Stu's blog...

Forging a new link

2007-01-18T02:30:00.000Z

DonkeyProg is dead - long live DonkeyProg! DP should be appearing on SourceForge in the next few days.Feel free to join the fun (Yeah...). I will be closing the web site soon - I have other uses for it! I'll post more when (if) the project is approved.

Stu.

DonkeyProg - The last word?

2006-12-22T12:45:00.000Z

It's been another lengthy period without a post here - work commitments and other projects have meant that I've had precisely zero time to do anything on this project, including the MicroPro replacement which is currently on a "Back burner" waiting for the new JR/DIY firmware to become widely available.

There is an issue that I need to clarify here with regard to licensing and IP. To put it bluntly, the "official" DIY software/firmware is proprietary and licensed for use with the "official" DIY hardware *ONLY*. If you use it with anybody else's hardware then you are stealing, pure and simple. The issue is a bit cloudier with DP which is released under an open source licence. However, make no bones about it, DP is strictly my own intellectual property and I remain the copyright holder - in other words, it is illegal for anybody other than myself to claim any rights over this software. If you have added functionality of course, you may claim IP rights/copyright to the added functionality - but the GPL requires that you also release the modified source code back into the community, that's the way it works folks.
Technically, it is legitimate to use DP with non-DIY programmer hardware. However, I state on my website and will repeat here - I will *NOT* support DP in any way unless it is being used with *GENUINE* DIY hardware. In other words, if you buy a cheap knock-off on eBay - you are on your own.

Buyer Beware!

Playing the waiting game

2006-08-24T23:35:00.000+01:00

Hi, It's been a long time since I updated this blog, and with some good reason - There simply is nothing to report.

Jim is working on the DIY firmware for the existing 628 processors, and I have nothing to add to his efforts. Jim understands the existing P18/MicroPro relationship much better than I do, so I thought it'd be best to let him get on with it without interference from the likes of me - for the record, I think it should go in a different direction, and so does Jim by his own account.

The end result? DonkeyProg is "frozen" as-is. There will be no further updates of any kind unless Jim fails in his quest. And I don't think he will, he knows the firmware inside out.
The only real issue in my mind is the Windows software. MicroPro is getting old, and by all accounts that I've heard cannot even be compiled from its (Delphi 6) sources. I have an alternative, provisionally known as DPXE, which may fit the bill when it's been reworked a little to support P18. This is something I'll be doing shortly - the main part of DPXE already supports PIC10/12/14/16 processors in addition to the PIC18 devices it was originally intended to work with. PIC24/30/33 support can easily be added if required.

I'm waiting for Jim to get the firmware sorted out first, obviously. Then we can go to work on the software - Jim preferred DPXE to the beta version of MP2, so it looks like that approach is dead, and K185 is just not going to happen anytime soon. In some respects, DPXE is better than MP2 - It was written afterwards, and builds on my experience with MP2 but with fewer features.

Anyway, enough of the rambling - Let's see what pans out. I'll be getting DPXE to work with P18 in the next couple of weeks.

Limbo.

2006-07-01T00:42:00.000+01:00

Hello again. I'm afraid I don't know what's going on in DIY-Land, all I know is what's available on the DIY forum. I must reiterate that I *never* had any official connection to DIY, and any unofficial connection was strictly through Bob Axtell, who has now retired from the role. He has stated that he will be taking no further part in the development of MP2 or P19, so I feel that morally( especially as I was not contacted by Frank in relation to this project, except for once which I will not go into) I am no longer obligated to DIY.
Unless there are objections, I will make the source code to MP2 Version 0.04a available on my web site as from 3rd July 2006. It will be Google searchable seven days later.

Yes, I'm pissed off. Not at Jim - this guy is brilliant. No, I'm pissed at DIY - the lack of communication is stunning.

Hello Again!

2006-06-25T02:13:00.000+01:00

This is a short one - It looks like Jim Robertson (Of WARP-13 fame) is back in the DIY user camp. There are some interesting possibilities for the future of DPXE if Jim wants to get involved - stay tuned.

Edit - I've added Jim's website address (Newfound) to the side bar for those interested in following up...

