Reading EEPROM data from PIC

[Alexei.Polkhanov]

Since I got the Pickit3 I thought I may take a closer look at other boards with PIC devices that I have in my junk box. Very recently my company moved offices and previous tenants left a white board, big ridiculously heavy but it had Virtual Ink device on it which I took off the board before it got recycled.

Here is hi-res photos if anyone curious https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/116960055711068468555/albums/5944428142857688161

Device was made by company called Virtual Ink which may have originated from MIT media lab in at the end of 1990. It based on triangulating position of marker hosted inside a hollow pen that transmits infrared plus ultrasound pulses. Receiver triangulates the position of the pen (or eraser) by looking at how much ultrasound pulse lags behind IR. I have attached simple capture from one of receivers on my oscilloscope - blue trace is IR and yellow is ultrasound.

Amusing thing about whole design was how many PIC microcontrollers used in whole system! Main board has 4, plus 1 on "eraser PCB"!

I tried to "pick" at them using the pickit3 programmer but then I discovered that all devices on the board are not supported by modern programmers. They are too old 

I wonder where can I get PIC programmer that supports 14 y old devices?

Dates on chips suggesting middle of year 2000. Whole design is not very exciting, but it is still functional, well I guess it is ... because I cannot find any drivers for it (the Virtual Ink device) anywhere. Company still makes and sells modern version of it.

[trackman44]

I looked up PIC16C756A-33/PT and some manufacturers sell them, but no datasheet. Try the microchip forums, see if anyone there knows about the chip.

Will

[amyk]

Only one result from Microchip's site about that part, which seems to suggest that a datasheet did exist: http://www.microchip.com/forums/m19421.aspx

I doubt it's just a matter of age since e.g. the 16C76 is at least as old if not older, and you can still buy them. Maybe it was a custom run?

[fluxcapacitor]

PIC17C752/56A/62/66 Datasheet

http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devices.aspx?dDocName=en010251#documentation

EDIT: virtual ink mimio drivers .  http://www.mimio.com/en-EM.aspx

[JTR]

I looked up PIC16C756A-33/PT and some manufacturers sell them, but no datasheet. Try the microchip forums, see if anyone there knows about the chip.

Will

The 17Cxx and 17Cxxx PICs are effectively the only microchip PICs to be discontinued (without a close fit replacement.) For a programmer for these dinosaurs  you can use the odd picstart plus (which originally in fact had a 17C42 for the firmware, guess that was one way to get rid of this failed family.) However have fun connecting the 22 wires required for programming as the picstart only supported the parallel programming method.  The old parallax/tech-tools programmer did support the ICSP mode for the larger pin count devices (17Cxxx not 17Cxx.)

[amyk]

A PIC17? Apparently you can still buy them...

[trackman44]

But apparently is not supported by a PICkit2 or PICkit3, bummer  (unless i'm mistaken) 

Will