board option and each time it reported 'board not responding'.

I believe the board is actually a K15, not a K150 (at least going from comparing Google images).

I have contacted the seller since his original auction talks about easy to use software. I haven't left feedback yet... no software forthcoming = unfavourable feedback, but there again he hasn't left me feedback yet so it might be best to look around for another one that definitely includes software in the interests of maintaining my 100% positive feedback

73 - Rob VK2GOM / GW0MOH

[VK4CRO]

I also want to play with PIC but is arduino a better choice for a newby ?
I want to drive a gearbox via a motor for a rotator
ciao Ron

[VK2GOM]

Hi Ron, yes, have a play with an Arduino. Very user friendly and easy to learn, and lots of online resources. What you describe has been done numerous times before so it's easy to research the project and borrow ideas.

I can recommend the Eleven board (clone) from Jaycar. It does the job exactly the same. Although the genuine ones are quite cheap, as long as you don't buy them in Australia.

73 - Rob VK2GOM / GW0MOH

[VK4CRO]

Stepper motors quite cheap as well , Iwill give Arduino a shot
tnx Ron

[VK2XSO]

Arduino is pretty popular and appears to be one of the easier controllers to learn.
The hardware support for them also makes them easy to work with. The down side is that you're stuck with the platform or variations of it.
The language for it is a lot like basic and you can also program them in C (and even assembler). The higher level languages are all you need.

PIC chips can be both simpler and more complex. They're more like an discrete component like a 555 timer.
On the simplest scale, a PIC chip may need nothing more that a source of power.
They're a bit more bare bones than an arduino though some of the high end chips have a lot of features packed into them.

There's four basic choices of languages for PICs.
PIC Basic which is favoured most people who are general programmers.
C which is used by quite a lot of programmers.
Pascal - I think there are some retarded arts students or somebody who must program using it I joke they should make a Cobol compiler for them too.
Assembler is also still reasonably popular though a lot of people still have problems with it and prefer to use C or Basic.

I've compared some of the assembled code for Basic, C and Assembler. In a lot of cases Assembler wins hands down in your a good programmer.
This works if the applications are small. If complex tasks need to be done, then the high level languages win out for ease and a good programmer can keep the compiled code
reasonably tight too.

But you do still have to build the hardware interface for PICs where with arduino, if it doesn't already have it on the board, you can easily add it with a pre-fab module or a prototyping board.
They're pretty hard to beat for anybody just wanting to do simple none specialised stuff.

There are other micro controllers, but a lot of them have either been swamped by PIC/Arduino (AVR) or Raspberry Pi.

[VK2EM]

I was given a K-150 Pic Programmer, and some 16F684 Pic chips to program with a hex file (supplied). I had read in several forums, and been told by the owner of the K-150, that "it/they don't work!"

I also found the site with the latest software... http://buyhere22.com/components/k150/ and clicked the 'download' button.

So I set about to find out "Why is it so?" (remember him?)

I read many items (wasted my time) about 'Prolific Drivers', and illegal clones of Prolific chips, and how this driver 'worked' or 'didn't work'! It looked like a real mess! So I went to You Tube, and in their search engine, I searched 'K-150', and 'voila!', "Stop looking, I found it!"
One You Tube video in Spanish showed the exact same board as the one I had... AND the one pictured above in this thread! The man had his board working with the Windows drivers supplied in Win7! I re-ran the video three or four times to find out why.
I re-read the instructions that I was given, and it immediately became clear... the instructions said " Pin 1 on the ZIF socket is located next to the locking lever" (what does that mean relative to the Pic chip?)... also the instructions said " the software will show the position of each chip in the socket".
I ran the software, put in the variety of Pic, and it showed the position of the chip in the ZIF socket. Great! but I studied the position of the chip in the socket, and the physical structure of the socket itself, and if I put the chip in the socket the way the diagram showed, it programmed perfectly! The ZIF socket has plastic on one end longer than the other, relative to the metal clamps!

Place the locking lever and the USB socket away from you, and place the chip in the socket as shown, "closest to you" and it works perfectly.

Only one problem, as stated in the instructions, the "Reset Programmer" option does not work correctly in Win7! But the programming, "Verify, Blank," and other functions are all OK!

73 Bruce VK2EM

[VK2AMS]

well done Bruce! best post the info on the "webb" for other neanderthals other than myself! lol