Damn. I edited it, but it won't stick. To visit Jim's site, go to http://www.newfoundelectronics.com .I'll fix it as soon as I get round the Blogger interface.

I'm still in the game!

2006-04-26T00:50:00.000+01:00

Greetings to all, and thanks for your patience on DPXE!

I've had an extremely busy couple of months, but it looks like things might be starting to ease up a little soon. So hopefully I can get back to finishing off the DPXE application.
I will shortly be taking the DonkeyProg/MP2 site down. Don't worry - it's only to replace it with a new, improved version. Initially, all references to MP2 will be removed but they will be fed back in as and when appropriate. Just a warning that it's all going to change!

Update on DPXE

2006-03-07T01:27:00.000Z

It's now the second week of March. Oh dear. I did promise DPXE would be released in the first week, didn't I?

Unfortunately, work commitments have a way of sneaking up and eating all my time while I'm not looking. It happened again - major panic and scurry, with more than a few 14 hour days involved. It's not going to get much better for about a month now as we've a major exhibition coming up, with all the preparation that that involves. However, I'll do my best to sneak a few hours of time in order to complete DPXE - it really IS that close to finished.

Once again, please bear with me.

Just some personal musings:

2006-03-04T02:37:00.000Z

This blog entry is completely unconnected with DIY/KitsRus! So don't hassle me about programmers in the comments!
Actually, this is the first "personal" sort of blog I've done, so bear with me.

Through various shenanigans, I've acquired for myself (finally!) an iPod Nano. To those lucky (or rich) folks who already own one, it needs no introduction. For those who are strictly PIC people, it's a fancy MP3 player!

I've had it about 8 hours, and already I've fallen in love with the thing. It just sounds gorgeous. I had a 128MB ProSound MP3 player (which was supplied by Maplin in the UK- and appropriated by the other half) but, being something of an audiophile, I always hated the rotten sound quality of the thing - the earbuds were so, so crap I bought another set just to get listenable sound. SWMBO has cloth ears, so palming my old prosound onto her was no problem - I've just got to justify getting the iPod somehow...

The iPod? From the first bar of music, it just sounded right. The supplied earbuds are even better than those supplied by Sony Ericcson on my K700i phone - which I thought were pretty damn good! In fact, the iPod's earbuds are better than the relatively expensive Sony headphones that I use with my PC! That's saying something. All right, they're not as good as my old Grado SR60s that I use with my "real" Hi-Fi... but that's true audiophilia!

I Like this iPod. Make no mistake. So it scratches - so what? It's the best thing you'll get to Hi-Fi on the move. I don't give a toss about photos or videos, but I love the sound of this device. It's nice, warm, precise. Just make sure you get your music from AllofMP3 rather than iTunes...

EOTL

2006-02-28T02:24:00.000Z

This is a major edit to the original blog post. Me and my temper!

I have now had a communication from Frank, and things are looking more positive on that front. However, MP2 is still on indefinite hold waiting for firmware.

I will still remove the MP2 pages on March 7th, as originally stated. Everyone who wants a copy has probably got one by now anyway, so the page serves no useful purpose at the moment. With DPXE almost done for K149/150 units, I will be making some fairly major changes to the web site in any case.

So, sometime on 07 Mar 2006 everything MP2 related is going to (temporarily, I hope) disappear. Hasta la vista, baby.

The foul-up fairy paid a visit...

2006-02-23T01:19:00.000Z

It looks like my web site is currently down. I don't know why this is - I just hope the ISP fixes it ASAP.
Of course, they might not fix it anytime soon - they want their users to "migrate" to Yahoo GeoCities, complete with banner ads and popups galore. Stuff that. Only reason I still have the ISP-hosted space is because I've been with them since '97, long before the disastrous (for the customer,that is) tie-up with Yahoo. They don't give web space to new customers...

If they don't fix it soon, I'll have to investigate alternative hosting. Even my picture has vanished from this blog at the time of writing!

Update: It looks like it's OK now, but I'll keep watching it just in case!

News on DonkeyProg:

2006-02-18T01:32:00.000Z

No Progress on MP-II.

