BetaPicDevelopmentBoard

intro

since i like to do everything in the cheap to free range i decided to develop my out PIC experiment board. I don't really need a lot of the features on professional kits and they always come with a Windows toolchain which i can't use. my programmer supports ICSP so i'll integrate that into the board but for now i just manually program the PIC and put it back in the dev kit. To help protect the PIC i've plugged it into a LIF socket to save the pins from damage in plugging and unplugging. features

This a rev C or so of the board as i've made some minor improvements as my projects needs change. the current features of the development board are:

• Port B inline socket allows access to B0-B7
• Port B 2 x 4 pin headers to access pins B0-B7
• 2 pin socket for either XTAL crystal or access to 2 Port A pins (haven't used Port A yet)
• 2 pin GND header to create a common ground with external circuitry
• Filtered 2 pin power header (not regulated)

hardware

The development kit is being used with P16F628A and P16F84A but could easily handle any pic with a similar pinout. The images shown are out of date and a 2 pin socket has been added to allow for an optional crystal. The 628a has an internal oscillator so those 2 pins can be reclaimed as IO.

The next big improvement is to add a Port A header.

Spagetti wiring on the bottom rounds out the DIY feel of this board. future improvements

• Access to all Port A pins
• optional tie MCLR to Vcc thru resistor or use as IO pin (628a not 84a)
• regulated power supply thru AC adapter and LM7805
• PCB layout - probably not since it cost money to have the boards made

-- ChristopherPepe - 17 Mar 2006