MULTI CHIP

PROGRAMMER
 USING THE PROGRAMMER

This is the section you have been waiting for. It's the "burning" section. 
Burning is also called "Programming" or "Downloading a Program" It's the action of putting a .hex file into a microcontroller.  
The things you need are:

- Multi-Chip Programmer project. See construction HERE.
- an interface cable (the components come with the Multi-Chip Programmer).
- IC-Prog.exe Click HERE. (See below first)  (download IC-Prog.zip)
- a computer. 

PROGRAMMING/BURNING 
STARTS HERE

1. Build the Multi-Chip Programmer Project and insert a PIC chip. 

2.To program the chip you need a file called:
 - IC-Prog.exe Click the link above and put the program in your desktop. 

3. You will need a .hex file for the programming operation. It can be a .hex file for the LoPIC Project or the 5x7 Display Project or any other project. 
You can find .hex files for the 5x7 Display Project in 5x7hexFiles. Choose any file. 

4. Open IC-Prog on your desktop.  

6. Click on File (top-left).  A window will appear. Click on Load.  All the .hex files in PIP-02 folder will appear in the window. Click on  a .hex file to highlight it and it will appear in the address bar above. Click on Open and the window will disappear. The .hex file will appear in the programming window. 

7. Double-click on Fuse edit. Make sure a dot appears beside RC. Remove the X from Watchdog Timer On. (Make sure a "dot" only appears beside RC and "X" beside Power-up Timer On). Click ok. 
The Device window will read:  Part: 16F84,  Osc: RC,    WDT: OFF,    PWRT: ON,    CP: OFF,   
ID: FFFF (not important)    CSum: (not important).

8. Make sure the interface cable is connected and the 5v LED is illuminated. 

9. Click "F5 Program".  A programming bar will appear on the screen and you will be able to see the program firstly turn on the 13v indicator LED then activate the clk LED.

10. At the end of programming the programming window will disappear. If a fault develops during programming a new window will appear, detailing the fault.  Otherwise the chip has been programmed and verified and can be removed from the programmer and inserted into the project you are developing. 

11. To select another .hex file: File, Load, highlight the file, click on Open, double-click on Fuse edit, remove X from Watchdog Timer On, click ok, click on "F5 Program", and the chip will be programmed. 

The Multi-Chip Programmer is capable of burning a number of different types of chips. These come in 8-pin and 18-pin. The 18-pin chips fit into the socket as shown in diagram 1 above, while the 8-pin chips fit into the socket according to the type of chip. For PIC12c5XX chips, pin 1 aligns with pin 1 of the socket. For PIC24cXX chips, pin 1 of the chip aligns with pin 5 of the socket as shown in the third diagram. You will notice the chip is NOT at the end of the socket and you have to be careful when inserting it. 
The following has been provided by a constructor: Jason Williams.
He has built the Multi Chip Programmer and 5x7 Display and has sent the following:

You will need the following files:  directio.zip (35KB)   loaddrv.zip (28KB)

I have solved the burning bugs (with the Multi-Chip Programmer AND the 5x7 Display) and it appears the problems were to do with running Windows XP and using the "Windows API" option in IC-Prog instead of "Direct IO".
By running a cool utility called "totalio.sys," (in directio.zip) all applications get full control of the I/O ports and thus IC-Prog works perfectly under Windows XP and Windows 2000, since the IC-Prog driver that is available doesn't work for XP (at least it doesn't work for me).

How To Use IC-Prog with Widows XP/NT/2000:
You can download a driver for IC-Prog from their website - it is called "icprog.sys" but it is really just a renamed driver originally called "giveio.sys". This utility was written by Dale Roberts as one of a set of utilities to give applications under NT more control over the I/O ports. Clicking on the "Enable NT/2000/XP Driver" check box in the settings will try to install this "icprog.sys". Under XP (on my box anyway), it installs but can't be started. There is probably some black magic regarding security permissions when creating symbolic links.
The purpose of this driver is to give an application access to the I/O port but only through the driver. This is because XP, like 2000 and NT, doesn't let you have full access to I/O ports like in 95/98/MS-DOS.
However, there is another way. By using another utility written by Dale Roberts, called "totalio.sys", ALL applications can have full control over the I/O ports, and not through a driver's interface. This means you can let IC-Prog use "Direct I/O" instead of "Windows API (in the "Interface" group of hardware settings) and ignore the "Enable NT/2000/XP Driver" option completely. "totalio.sys" (in theory) should also let any programs which control ports directly to work under XP.