However, if you'd like to visit my web site, you'll see a whole lot more on DPXE - DonkeyProg eXtended Edition. Comments always welcome!

Addition: A preliminary specification for the chipinfo file used with DPXE is now available from the site. It's basically a simplified version of the P19 chipinfo file.

Attention all users of DonkeyProg!!!

2006-02-09T00:15:00.000Z

A short one: Bob Axtell has posted the result of his investigation into unreliable programming of the nanoWatt type PICs on the DIY message board. I recommend you read this and act on the advice given - the devices supported by DonkeyProg are ALL nanoWatt type, and if you've been having problems this may be the root cause. Direct links to the relevant posts can be found on my web site.

The Donkey is not dead.

2006-02-05T22:34:00.000Z

With MP2 now stalled waiting for firmware, I've turned my attention back to DonkeyProg. Interestingly, the site for this little application had over 300 hits last week - and that's not a terribly unusual number!
As far as I'm aware, DonkeyProg is the only freely available alternative to the "official" Protocol 18 - and the only freely available application software that supports devices NOT covered by said P18. Certainly there are other alternatives to MicroPro, but they don't really "add value" the way DP does (if you discount cross-platform operation that is - worthy enough, but I don't personally give a stuff about MacOSX or Linux).

So we've got something here. Sure, it's flaky. That just means that it can stand some improvement! The original DonkeyProg was written with VC6/MFC4.2 (I think... MS still haven't got VC/MFC numbers to match up!) and considering the original intention, this was absolutely the right decision. I wrote DP in a single week. I say that not to boast (I'm NOT the programmers answer to Michael Schumacher!), but to try to emphasize just what a godawful hack it actually is. I wrote it to satisfy an urgent business need for a field programmer to handle 18F2520/18F4520 devices with K149B/C hardware - something it did very well. So I released it as-is, figuring that other folks might as well get some use out of it too.

And that's how it stands, aside from some minor modifications made at the beginning - Thanks to Bruce, Pete and others for providing suggestions and even nailing down some of the problems themselves.

Now we stand at a crossroads. On the left, we have MP2/P19. On the right, we have paid-for third party solutions. Straight across, we have... DonkeyProg 2.0???

Now let's get one thing cleared up right away. I'm not a wealthy man despite my other activities and probably never will be, and obviously I'd like to make some money out of this - just a little. But... I won't ever charge for software or firmware to this particular market (after all, I'd be the one of the first to kick up a stink about that particular sharp practice), I think it's just morally wrong. I'd like a sense of what the readership think in that respect. Consider: DIY's programmers are a little behind the times, particularly when the recent programming specifications from Microchip call for very different Vpp levels between different chip families - how is a K149 to cope with that? The main question is, would there be any mileage in redesigning the programmer? How many of you would like a "production" grade programmer with variable Vdd, variable Vpp, capability for ICSP using normal Vpp or LVP and so on, for a price of around 60UKP/85EUR/100USD or possibly slightly less? Let me know please, as it CAN be done, even without resorting to Chinese manufacture. This sort of thing is my speciality.

DonkeyProg 2.0 would (will?) of course be compatible with any of my new programmers, as well as being backward compatible with DIY units. The DIY units may require an add-on module (~15UKP/20EUR/25USD) for the new firmware. I don't think firmware of the complexity of P19 is going to fit a 16F628A, or even a 648A. My add on board will most likely use an 18F2520.

EDIT: Sorry about the rather tatty ending: My excuse is that I was in considerable pain from a back condition - high powered painkillers have their own peculiar effects! A day in bed has worked wonders...
Whatever happens, I will see MP2 through. At the moment DP2.0 is just an idea that I'm kicking about as a possible way of improving things. DP will remain free of charge, again I'm just testing the waters to see if there is a market for an improved programmer unit which might make the development worth my while.

In case you're wondering

2006-01-28T01:12:00.000Z

It's been a fairly long time since 0.03a was released, at least by my standards, and some of you are probably wondering if I'm asleep on the job (or worse!).

