[Yaaarc] PIC Programmer

[Robert]

I'm interested doing some development on the 8 Bit PIC processors and am
looking for a no fuss USB programmer that supports a wide range of
processors, yet I need an inexpensive solution (< $100).  I'm on the windows
platform.  I'd like to support the PIC10 family as well as the PIC18,
additional families are a plus.  I don't need to support everything, just a
decent range for robotics projects.

 

Internet searches turned up many individuals recommending the MPLAB ICD 2,
but this a bit more than I'd like to spend.  I like the IDE supplied by
Microchip's MPLAB, as well as the free C compilers supplied.  The Microchip
PICkit 2 Starter Kit seems ideal, put is apparently limited to a handful of
processors, and I'd like to be able to support in circuit debugging. The
Microchip PICkit Debug Express supports debugging, but it requires costly
"headers" to support additional processors.  

 

Also, there are some reasonably priced MPLAB ICD 2 clones on ebay, but the
information on these is limited, and I'm not sure if these are supported,
reasonable quality products. 

 

I wondered if any of the YAARC members would be willing to share their
experiences or have suggestions concerning PIC Programmers.

 

Thanks in advance for your help,

 

Robert Langenderfer

 

 <http://www.digitalperspective.com>