PIC KIT Programmer
Unless you have been able to find a reliable 3rd party programmer, the go-to device is the PICKIT. While you may be able to find a less expensive programmer from a hobbyist or PIC Development house, the most versatile units with the widest range of support are the PICKITs.
From left to right, is the PICKIT 2, PICKIT 3, and then the PICKIT 4. Each release of the PICKIT has provided enhanced features and support for new devices. As Microchip has released new devices the technology to program them has changed.
At the time of publishing, the PICKIT 5 had just been released.
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From a user perspective, the PICKITs, notwithstanding the price, offer similar features. The PICKIT 2 and the PICKIt 3 are the most similar, and except for the differences in device support can be easily confused. The PICKIT 3 caters to the SPI advances in PIC programming which the PICKIT 2 does not. You may at times see a red PICKIT 2, so please
- Communications: a USB Type B cable is suitable for both the 2 and the 3. A type C would be needed for the 4
- Power: You can choose to power the target board from the PICKIT, however depending on the board this may not be practical. In some instances, the target board may need external power and the PICKIT will throw an error. It's not recommended that you run the application using the PICKIT ... it may work, but it wasn't designed for that.
- AutoDetect: One trick that I liked about the PICKIT 3 was that the autodetect feature gave a clear indication that the device was working on the target board. Simply by connecting the PICKIt to the board and the PC, and then starting it up, the software auto-detected the device with the correct part number.
- Additional Features: The PICKIt 4 has the ONTheGo programming feature where an SD Card can be inserted into the programmer and then that becomes your software source when programming your target PCB.
- Software: The standalone application was quite a tool, I certainly appreciated its usefulness, especially the speed with which a device could be detected and programmed.
Searching on the web will return a number of suppliers offering clones. The clone may be based on the released intellectual property from Microchip. You may need to exercise caution when purchasing one as they only support a limited range of devices.
The PICKITs are the most reliable programmers to buy, especially if you are using a generic compiler, and will work with a number of different devices. They ensure that you have device support when needed.
Cost wise the PICKIts have become progressively more expensive. Whether that is due to natural forces of economics or otherwise is not clear. For the hobbyist, access to one has become more unreachable.