Well, it's the nature of the beast - some things are easier to do (and fix) than others, and I'd more or less run out of easy options and had to actually do some work for a change. I think the results are worth it though - ALL of the posted bugs are now fixed, and there are some new features too (well, I've got to have some new bugs to fix, haven't I? ) as well as a small change to the UI to make it physically slightly smaller, and able to fit an 800x600 screen.

After this, it all depends on Bob finishing the migration of Protocol 19 before I can do a lot more. I expect version 0.04a to be the final UI-only release, then we can get down to what it's really all about: Ahhh, the smell of burning electronics - nothing else like it!

0.04a should be available sometime this weekend, barring unforseen disasters of course.

The Road to hell...

2006-01-22T19:20:00.000Z

Is paved with good intentions.

But I'm not going there, at least not yet...

To anyone who may be worried that I'm about to "drop the ball" based on an off-topic argument that got a bit out of hand, the message is that I'm made of sterner stuff and fully intend to continue. Any rumours to the contrary can be knocked on the head here and now.

I've been off the 'net since yesterday, due to a nasty little gremlin which infiltrated my house electrical system and proved to be a real sod to find. As long as the total power drain was less than about 300W everything worked fine, but turn on something heavier and "Clunk" went the main breaker. We're wired for nearly 20kW, for goodness' sake! To cut a long story short, after an afternoon spent up a ladder in the supply cupboard with screwdriver, pliers and multimeter I finally tracked it down to an earth-neutral fault in the lighting circuit which was causing the RCD in the main breaker to trip. As I say, a swine to find as all the individual circuit breakers only affect the live supply, not the neutral, therefore everything interacts until you physically remove the wires!

Anyway, normal service has now been resumed. MP2 V0.04a is coming soon.

Very briefly -

2006-01-21T00:16:00.000Z

I have posted a couple of screenshots of MP2 Version 0.03a to the preview page on my web site.
Oh - a note to visitors, the MP2 executable is NOT available on my web site, so don't go there in the hope of being able to download it! If you're willing to help evaluate( i.e. write bug reports on!!!) the software and/or assist with the creation of CHIPINFO.DIY scripts, then please join us at the (members only) Yahoo! group, DIY_Programmer_Scripts, where you will find a link to the download and bug report page. Prospective members are "vetted" by Bob Axtell, the author of Protocol 19, so you'll have to convince him to let you in. I cannot, and will not, distribute preproduction versions of MP2 any other way.

Slowdown

2006-01-20T00:22:00.000Z

I have to go and develop a new commercial product. I'll be burning the midnight oil on this one for a few days (it's worth serious money and will help keep me fed and clothed ;-) ) so MP2 is going to be sidelined for a short time.

Fixes for 0.04a include a rewrite of the HEX file saving routines - they now seem to be pretty robust, and a fix of the data display problem with 18F devices. As for new features, I plan to bring the internet update capability at least partially online in this version - and yes, you can turn it off completely if you want.

So my apologies if I'm a bit slow answering emails - I'll get round to it eventually, I assure you! The arrival of 0.04 on the download page will indicate that I'm back on the job.

A Quick update

2006-01-18T18:45:00.000Z

Time for an update. The big bugs have been squished and it's full speed ahead. I don't really have much to say at the moment, except that the screenshots on my web site are now hopelessly out of date and once again only bear a passing resemblance to the real thing. If I've sorted out picture posting, here is what MP2 currently looks like in its "MicroPro compatibility mode":

EDIT: OK, it's not going to work, although I'm not doing anything obviously wrong. Too bad, really. I might update the web page if I can find time later.

Bug. Ger.

2006-01-14T17:41:00.000Z

MP2 has now been released to a restricted group for limited testing - I say limited, because without the programmer firmware it still won't burn anything!

Of course, it has its bugs. Most of the known ones are fairly minor - but there is one exception, a real centipede. This involves the way in which the application currently handles the CHIPINFO file.
I won't go into detail, but if you've got an early test version of MP2 you'll know what I'm referring to. It needs to be fixed as soon as possible because it affects the operation of the programmer at its most fundamental level, and the fix is not going to be trivial.

In short, all other MP2 development is going to stop while this is fixed. It'll probably take 2-3 days to correct this one issue - the "anointed" will know when that's been done when version 0.03a is posted.

