Damned PicStart Plus

[ChrisGibboGibson]

I use a production programmer at the workshop.

At home I use a PicStart Plus for prototyping.

So this evening I programmed another F628 with some minor software changes and
plugged it into the proto board. Then when I came to connect the power supply I
plugged 12 volts into the 5 volt rail (I was distracted).

Obviously it zapped the PIC.

'er indoors decided to try that PIC in the programmer to see what it said, read
came back with ".... code protected"

The next PIC I tried wouldn't program, Then MPLAB "couldn't communicate".

Bloody programmer doesn't work now. All because she plugged a zapped PIC into
it.

I wouldn't have thought the programmer was that shite. But it is.

Gibbo

 

[j.b. miller]

Guess they don't make'm like they used to. I have a 2nd generation PS+ and I
don't have enought fingers to count the times I've 'mismatched' the chip to
the programmer.
It's always worked.I've had comm problems,but a powerdown/powerup has fixed
that.My serial port(Com2) is through a 5 position switch box to 3 different
programmers/dev. units.Sometimes I forget to switch it to the PS+.
Contact Microchp to see if it's a problem they can solve for free,you're
right it shouldn't happen though.
j

 

[ChrisGibboGibson]

:

[snip]

And that 30Mbytes bag o' shite "MPLAB"(IDE).
I look back 20 years at the 30,000 bytes worth of "Zeus" Z80 assembler for
the Spectrum. Yep, a real "Assembler", not some management speak
integrated-project-manager).

I hate the project manager idea. I hate it on MPLAB and I hate it on OrCad. I'm
always unsure what it's doing to other files in different versions of the same
product.

I hated it so much on OrCad, and was so afraid of the things it kept doing to
*my* files (they're not OrCad's files, they're *mine*), and hated all the
clever ass tricks it thought it was doing that I've gone back to OrCad SDT on
DOS.

I'm far better at managing my own versions, BOMs, revs etc than some piece of
software written by someone else who doesn't understand how *I* work.

For instance on MPLAB, if I want to make a complete copy of an MPLAB project
for a new software version the only way I'm happy to do it is to copy the asm
file only and build a new project. If I try any other way of doing it MPLAB
seems to remember certain bits from the old version and start fucking about
with files in the old directory. Files that *I* want leaving alone.

Following one major cock up that it made I'm also scared of using the linker
and do everything manually.

Type "Zeus" and you were straight in. No pretentious setting up of
'projects' or mode/file/link/load/conditional/compilation/... options. No
separate 'assembly' process as the code was constantly being assembled in
the background. Type an error and it reported it on the spot. Reams of
instructions on one line?, no problem. Rigid /weird formatting rules for the
assembler source entry, no way. Friendly and easy to use?, absolutely.
Alas, this came from a time when the kids who wrote these kind of things
knew what they were doing. They didn't have any need to tug their forelocks
in the direction of microshite or sacrifice their talent in deference to a
'structured programming' fraternity.

I can't remember what the assembler was that I used for the Z80 but I do
remember it was a hell of a lot more intuitive than MPLAB.

The skills are still out there. It's just that the kids seem to have lost
their bottle. Bring back the 'ard men of yore. All is forgiven!

I guess these project managers might be OK for someone using that piece of
software all day long, doing nothing else. But for most of us that isn't the
case and coming back to one of these highly complicated to use project managers
after a 6 month break simply, to me at least, means too much to relearn.

Gibbo

 

[john jardine]

I use a production programmer at the workshop.

At home I use a PicStart Plus for prototyping.

So this evening I programmed another F628 with some minor software changes and
plugged it into the proto board. Then when I came to connect the power supply I
plugged 12 volts into the 5 volt rail (I was distracted).

Obviously it zapped the PIC.

'er indoors decided to try that PIC in the programmer to see what it said, read
came back with ".... code protected"

The next PIC I tried wouldn't program, Then MPLAB "couldn't communicate".

Bloody programmer doesn't work now. All because she plugged a zapped PIC into
it.

I wouldn't have thought the programmer was that shite. But it is.

Gibbo

And that 30Mbytes bag o' shite "MPLAB"(IDE).
I look back 20 years at the 30,000 bytes worth of "Zeus" Z80 assembler for
the Spectrum. Yep, a real "Assembler", not some management speak
integrated-project-manager).
Type "Zeus" and you were straight in. No pretentious setting up of
'projects' or mode/file/link/load/conditional/compilation/... options. No
separate 'assembly' process as the code was constantly being assembled in
the background. Type an error and it reported it on the spot. Reams of
instructions on one line?, no problem. Rigid /weird formatting rules for the
assembler source entry, no way. Friendly and easy to use?, absolutely.
Alas, this came from a time when the kids who wrote these kind of things
knew what they were doing. They didn't have any need to tug their forelocks
in the direction of microshite or sacrifice their talent in deference to a
'structured programming' fraternity.

The skills are still out there. It's just that the kids seem to have lost
their bottle. Bring back the 'ard men of yore. All is forgiven!

regards
john

 

[john jardine]

:

[snip] [snip]

I can't remember what the assembler was that I used for the Z80 but I do
remember it was a hell of a lot more intuitive than MPLAB.

The skills are still out there. It's just that the kids seem to have lost
their bottle. Bring back the 'ard men of yore. All is forgiven!

I guess these project managers might be OK for someone using that piece of
software all day long, doing nothing else. But for most of us that isn't the
case and coming back to one of these highly complicated to use project managers
after a 6 month break simply, to me at least, means too much to relearn.

Gibbo

Same here. I've not the slightest interest in memorising the details of some
wretched excuse for a programme when there's more profitable fish to fry.
I just want to pick something up and run with it. If it gets in the way then
market economics suggest I should be able to curse it and move on to
something better. Doesn't happen like that, all the alternatives turn out to
be shite as well.

On this PC "desktop" (god I hate that phrase) there's maybe 90 programme
"icons" (and that one as well!), of these, maybe 3 progs' I actually have
some respect for. The rest are near worthless.
What really p****s me off is I know I can write better stuff than what I'm
having to shell money out for and yet I'm not a programmer.
Wouldn't mind being granted an extra 24 hours a day to allow indulging
myself in that direction
regards
john

 

[Harv]

I use a production programmer at the workshop.

At home I use a PicStart Plus for prototyping.

So this evening I programmed another F628 with some minor software changes and
plugged it into the proto board. Then when I came to connect the power supply I
plugged 12 volts into the 5 volt rail (I was distracted).

Obviously it zapped the PIC.

'er indoors decided to try that PIC in the programmer to see what it said, read
came back with ".... code protected"

The next PIC I tried wouldn't program, Then MPLAB "couldn't communicate".

Bloody programmer doesn't work now. All because she plugged a zapped PIC into
it.

I wouldn't have thought the programmer was that shite. But it is.

Gibbo

Call Microchip!!

I seem to recall that they will repair their products at no charge!!
This was told to me a while back when I was inquiring about my PicStart
Plus.

You only have the price of a phone call to lose.

Harv