I'm pretty sure that it's a duplicate in some way but I have to ask anyway. I'm pretty new to chip programming and I got some results using arduino but I still have no idea how to use the pic board my friend gave me.
http://www.futurlec.com/dsPIC30F2010_Board.shtml
It looks good so far. I have 3 cables but I have no idea how to download a program to the board. My question for now isn't that much related to compilation. I have some sample hex files that can be downloaded to the board.
- usb -> rs232 (plugs in lights are lighting)
- db9 -> rs232
- db25 -> 10 female plug (no idea what's the actual name for that plug EMPIC or something)
Since I only have a laptop the only usable cable is usb. I could probably find adapters for the other cables but yeah.
When I plug the usb cable, leds will light and it seems that current is working. On my db9 cable, it's written download rs232 So I kind of assume that downloading a hex file using the rs232 plug should work. But after reading, I believe that this plug might be just for use with the chip and not for programming the chip.
http://www.futurlec.com/Pictures/dsPICBRD4_600.jpg
You can see there that it's just above "download ET-EMPIC"
I can take pictures of my whole set if something isn't clear enough. I'd really love to get working on that chip. I read some of the spec about the chip but couldn't really find anything on how to get started. It's as if people who wrote documentation are assuming that people already know why programmers exists (quite confusing term to be honest), how to use them and how to make things happen.
I'm quite confused and don't understand why it's so hard to actually get something on the board. If someone can help me downloading a hex file to that board I'd be the happiest man on earth for some time.
As far as I understand, this board should be enough to be used without a programmer. But i'm guessing that I have to use the db25 to empic plug. If I have to buy something then I'll probably purchase it. I was also thinking about making my arduino board work as a programmer for my dspic but this isn't really a good option.
Also something I don't understand. The powersupply is requiring 16v while in the docs, I read somewhere that while downloading a program I should supply not less that 14v to the board. I know that my usb cable are providing not more than 5v. Any reason why the programmer would require so much to download the program?
edit
After a bit of research, I found that:
http://www.etteam.com/product/06A07.html
ETT is the actual constructor of the board. Problem is that it's all written in thai. In short I believe it says I have to use winpic800 using ICP plug. It should be possible to program using the ICSP pins but I'd need an external programmer.
Best Answer
From a quick look at the first link, it seems this board has some kind of programming function built in. That means it should come with software to send the necessary commands over the serial line, then special hardware on the board will wiggle the PIC programming lines appropriately. You will have to get this info from the manufacturer or the reseller, which could be Futurelec in both cases.
The reason the datasheet doesn't go into much detail about how to program the chip is because there is a whole separate document for the called the Programming Specification. A number of similar chips use the same programming protocol, so they document it once.
I have some general de-mystification about PIC programming at http://www.embedinc.com/picprg/icsp.htm.