Winds of change

2006-01-11T23:41:00.000Z

The last couple of days, I have been furiously modifying the user interface of MP2.
Why? I hear you ask...

A couple of reasons, really. The first revolves around some of the users who are going to be driving this app - I don't want to start confusing everybody by imposing a new working methodology which suits me, but not necessarily everyone else.

Also, there are probably a large number of current MicroPro users who are quite happy with it as it is, and don't want or need additional features like project support and multiple documents - they just want to burn PICs.

So now, when MP2 is started, it will look and behave like a more friendly (I hope) MicroPro. The new features haven't gone away though - they're just hidden, awaiting a few mouse clicks to unleash full functionality. It's now a customisable application with not one, not two, but THREE operating modes.
To explain, these modes are:

1) MicroPro compatibility mode (default "out of the box" setting). Needs no explanation really, it's exactly what it says on the tin.
2) MP2 native mode with standard document windows. This looks similar to the screenshots on my web site, and all higher functionality is enabled. Windows can be maximized, minimized and resized - the data memory display grows and shrinks accordingly.
3) MP2 native mode with tabbed windows. Similar to 2), but with "folder tab" switching between documents and the restriction that documents cannot be minimized or normalized.

So that's what I've been up to. Next on the hit list for this week: cleaning up the hex file and chipinfo parsers, then on to the real meat: Communications with a K149 running protocol 19 (Bob?)...

It's been over a year now since P18, and the end is now in sight. Bear with me, it won't be too much longer!

CHIPINFO update

2006-01-08T16:25:00.000Z

Time for an update: Activity over the last couple of days has made it look like I kicked over an anthill!

I'm now waiting for Bob to let me into the Yahoo group which was created last year for the purpose of developing CHIPINFO scripts, so I still don't know what's going on in there as I write this - all I can tell is that there has been a small flurry of activity over the last day or so.
A contributor to the DIY message board left a link to some P19 scripts on the web, which I have downloaded and tried. After some initial problems where MP2 choked on the new script, I got it to read properly. Unfortunately these scripts are, at best, incomplete - missing Device IDs for starters, and some of the script tokens are not quite compliant with the spec. either (the reason MP2 choked on it).

So that needs to be tidied up, but I'll wait until I gain access to the Yahoo group and see what's already been done before I make any further comment.

Finally, I've changed the appearance of the MP2 child windows slightly, so the screenshots are out of date. It's fairly minor so I won't post new ones at this point.

CHIPINFO ?

2006-01-05T17:23:00.000Z

A couple of weeks ago I made a post on the DIY forum asking whether anyone had any completed CHIPINFO.DIY (CHIPINFO.DAT, as it was previously known) script entries ready to go. So far, the response has been a deafening silence...
The new style scripts are NOT the same as the old CHIPINFO.CID used with the DIY programmers up to and including Protocol 18 - they are considerably more complex. I am unwilling to write new ones myself - Hey, I'm spending a lot of my spare time writing the new MP2 and I shouldn't be expected to write the scripts too!!!

So I'm making another appeal here:
Anyone interested in creating P19 style scripts please get in touch with Bob (bob ~At~ kitsrus dot com) ASAP - I don't have permission to distribute the necessary documents, but Bob has them. As an incentive, although the documents state that the "Credits" entry in the script (identifying the author of the script for a particular chip) is unused by MP2, this is not strictly accurate. When a user selects a chip whose script was written by you, your name (or whatever you filled in, nothing rude please) will appear in the status bar of MP2's main window. So you'll get your moment of glory...

So please help out - the scripts are not going to write themselves!

A list of devices that I would really like scripts for:
12F675,16F628,16F688,16F819,16F777,16F876A,16F877A,18F252,18F452,18F2520
18F4520,18F4525,18F2550.

These are devices that I actually have available to test - scripts for other devices are welcome too!
I already have a few entries, supplied by Bob, which it is not necessary to duplicate. For reference, these chips are:
10F200,10F202,10F204,10F206,16F627A,16F628A,16F648A,16LF627A
16LF628A,16LF648A.

