Programmer Not Connected

R

Red_Stafford

New Member
Hi all I was sold a Picaxe 08 Proto Board the weekend I am using this to program a 12F683 PIC but I hav connected the programmer to my PC and opened the PIC programmer software and it says no programmer connected I went out and brought a serial to USB adapter to see if it would work on the USB port and it still does not work can you guys give me some help ?
 
D

Dippy

Moderator
Let me get this right:

You have bought a little PICAXE 08 board and are trying to programme a blank PIC 12F683?

Code: 
IF Scenario=True then
    YouveBeenSeenOff=True
    YOU NEED A PROPER PROGRAMMER for PICS= VeryTrue
    YOU WERE TRYING TO PROGRAMME PICS on the Cheap Weren't You = True
Else
    IHaveMisunderstood=True
Endif
 
R

Red_Stafford

New Member
Dippy said:
Let me get this right:

You have bought a little PICAXE 08 board and are trying to programme a blank PIC 12F683?

Code: 
IF Scenario=True then
    YouveBeenSeenOff=True
    YOU NEED A PROPER PROGRAMMER for PICS= VeryTrue
    YOU WERE TRYING TO PROGRAMME PICS on the Cheap Weren't You = True
Else
    IHaveMisunderstood=True
Endif
Click to expand...
Yes I am trying to program a blank 12F683, I brought a Vellmen programmer first from a shop because thats what they advised me work work with the 12F683 this cost me £25 I later found out that the programmer didnt support the 12F683 so the guy swapped it the weekend for this picaxe one, does this not support the chip too ?
 
D

Dippy

Moderator
You need a proper programmer to programme bare PICs. Not a little project board. A proper programmer needs control of the CLK,DAT and MCLR pins.

I take it the guy in the shop was 12 years old and had spots?
 
R

Red_Stafford

New Member
Dippy said:
You need a proper programmer to programme bare PICs. Not a little project board. A proper programmer needs control of the CLK,DAT and MCLR pins.

I take it the guy in the shop was 12 years old and had spots?
Click to expand...
Actually he wasnt but I dont think he knows what he is doing as all I need it a programmer to program a 12F683 and this is the second one he as sent me which is no good for the job. I wish I could just go to a shop and buy one but most of these programmers come from China or have to be ordered over the web ?
 
D

Dippy

Moderator
Life ain't easy is it ;)

I wish I could go to my local Grocer and buy an Aston Martin for £2.50.

Isn't it easier to buy one on-line rather than drive to a shop?
There are zillions of brands, sizes, prices.

I am very biased and wouldn't get one from an anonymous Ebay supplier. You may not get any support...

I'm sure all the old lags can provide a list of My Favourite programmer....
(they really ought to get out more).
 
R

Red_Stafford

New Member
Dippy said:
Life ain't easy is it ;)

I wish I could go to my local Grocer and buy an Aston Martin for £2.50.

Isn't it easier to buy one on-line rather than drive to a shop?
There are zillions of brands, sizes, prices.

I am very biased and wouldn't get one from an anonymous Ebay supplier. You may not get any support...

I'm sure all the old lags can provide a list of My Favourite programmer....
(they really ought to get out more).
Click to expand...
I cant shop online because I dont have a Credit/Debit card.
 
hippy

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
Red_Stafford said:
all I need it a programmer to program a 12F683 and this is the second one he as sent me which is no good for the job.
Click to expand...
I'd send that back, claim a refund and give up on them. My recommendation would be Microchip's PicKit2. That's just a programmer with a connector and you will require more than that to actually program your chip so make sure you understand what you are buying and what else you need before doing so.

There's also Rev-Ed's BAS800 programmer which I am sure supports the 16F683 ( you can contact Rev-Ed to confirm ) and that is a complete programmer ( a socket to drop your chip into, program it, remove it and use ). You can then do your entire software development within the free Programming Editor environment.

Depending on what you are ultimately trying to do, it may be easier to put the 16F683 to one side and buy a PICAXE chip to do the job. What attracted me to the PICAXE was its ease of use and there's none of the messing about, cost and complexity of getting a PICmicro to work.

If you let us know what your project is and what you are trying to do, people here will be able to give advice on that and which PICAXE is best for the task.

If you choose to use a PICAXE and you need a USB to serial cable some of those do not support what the PICAXE needs so that could be another 'lemon' you've been sold.
 
hippy

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
I cant shop online because I dont have a Credit/Debit card

But I'm sure you can find someone who does and is willing to act on your behalf, especially if you hand over the cash and accept that you take the risk of any problems which arise.

There are also 'Instant Credit Cards' in the UK which you pay cash for over the counter and suppliers should not have a problem accepting them, they are genuine Visa or Mastercard backed products. They add cost, not all are equal, and some may require registration, but they are there as an option.
 
R

Red_Stafford

New Member
If I brought a PicKit2 what else would I need to program the 12F683.

My project is to modify my Xbox 360 controller to enable rapid fire when using single fire guns in first person shootem up games, I have downloaded the HEX file, I have the wiring diagrams and all the kit to do it I just need to program the HEX file onto the 12F683 chip.
 
D

Dippy

Moderator
Oh no, not this old chestnut again. I just hope the game is worth the cost.

I'm sure several people on this Forum have done what you want with a PICAXE ages ago.

Send me £30 and I'll programme it for you ;). No guarantee of course. Kidding.

PICKit2 example:
http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/51570a.pdf
about £25.

If the included pcb won't work with 12F you will have to knock up an adaptor to power and control the PIC, probably about 5 wires (?).
Maybe adaptors (perhaps ZIFs) are available too. Dunno.
 
R

Red_Stafford

New Member
Cheers guys but the rapid fire code as progressed since this and the best code at the moment is based on the 12F683 PIC ?

So if I get a PICKit2 this will be everything I need to put the HEX file on the 12F683 ?
 
hippy

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
Red_Stafford said:
If I brought a PicKit2 what else would I need to program the 12F683.
Click to expand...
As Dippy says, you'll need some sort of adapter board, a means of connecting the two and perhaps a power supply and means of controlling it. You may be able to find something suitable ready made or you may have to build it yourself and that will require working out what to connect, where and how.

Red_Stafford said:
My project is to modify my Xbox 360 controller to enable rapid fire when using single fire guns in first person shootem up games, I have downloaded the HEX file, I have the wiring diagrams and all the kit to do it I just need to program the HEX file onto the 12F683 chip.
Click to expand...
What sounds simple can turn out to be quite hard in practice with considerable cost involved and no guarantee of success. Trying to save money and going DIY is often a false economy with hidden costs and frustrations. Worse still, your saving money actually costs others money because they are the ones putting in the time and effort which you don't want to pay for.

Ideally you should be discussing these issues on a forum provided by those who provided the mod kit firmware, and for PICmicro programming solutions in forums dedicated to that topic.

That's not to say you were wrong to post your original question, you came to the right place for that, and I'm sure people will help you if you are interested in getting a PICAXE version of the mod chip working, especially if you are putting the effort into doing it rather than simply wanting to know how to and pushing the work on to others to do for you. A search of the forum should bring up previous discussions and examples on PICAXE mod chip designs.

The advantage of creating your own mod chip is that you can tailor it to do exactly what you want it to and you'll learn a lot about basic electronics, using microcontrollers and software along the way. I appreciate that not everyone wants to do that though, but any DIY effort is going to involve some work and effort. If you want it on a plate you have to pay someone to give you that.
 
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