Hey all,

I had purchase, a while back, a PICKit 2 starter kit. (http://www.microchipdirect.com/productsearch.aspx?Keywords=DV164120)

I haven't looked at it for a while because I got frustrated and busy but I was getting back in to this stuff and was wondering if anyone had any information on these types or if I should pick up a different programmer at this point.

Also, is the USBTiny programmer kit any good for just basic experimenting? (http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16&products_id=46)

I'm basically looking to start of with fun little LED blinking type experiments and stuff. Do you guys have any suggestions on a good programmer to start with for that kind of stuff?

Thanks,
Alex

Another one to look at:

http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17&products_id=193

Is that one a good starter pack? I'm looking for something that I can basically just start off with and not have to solder and not have to jumper (the pickit 2 made me jumper all of the circuits) or is that just how it's going to work out? I"m ok with using a prototyping board and everything that's fine.

-Alex

We highly recommend (and even sell at our store) the USBtinyISP programmer; it's what we use for programming the chips in all of our kits, even. Of course, that's for AVR microcontrollers, and won't work for Pic.

The Arduino starter pack is also good, but it has a very different focus-- for higher-level development on the Arduino platform, whereas the AVR programmer can work with almost "bare" AVR chips.

Thanks for the reply. I am considering the USBTiny programmer simply because it's supported somewhere. I got my PICKit 2 out last night and was playing with it but the problem is I am finding VERY little support. I can't find anything that really helps. It comes with 12 "lessons" which appear to be just source code and they don't seem to have a forum or anything. I'm going to continue with the PICKit and see if I can figure it out on my own. If I can't, I'm going to move to purchase a USBTinyISP.

Any idea where one might find more information about the PICKit 2?

Also, are there any major differences between PIC and AVR?

-Alex

We've written about some of this here:
http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/mcus

You should definitely check out the PIC vs. AVR smackdown at ladyada.net:
http://www.ladyada.net/library/picvsavr.html

For more PIC info and support, check out the PIClist:
http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist/index.htm

Programming AVRs with the PICKit2
http://pickit2.isgreat.org

I'm puzzled by the USBTinyISP kit that I posted previously. It says it comes with a PCB and I see the PCB but I can't tell, is it just an empty PCB or does it also include the parts labelled on the board?

And, am I reading this correctly or do you have to assemble the programmer yourself??!? My picKit 2 came with the programmer piece already put together. I'm puzzled haha.

Yes, the USBTinyISP kit is a *soldering kit*. It's not the only option, just my favorite.

Just like you can buy a fully assembled PICkit 2 from microchip, you can buy a AVRISPII from Atmel, fully assembled for a similar price.