The saga of MP2

2006-01-03T15:31:00.000Z

I hope the new year finds everyone happy and well! I've decided to put news of progress with MP2 into the "blog" format, mainly because it's a lot easier to update than a web site but also because it enables comments to be added by you, the reader. So from now on, this is where it's happening.

To recap; The story so far:

The DIY Electronics/KitsRUs PIC programmers occupy the "value for money" (i.e. cheap) sector of the market for these devices. Mainly intended for the electronics hobbyist, their versatility and low price has also endeared them to many of us in the "professional" sector. They are available in kit form or ready built and connect to a PC using either traditional RS232 serial (K149) or USB (K149/150/128/182) interfaces. The externally powered variants (K149/150) can program either Flash or EEPROM devices, while the USB powered units (K128/182) can only handle Flash technology.

Overall, it's a good mix, with 4 different units to choose from. Highlights of each unit are:

K149 (versions A thru E) - RS232 and USB interfaces; 16-20V DC power supply required; Flash and EEPROM devices supported; If in doubt, this is the one to get as it does everything the others can do.

K150 - As K149 but without the RS232 interface.

K128 - A USB powered programmer; Flash devices only; no external power supply necessary

K182 - A cut down K128 without the programming socket; ICSP only; cheapest programmer for those on a really tight budget.

This description would not be complete without a mention of the upcoming K185. This is a completely different animal to the units mentioned above and is, in fact, a full-blown "production" programmer. Cost wise it's likely to be priced well out of the range of most hobbyists, but it might be worth a look if you're considering shelling out for a Pro-mate or something similar.

That's the good bit. Now there's some bad news.

The original developer of these kits decided to make himself scarce in late 2004. As far as I'm aware he can't even be reached by email. This threw the entire line of programmers into some confusion regarding support for new devices, which Microchip release with almost frightening speed. Indeed, the last "official" update for the line is dated 14th December 2004, and many devices which have become popular in the meantime are, of course, missing.

Bob Axtell took over the development in January 2005. He determined that in order to support current and future devices from Microchip, an entirely new approach to the controlling software and firmware needed to be taken. Thus was born the controversial "Protocol 19". This was originally slated for release in June/July 2005, but a number of events (including the death of Peter Crowcroft, the owner of the company) put this on hold. Every month, the release date was put back...

Eventually, in November 2005, another contributor to the DIY message board took matters into his own hands, and designed a simple programmer to handle some of the new PICs. He posted his work to the board along with some command-line software to drive it from a PC.
This got me thinking - could I perhaps update the firmware/software myself? The only constraints I imposed on myself were that 1) it had to run on existing hardware and 2)the software should be a Windows GUI resembling the existing MicroPro. A week later, I had "DonkeyProg" - a very basic MicroPro lookalike which would program 30 or so of the new style PICs. Unfortunately this software doesn't work properly for a small minority of people - I'm still not sure why. Anyway, it was only a temporary fix until the real thing appeared...

Which it didn't. By now, some of the contributors to the message board are starting to get quite ratty, their patience strained past breaking point by the delay. I (amongst others) wanted to get to the bottom of what was actually going on. The reality turned out to be something so simple I didn't know whether to laugh or cry...

Turns out that Bob was never hired to write Windows software in the first place, and has limited knowledge in this area anyway! His job was to get the firmware sorted out!
At this point I stepped in and offered to write the new Windows application, provisionally titled "MP2", with the condition that their previous insistence on having this application written using Borland Delphi was dropped. It was. The new application is written using Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 - I originally intended to use .NET but this would introduce too many problems for some users with older machines running Windows versions prior to 2000. VC6 apps should be OK right back to Win95.

So, where are we now?

As we begin 2006, MP2 is at a state where the user interface is almost as complete as it can be. This is a major milestone. I am now awaiting two things: The "final" build of Protocol 19 from Bob, and CHIPINFO.DIY script entries.
Once I have these, I can proceed to completion. I don't want to give a timeframe - much depends on what happens with other commitments I have, but it shouldn't take too much longer - weeks, not months.

New Blog

2006-01-03T00:07:00.000Z

Hello to anyone who is reading this. It's a work in progress itself at the moment and will get its first proper update once a) I'm sure it's working, and b) when I've had a good night's kip.