Electronics > Beginners
Recreating mod chip designed for the Playstation 1.
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Katcher:

--- Quote from: Sudo_apt-get_install_yum on November 06, 2018, 02:09:21 pm ---
--- Quote from: Katcher on November 06, 2018, 10:54:12 am ---Now with that out of the way leaves the elepehant in the room...how do I actually program the fucking PIC12F508? And because screw doing it the easy way and buying a programmer, imma fucking build one because it's a learning experience and it sounds fun.

--- End quote ---

I’ve read through this thread and seen the versions of the PIC12 break out your making, for a first board it alright!
Since you don’t know much about the embedded world ill help you out, DONT MAKE YOUR OWN PROGRAMMER!!!!

Its so much work to do this and its way to complicated for a beginner like you. I dont think you knwo how much work it is to design a programmer. making a break out board is one thing. Designing the board for the programmer, writing the code is a lot of work.

If your experienced with PIC's it wouldn’t take more than a few days but if your inexperienced with electronics design and embedded programming then it would be suicide, it would take so much time and you wouldn’t learn much since the difficulty level is much too high for a beginner.
It better to slowly build your knowledge than immediately jump on the hard stuff not understanding the basics.

Programmer like this is cheap and readily available so it’s just a time waste.

I’m no pro but I have done a fair bit of PCB design and µC work.
Take what I say with a grain of salt :)

--- End quote ---

There's a link to a schematic for one a few posts back along with a program to use. Plus I have the Hex I need for my model of PS1(if that's the code you were speaking about) anyway since it's readily available amongst the modding community. I'd be way in over my head trying to make one completely from scratch. I can use that and make whatever alterations for assembling it on Protoboard. Like replacing the USB cable with a micro USB socket for 5v power. I can assume the PIC can only be programmed over Serial and not USB is due 12v needing to be supplied to the MCLR/Vpp pin? That much I can kinda guess since USB, to my knowledge, only supplies 5v. Even with that said I wonder if there is a way to do it over USB just for convenience sake.
KL27x:
If you have a computer with a parallel port, you can make a very simple programmer called a TAIT programmer. This is supported by free programming software that is probably still around.

The TAIT is essentially just a voltage buffer to protect the parallel port with the addition of a voltage translation to 9-13V for the high voltage programming line. The software pretty much does everything through the parallel port, and the only reason it can't program a PIC directly through parallel port is lack of the high voltage Vpp. If you were confident on your wiring, you could literally connect the PIC directly to the correct pings of a parallel port, and for the programming line, take that line, use it to drive a transistor to switch a 9V battery to the MCLR pin.

That's how I programmed my first PICs, incidentally. I can't remember the software I used, anymore, though.

There was another very simple programmer starting with a J. It was made for the other stupid connector on the back of old computers.  D25? Can't remember what that is, even.

Microchip publishes the full schematics of their PICKIT2 and I think they host downloads of the firmware for the PIC18F2550. (If they don't, I have it). There are also some people who have made and published schemmies for simplified versions that have only fixed voltage power to target.

I have made full versions of the PICKIT2 (with some minor additions), and I didn't even know how to use PCB software as well as you already do. Gottas say it took a few long nights to finish the layout, and even longer to populate all those parts. I was dumb enough to save a bunch of parts as if I'd just make more as needed, lol. I shoulda made them all back when. 

*software might have been called "EasyPIC." I'm not sure. If you google TAIT, you will probalby find a software. And the 12F508 was a flagship baseline PIC from 20 years ago; it is definitely supported by these old softwares.
Katcher:

--- Quote from: KL27x on November 06, 2018, 07:59:44 pm ---If you have a computer with a parallel port, you can make a very simple programmer called a TAIT programmer. This is supported by free programming software that is probably still around.

The TAIT is essentially just a voltage buffer to protect the parallel port with the addition of a voltage translation to 9-13V for the high voltage programming line. The software pretty much does everything through the parallel port, and the only reason it can't program a PIC directly through parallel port is lack of the high voltage Vpp. If you were confident on your wiring, you could literally connect the PIC directly to the correct pings of a parallel port, and for the programming line, take that line, use it to drive a transistor to switch a 9V battery to the MCLR pin.

That's how I programmed my first PICs, incidentally. I can't remember the software I used, anymore, though.

There was another very simple programmer starting with a J. It was made for the other stupid connector on the back of old computers.  D25? Can't remember what that is, even.

Microchip publishes the full schematics of their PICKIT2 and I think they host downloads of the firmware for the PIC18F2550. (If they don't, I have it). There are also some people who have made and published schemmies for simplified versions that have only fixed voltage power to target.

I have made full versions of the PICKIT2 (with some minor additions), and I didn't even know how to use PCB software as well as you already do. Gottas say it took a few long nights to finish the layout, and even longer to populate all those parts. I was dumb enough to save a bunch of parts as if I'd just make more as needed, lol. I shoulda made them all back when. 

*software might have been called "EasyPIC." I'm not sure. If you google TAIT, you will probalby find a software. And the 12F508 was a flagship baseline PIC from 20 years ago; it is definitely supported by these old softwares.

--- End quote ---

Okay so most of that went over my head. What I managed to get though was that there's a a serial programmer that I believe is known as a JDM programmer(of which I have a schematic of) and a parallel programmer called a TAIT programmer. I know of Microchip's PICKIT thingamabobs(Fuck me this is an actual word?) but don't know if I can use it as an alternative to a JDM/TAIT programmer or if it's to be used in conjunction with one. I have neither a Serial or a Parallel port on my PC since it's using an MSI board from 2017 so if there is a way to do this over USB I'll have to go for that. I googled EasyPIC but instead of software I found a PIC development board but it's whatever $150 equates to in GBP. Screw that. I'm a tight bastard.

I did a little bit more digging around and came across a USB PIC Programmer. http://usbpicprog.org/ Would this be of use to me?
KL27x:
If you don't have a DSUB or Parallel port, then you can't use the simple TAIT or JDM programmers to essentially program the chip with the computer, directly.

The USB programmer you linked has the same problem with building a PICKIT. The heart is a microcontroller which itself needs to be flashed.

I don't know a way you can make your own USB programmer without having a programmer.
Katcher:
That...does present a bit of a hurdle. I doubt Serial/Parallel to USB adapters even exist or work if they do?
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