Installing "totalio.sys":
Extract "totalio.sys" from the "directio.zip" file to "C:\Windows\system32\drivers" directory (or equivalent).

Extract "loaddrv.exe" from the "loaddrv.zip" file and run it.
In the edit box, type in the full path to "totalio.sys" eg. "C:\windows\system32\drivers\totalio.sys"
Click "Install".
Click "Start".
Click "OK".

The driver should now be running. You can check this by running "Start->Programs->
Accessories->System Tools->System Information", then clicking on the tree item "System Information->Software Environment->Drivers" and looking for "totalio" in the view on the right.
To start or stop the driver after it has been installed, you could use the "loaddrv.exe" program, or use the following commands in a command prompt:
"net start totalio" to start the driver.
"net stop totalio" to stop the driver.

You could put this in a batch file in the IC-Prog directory, eg.
 @echo off
net start totalio
icprog
net stop totalio

You can configure the driver to run automatically on startup, but I wouldn't recommend it. You can do this via Device Manager, select "View->Show hidden devices" and look under "Non-Plug and Play Drivers" to find "totalio", look at its properties, and change the startup type from "Demand" to "Automatic" (NOT "Boot" or "System") in the "Driver" tab.
The batch file concept is safest, as you only run the driver when you need to and unload it when you don't need it.

How to configure IC-Prog:
Goto: Settings->Options->Misc. Tab
Uncheck "Enable NT/2000/XP Driver"
Uncheck "Enable Vcc control for JDM" (the help file says it is experimental and not to use it).
Select "Realtime" in the "Process Priority" group. (in theory, this will prevent other CPU-intensive applications from interrupting your burn process).

Goto: Settings->Hardware
Select "JDM Programmer" from "Programmer" dropdown list.
Select "Direct I/O" from "Interface" group.
Uncheck all the check boxes under "Communication".
Select correct COM port.
Move the "I/O Delay" slider to 10. (other values gave errors for me, but this value could be specific to the PC's CPU speed - tweak until you get no read/write errors).

Why "Windows API" doesn't work:
My hypothesis is that using the Windows API introduces slight delays in setting the serial control lines, such that occasionally the data pulses aren't co-ordinated with the clock pulses during a burn. Whole 14-bit words don't get written, depending on the circuit the word will be all 0 bits or all 1 bits depending on the state of the chip's data line.   In my experience using the Multi-chip programmer, it meant 5% of the words were burned 3FFF, but not consistently, ie. the errors moved around each burn. Read errors were rare (multiple reads returning different data) but they also experienced the occasional incorrect word of 3FFF or just a few bits gone to 1.  

These problems all magically disappear once you use "Direct I/O".

 

UPDATE!!! : Settings for how to use IC-Prog with Windows XP.
Thanks to [Murph] for the explanation:

Open a browser and select the file ic-prog.exe 
Press right button on your mouse 
Go to Properties 
Go to Compatibility menu 
Set compatibility mode as Windows 2000 or Windows 98 / Win ME 
Press Apply icon 
Press Accept icon 
You need to copy icprog.sys into the SAME directory as icprog.exe.
Then you can enter in the ic-prog software, go to Settings, Options
and choose the Misc. page. There you can enable the "NT/2000 Driver"
it will then be installed. 

Settings to use IC-Prog with Windows XP:

  1. Open a browser and select the file ic-prog.exe
  2. Press right button on your mouse
  3. Go to Propertties
  4. Go to Compatibility menu
  5. Set compatibilty mode as Windows 2000 or Windows 98 / Win ME
  6. Press Apply icon
  7. Press Accept icon

You need to copy icprog.sys into the SAME directory as icprog.exe. Then you can enter in the ic-prog software, go to Settings, Options and choose the Misc. page. There you can enable the "NT/2000 Driver" it will then be installed.

Latest PC board   v628
 The latest version of the Multi Chip Programmer (v628) will now program a PIC16F628 via "normal" mode (12-14v on pin 4).

