KIT 81.

16F84 PIC PROGRAMMER V3

The 16F84 micro-controller uC from Microchip technologies
(formerly the 16C84 which is now discontinued) has
become the point of entry into the field for many
beginners& hobbyists. This is because the cost of the
tools needed to support the device are very low and the
device itself is easier to use than other uC's on the market.
The main feature is that it does not require a UV light to
erase the program inside it. The stored program is
electrically erasable in seconds. It can be used over & over.
This development programmer - hardware & software - is
designed only for the 16F84. (It will also work with the
discontinued 16C84 but we will just refer to the 16F84 in
this text.) This eliminates many sources of confusion for
the first time user.
All the software & hardware to build & run your first 16F84
program as well as a PIC16F84 are contained in this kit. A
program and components to flash an LED comes with the
Kit.

Easy PIC'n, PICn Up The Pace, PICn Techniques and the

latest book Serial PICn. They published by Square One
Electronics.
See http://www.sq-1.com
See also:
Programming and Customizing the PIC Microcontroller
by Mike Predko. His website is

http://www.myke.com
Only after you have read some documentation and
references should you start construction.
FEATURES OF THE 16F84 & theKIT
device is EEPROM. You can use the 16F84 over & over
without the need to use a UV eraser

software is only for the PIC16F84 so no other

programming options to confuse you

Earlier versions of this kit were based on an article

published in Electronics Australia in 11/95 & 4/96. These
articles are reprinted here. The current version of the kit
(V3) supplied here has a simpler power supply section.
These articles should be read for background information.

software can verify, erase & read as well as load.

Program & EEPROM spaces can be treated separately

configuration fuses can be read, loaded & verified

separately

REFERENCES
Before you use the kit review the references below. The
Internet is now the place to get References, data sheets and
technical support.

programmer test option in software after assembly

introductory manual supplied on disk

powered by unregulated 17-30VDC, or 13-20VAC

test program lights provided to immediately test your

programmer. Components are supplied in this kit.

Microchip's web page is at

http://www.microchip.com
Download the 16F84 data sheet from here. Or you can
download it from the Microchip ftp site at

ftp://ftp.futureone.com/pub/microchip/download
30430c.pdf is the data sheet index number for the 16F84.
Some excellent web sites related to PIC's are:

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2499
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/WAY/58
97/ Microchip Net Resources
http://dontronics.com Many PIC links and up to date
PIC information here..

http://www.execpc.com/~rdmiller/gnupic
The following books are well worth getting since they start
at the very basics. There are four books in the series so far.

ASSEMBLY
First check the components supplied in the Kit against the
Component listing printed below. Identify all the
components. It is generally best to solder the lowest height
components first: the resistors, & IC sockets. NOTE: there
is one link to add to the board. Use a leg cut-off from a
resistor. One of the 0.1uF monobloc capacitors C2, fits
within an IC socket.
Check the orientation and name each IC before you put it
into its socket. Match the dimple on the overlay with the
dimple on the IC. Power the kit with 17-30VDC, or 1320VAC. A bridge rectifier is used so it does not matter
which way around the power is applied to the power jack.
Both SIL resistor networks have a dot to indicate the
common pin.
CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
This is described in the Electronics Australia article. But
note that a simpler power supply. For a more detailed
specification about the programming sequence see AN589
in the Microchip Embedded Controller Handbook.

KIT 81. 16F84 PIC PROGRAMMER V3

Schematic. The schematic for the programmer is given
below in Figures 1 & 2. The circuit is also described in
manual.doc on the floppy disk. It is in Word 6 format. You
should print this out in full.
SOFTWARE
Over the last three years both the hardware and the
software for this kit have evolved. PCs have also got very
fast and more complicated. We have now combined
software from two sources in this kit to give 100%
assembly and programming results.
To run all this software close Windows and restart in MSDOS mode.
The original software supplied with this kit has not been
given ongoing full support. So there are problems reported
with pf84 when used for programming. So this is what we
have done.
1. Use pf84 /T to test your programmer after assembly.
There must be no 16F84 in the socket. Cycle through the
sixteen tests by pressing the spacebar. If everything is OK
then 'Automatic input tested passed' will come up. If you
do not get this message something is wrong in the
assembly. Check the supply voltage. Check all
components. Is the 7407 IC around the correct way.
2. Use af84 /HEX <program names> to assemble your
code. Make sure to always use the /HEX option. Make sure
the include file, 16f84reg.inc. is in the same folder.

af84 /HEX lights.pic lights.hex

If you forget the options just enter af84 by itself and they
will appear. Note that the suffixes can be anything but use
the hex suffix for the output file so you know what it is. The
output whatever its name is a hex file which you can read
using any text editor or wordprocessing program.
Now to program the 16F84 enter
pf84 /e
to erase the PIC, then
pf84 /hex /e /p1 /la lights.hex
(You can see what all these options mean by entering pf84
alone.) If it programs, then good, you have done it. But
some PCs now are giving an Error at this stage. Not to
worry. Use P16Pro Light.
P16Pro Light. Extract p16prol1.zip in a folder. Then rename
two files to match the hardware of Kit 81 to Bojans
program.
Rename p16prol.ini to p16prol.old.
Rename kit81.ini to p16prol.ini
Run p16prol.exe
Do Alt-S Device and enter 1 for the 16F84. You can do the
same thing by hitting F3.
Hit F1 to enter the program. It must have a .hex suffix to be
automatically detected.

