Not sure what I need

[M0BSW]

Hi everyone, ok my dilemma I have a programmer now I don't' know what I need to have a go and wright my own strings and then turn them to hex files for the programmer to put on to the pic chip,& is there any free programs I can try that  you can wright your program on  which will then turn it to a hex file 

[FreddyVictor]

maybe start by looking at this thread - lots of useful info

[zapta]

Do you have any specific reason to use pic over avr?  If not, install the Arduino IDE, get an arduino board and you have everything you need (you don't need a programmer or to deal hex files). If you will want later to design your own boards from scratch, the Arduino IDE will generate the hex files for you.

Arduino boards comes in all shapes, sizes and prices. Take a look for example at this one http://digistump.com/products/1

[mariush]

later edit: Ok, I misread your original message.

What programmer do you have ?

For PICs, get MPLAB X from microchip : http://www.microchip.com/pagehandler/en-us/family/mplabx/

It has several compilers built in, you just start a project, write code, select a compiler, compile the code, program the chip. If you have a pickit 3, you can select it as a programmer from the interface and simply program the chip from the interface.

--------

If you want to go the PIC route, the programmer is pickit 3.

You can buy it from Microchip, Farnell, Digikey, anywhere pretty much, but it costs about 45$:

Details : http://www.microchip.com/Developmenttools/ProductDetails.aspx?PartNO=PG164130

Stores:

http://www.microchipdirect.com/ProductSearch.aspx?Keywords=PG164130
http://uk.farnell.com/microchip/pg164130/debugger-pickit-3-icd-dspic-usb/dp/1771323
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?x=0&y=0&lang=en&site=us&KeyWords=PG164130

You can also get the programmer with a pcb that has a PIC18 built in and a small prototyping space to put parts on :

http://uk.farnell.com/microchip/dv164131/debug-express-pickit-3-pic-dspic/dp/1686530
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?x=0&y=0&lang=en&site=us&KeyWords=DV164131+

You write the code in MPLAB X (a ide) and hit compile and you get the hex files and also write the hex directly from MPLAB X into the chips, no need to worry about selecting hex files manually.

With Atmel chips (attiny atmega328 etc) you can find cheaper programmers, third party programmers etc, you could also make your own... that's where you may have to learn how to use hex files.

Arduino boards can be programmed through usb because the arduino board has a small bootloader code in the chip which allows the chip to receive your code through usb and program itself with the new code. This way you don't need a special programmer.
However, if you want to make smaller boards or just buy chips for less than a dollar and want to program them, you will need a standalone programmer.

[IanB]

But if you are just starting out and learning how these things work, an Arduino is going to be much more suitable than a raw micro with programmer and IDE.

I strongly second the suggestion to get an Arduino. There are huge numbers of tutorials and examples on the web to get started with programming it and learning how to control it.

[M0BSW]

The programmer is a The USB PIC K150 microcontroller programmer, I've gone this route as most of the ham radio circuits I want to build have pic chips in the heart of them, I have  many circuits to go at.
Thank you for the advice and taking the time to reply.

[notsob]

Good PIC tutorials at gooligum and pcbheaven

http://pcbheaven.com/

http://gooligum.com.au/

[M0BSW]

Good PIC tutorials at gooligum and pcbheaven

http://pcbheaven.com/

http://gooligum.com.au/

Thank you just had a quick look ,very interesting, I'll take a better look in the morning.

[dannyf]

Good PIC tutorials at gooligum

Gooligum is absolutely the best.

[dannyf]

Since you are likely looking at older chips in those ham circuits, I would recommend pickit2: very reliable and multi-talented.

However, its support for newer chips is limited.

[M0BSW]

Since you are likely looking at older chips in those ham circuits, I would recommend pickit2: very reliable and multi-talented.

However, its support for newer chips is limited.

Thank you Danny, I have approx. 30 circuits to play with, so I will cut my teeth with the old type, I guess not a bad thing to do.
Paul

[jucole]

Hi everyone, ok my dilemma I have a programmer now I don't' know what I need to have a go and wright my own strings and then turn them to hex files for the programmer to put on to the pic chip,& is there any free programs I can try that  you can wright your program on  which will then turn it to a hex file 

I started doing a PIC project using the free SDCC compiler;  I wanted to give it a try to see how I got on with it, compared to the PIC Hi-tech compiler;   i'm about 80% complete with ~1500 lines of C code so far, but i'm really quite impressed!   So I'm sure it would easily be able to handle your PIC ham projects.

[M0BSW]

Hi everyone, ok my dilemma I have a programmer now I don't' know what I need to have a go and wright my own strings and then turn them to hex files for the programmer to put on to the pic chip,& is there any free programs I can try that  you can wright your program on  which will then turn it to a hex file 

I started doing a PIC project using the free SDCC compiler;  I wanted to give it a try to see how I got on with it, compared to the PIC Hi-tech compiler;   i'm about 80% complete with ~1500 lines of C code so far, but i'm really quite impressed!   So I'm sure it would easily be able to handle your PIC ham projects.

Thank You i'll have a look for it.