Mod:
 To convert previous versions of Multi-Chip Programmer PCB's:
 Cut the track connecting pin 10 to 5v rail.
Fit a 10k resistor between pin 10 and 0v rail. (see the layout below)
When a chip is to be programmed for the first time, either the low voltage or high voltage method can be used.
When a PIC16F628 is programmed in the "high voltage" mode, the chip can be re-programmed in the high-voltage mode or you can set the LVP bit to "0" so that the chip can be re-programmed "in-circuit" via the LVP mode. The Low Voltage Programming-mode allows the chip to be re-programmed by applying 5v on pin 10 (instead of 12-14v on pin 4).
The Multi Chip Programmer "burns" a PIC16F628 in the "high voltage" ONLY. You can re-burn the chip "in-circuit" or in the Multi Chip Programmer, depending on the setting of LVP. The chip comes with LVP set to "1." See below for details on this. When burning a chip for the first time, an instruction in your program sets LVP to "0" or "1." If it is set to "1" you can use either re-programming method, but you lose RB4 as an in-out pin.

PROGRAMMING THE PIC16F628
This chip has two programming modes:
Normal Mode: 12-14v on Pin 4
Low Voltage Mode: (LVP) 5v on pin 10.
The PIC16F628 has a Low Voltage Programming-mode (LVP) for in-circuit programming.  In this mode, the chip can be programmed with 5v on the programming pin (pin 10) instead of 12-14v on Pin 4.
Before deciding on the way you will program the chip, you need to know some of the differences and limitations.
The PIC16F628 chip is supplied with the LVP bit as "1."
When the LVP bit is "1," RB4/PGM (pin 10) is dedicated to the programming function and is not available as in-out pin RB4.
The chip will enter programming mode when a HIGH (5v) is placed on RB4/PGM (pin 10).
This makes the chip "in-circuit" programmable and re-programmable "in-circuit."
If you don't want the "in-circuit programmable" feature, LVP bit must be "0." To make LVP bit "0," the chip must be programmed via "Normal Mode," using 12-14v on Pin 4. The LVP bit cannot be changed when programming "in-circuit."
When programming  via "Normal Mode," an instruction is available to change the value of LVP. This instruction is covered in our PIC Programming course, Page 33.

A Recap:
If you program via the "Normal Mode" (12 - 14v to "activate" the chip - to put it into "program mode"), you can use all the features of the chip. (Remember RA5 is input-only, so "Port A" is not a "complete port.")
If you program via "Low Voltage Mode," output line RB4 (pin 10) is not available as you are reserving the pin for re-programming via LVP.
This is very inconvenient as "Port B" is normally used as a complete 8-line output to drive displays etc. To have one line missing from the port is like buying a book with 15 pages missing! Port A is already an incomplete Port, with RA5 as input-only. It would have been much more convenient to put LVP pin on port A and leave Port B complete! Such are the limitations of life!
If you program a chip for the first time: "normally," you can re-program it "in-circuit" (via the 5v feature) or re-program it via the "normal" method.
If you program a chip for the first time: "in circuit," you can regain the RB4 as an in-out line by re-programming it "normally." You cannot regain RB4 as an in-out line by re-programming it "in-circuit."
I hope this covers all the possibilities.

This completes the Multi-Chip Programmer project, but it's just the beginning of PIC Programming. 
 

PROGRAMMING THE PIC16F628A
The PIC16F628A has some different features to the PIC16F628 and cannot be programmed on the old version of IC PROG (version v105c). The new version is called (v105c-a) IC PROG.
A .pdf file outlining the differences can be found HERE.

More help:
I am trying to get my JDM programmer to work using icprog 1.03b under windows 2000 but it won't start comes up with errors missing driver etc. icfprog driver is not installed .

:
Get the icprog driver...
Get the latest version of ICPROG.
I now get a message "Privileged instruction " when I try to use. It happens on all versions
Change ic-prog's compatibility to Win98. Right click on the icprog.exe and click on Compatibility Tab.
 
Make sure you tick the *enable NT/2000/XP driver* under the options>Misc tab. Make sure you have the 6kb driver file in the same folder as the icprog.exe
 

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