3. Use P16Pro Lights to program the 16F84.

P16Pro Light is a special freeware version of the P16Pro
software used in our Kits 96 and 119. It may also be
downloaded from

www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Peaks/9620
The author of the software, Bojan Dobaj, actively supports
his software. He is always available by email. The read.me
file on the floppy disk gives more description of the
software which comes with this Kit.

Do a Blank check by hitting F7. Do an F9, Erase, if the chip

is not blank.
Now just check the Fuse Settings by hitting F2. They
should read oscillator RC, Watchdog timer enabled (that is
how this program lights works), and the Code Protect
should be not enabled.
Now hit F4 to program. Programming should be successful.
(If it is not I want to know.) Remove the PIC and place it in
a breadboard setup according to Fig. 3. The LEDs should
count.

First Program. We have included a test program with this

kit so you can prove that you have got your programming
method correct. We have also supplied all the components
necessary to built the first program on a breadboard. They
are in a separate packet. Connect power to the programmer
and leave it connected. The LED indicates when
programming. verification and erasing are taking place. It is
best not to remove the PIC when the LED is on.

WHAT TO DO IF IT DOES NOT WORK

Since the hardware has already passed its test the
programming should be successful if you followed the
above steps. If it is not then please email me. I have
thrashed this program for some hours on different
computers trying to make it fail.

This program, lights.pic flashes 5 LEDs in a binary

counting pattern. The circuit to build on the breadboard is
given in Figure 3. Components for this are supplied

PIC Newsgroup. There is an active & helpful PIC

newsgroup ideal for beginners: no question is judged too
stupid. To subscribe send email to listserv@mitvma.mit.edu
with the message SUB PICLISTDIGEST in the body of the
message. You will receive an email backwithin minutes
usually confirming that your registration was successful

Assemble the program lights.pic by entering

KIT 81. 16F84 PIC PROGRAMMER V3

then you will start to receive a single message once a day
containing all the messages sent to the list for the previous
day. Read the messages for a week or so to get the feel of
the newsgroup before asking questions yourself. Note that
this is a subscribed newsgroup. It is not a Usenet
newsgroup. It is relatively free of the spams, bad manners
and off-topic items which plague the normal Usenet
newsgroups.
Software Difference Between C & F Versions. The simple
answer for the beginner is that there is no difference. When
you have done some programming for a while you will find
there is one difference which is in the configuration word. It
is in the Power Up Timer Enable Bit. This bit has reversed
its meaning. In the F you must write a 0 to enable the timer
while for the C you had to write a 1. You will see this in the
program examples. In lights.pct the config word changes
from 0ffh in the C version to 0f7h for the F version. So long
as you set it to 0 in the config word it will be enabled.
Remember bits left unprogrammed in the config word are
read as 1.

This programmer design is a so-called David Tait based

design. It will work with a wide range of freely available
software. All that will need changing is the configuration
file and the hardware file depending on whether you use a
7406 or 7407. See dontronics.com for the Nigel Goodwin
& the P16PRO software and further references. You can
design cheaper PIC16F84 programmers than this but they
may not be as robust in the wide range of PCs and parallel
ports now existing.
The floppy disk which comes with this kit, as well as the
documentation, may be downloaded from the software
download page on my website:

http://kitsrus.com/soft.html
If you want to move on and program other PICs get my Kit
96 or Kit 117. The software is also by Bojan Dobaj so you
will feel at home with it.
See details at dontronics.com and kitsrus.com
You may email me at

COMPONENTS

peter@kitsrus.com

Resistors 1/W 5%:

1K brown black red
R1
3K3 orange orange red
R3 R6
10K brown black orange
R2 R4 R5 R7
10K 4pin, 3 resistor network

1
2
4
1

History. DB25 added 1/99. Assembler & programmer

software just for the 16F84 added 3/99. New P16PRO Light
software added 5/99. V3 PCB issued 11/99 and
documentation rewritten focussing on the F84 & P16Pro
Light.

DB25 25 pin right-angle, pcb-mounted connector

470uF/35V ecap
C3
BC557
Q1 Q2
0.1uF 104 monoblok
C1 C2 C4
3mm led
LED
78L08 voltage regulator
IC2
78L05 voltage regulator
IC1
PIC16F84-4/P
DM7407N
IC3
14 pin IC socket
18 pin IC socket
DC power jack
WO2 bridge rectifier
Kit 81 V3 pcb
Floppy disk with software

1
1
2
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

-----------------

lights.hex testing components for breadboarding.

3mm led
22pF ceramic capacitor
3K9 resistor
SIL 6pin 5resistor network, 1K 102

5
1
1
1

There are two other hardware changes in the code

protection bits (8 to 13) and the RAM file registers
(increased from 36 bytes to 68 bytes.) Code protection will
not normally be used by beginners.

Figure 1. Lights.hex Test Circuit

KIT 81. 16F84 PIC PROGRAMMER V3

Figure 2. Basic Programmer Circuit

Figure 3. Power Supply