Smart String Controller questions

[gmbartlett]

I want to first thank Bill and any others that are running this coop.  I've done some small coops but nothing this large.  I recognize all of the hard work this will be.

I'm new to the coops on this site so I've got a couple of questions:
1)  Do the PICs come preprogrammed?  If not, can someone recommend a decent but inexpensive PIC programmer?  (I know these criteria are usually mutually exclusive.)
2)  Is anyone else having difficulty downloading the manuals from the wiki for these boards?  Whenever I try to open them I get this message:  "The action you have requested is limited to users in the group Sysops."

Thank you,
Greg

[RJ]

Topic Moved out of the coop thread.
RJ

[tbone321]

To answer your questions:

1.  The Pics for some of the units come pre-programmed but due to the high volume of orders on the SSC, I doubt that these will.  The Pickit 2 or Pickit-3 will program these as well as all of the other pics curretly being used for the Lynks equipment.

2.  The smartstring equipment is a new design and the manuals are probably still being edited an have not been released yet.  By the time the coop ships I'm sure that the manuals will be released.

[chrisatpsu]

I agree with tbone, the pickit 3 would be my choice for someone starting, as the pickit 3 can target more chips than the pickit 2, and therefore is more future-ready.
I would also advise to get the breakout boards that J1sys sells on ebay. they come in really handy, especially for the dongle where you cant program the chip while still in the equipment.

in my opinion, try to avoid the clones as there are so many, and it's hard to keep up with if it supports a particular chip or not. Plus the real pickit 3, is only a few dollars more.

[gmbartlett]

Thanks for the advice.  I will be looking into getting a PicKit 3.  I can see from the picture of the Hub on the wiki that it has an ICSP port.  Do you know if the SSC will have one also?  If not what size PIC does it use?

[chrisatpsu]

Much of the smart string info hasnt been released yet except fot the picture of the SS Hub. I guess we'll see when the hardware comes in, or when the wiki is updated

[rrowan]

Sorry for being late to the party

The pics in the SSC coop will not come pre-programmed in large part to the large size of the coop (the fourth line in the first post of the SS coop, states that). DLA staff recommends everyone to get a pickit (we do offer to program members dongle pics as they get started and unsure if they won't to spend on the money on a pickit programmer). This will allow you to program the pic (very easy process) and do any updates. We except multi updates to the SS hardware as RJ adds new functions to the SS system over time.

I believe all hardware from the LE and newer includes the ICSP port so I assume the SSC will also have it.

Cheers

Rick R.