Comments on: PIC programmer built from broken monitor

By: hike

hike — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 08:35:01 +0000

how do you actually connect the pic to the programmer? in the schematics, the actual pic module is left out (probably its an in-circuit programmer).

also, to the comment about the processor, i’m new to pics, but i’m pretty sure you could use them without the computer after programming (that is the point, after all). i was actually wondering: what could you do with a processor (for a hobby project)? i found some old pentium mmx’s and some amd’s (i think), but not really sure what i could do with them (if they even work), other than using them as innefficient cup warmers.

By: Sid

Sid — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 05:14:15 +0000

I guess building an oscilloscope would be a better hack out of a dead monitor, than building a pic prog ;) The hack does no indicate what programming application is reqd and what PICs it can burn!!!

By: msheard

msheard — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 15:40:56 +0000

@ Wesley, that didnt really answer his question did it tho? id also like to know if there is a way to program pics from a mac..i have a pc but would like to program them on my powerbook away from home.

By: Wesley

Wesley — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 00:16:36 +0000

wifi-guy: We all love macs, but for programming, just go and put together a cheaply pc. You can hide it in the closet when your friends come over

By: Wesley

Wesley — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 04:49:10 +0000

Ah, yes, I like what GrangerX has said. Really awesome hacks. We should have a hack-a-day awards webcast… Well, at least give out awards to the top hacks of the year. Like hooking a floppy drive up to a gameboy. What else are we going to do with our floppy drives? (Besides playing with the steppers) Lets consider a hack a really cool means of altering/creating an electronic device.

By: Erik Jackson

Erik Jackson — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 19:35:20 +0000

Wait..theres not processor, right? I guess you’d just use your computer, but I’d rather use a chip on the board so I could use it detached from the computer, like a Basic Stamp board. Looks like I just don’t get it..

By: Zeldadog

Zeldadog — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 04:24:32 +0000

does anyone know where I can find a pic programmer that takes care of the 18xx series? I’m having a witch of a time.

By: wifi-guy

wifi-guy — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 07:39:10 +0000

I would like to know if anyone has a way to program PIC chips and others like BASIC stamps using a Mac. If anayone has an idea, it would be greatly appreciated…

By: Hideki Adam

Hideki Adam — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 22:24:39 +0000

Cool hack ^^

Now let’s see you make a logic probe out of an old AM transistor radio if you can :>

By: Jcg

Jcg — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 15:31:18 +0000

ok, it isn’t the most amazing hack ever done, but I still like it. I always desolder every part of a PCB before it’s thrown away. Those parts are very usefull, because alot of them are obsolete, so hard to find.

By: Dayvemalayve

Dayvemalayve — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 01:59:38 +0000

This is quite cool, but it looks like hes used a sledgehammer to cut the perf board to size. Personally I think I would have used a saw or knife and a bit of sandpaper.
Its a true hack at its best.

By: Paragraph

Paragraph — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 01:11:40 +0000

Great hack, perfect for the site despite what others may think.

I live near an electronics pre-processing plant/thing where you can basicly play pull-a-part like some junk-yards. A dead monitor would probably go for free, certainly less than $5, and take your pick from anything that has a serial port (external modem, PCI cards, Mobos, etc) you could get these parts really easy

Thats definitly cheaper then going and getting a programmer or even the parts at radiohut. and if you have the broken parts (i know i’m a part maven) it’s totally free (less some time and solder)

By: GrangerX

GrangerX — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 01:00:09 +0000

khoa:
Wow. Those are all -very- cool projects. I especially enjoyed the robot arm.

So, has that been a hack-of-the-day yet?

GrangerX

By: Khoa

Khoa — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 00:46:41 +0000

P.S.

Have you seen my other stuff? my projects bleed from one to the other. The monitor was from the electrokinetic lifter project. I hardly let things go to waste, I’m currently converting broken old printer parts into plotters and vinyl cutters. I might display it on my webpage later on when it is complete.

By: GrangerX

GrangerX — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 00:45:18 +0000

wesley:
I see your point. I think the problem here was that khoa never intended his work to appear here, so didn’t have a chance to make it nice. And, hey, if the monitor is bad, it’s bad. No worries.

Doing stuff is cool. I respect khoa for actually getting it together. The programmer itself is pretty neat.

Now, that said, I think hackaday is my favorite hack site, and is one that presents hacking in a positive light, not as some synonym for cracking or such. But, I think they were just hurting for today’s hack. One thing about hackers, they don’t aim to deliver on a daily schedule, after all. :) I personally most enjoy the ‘hackaday extras’, where they can go for quantity, making quality a secondary concern. :)

If, apparently, everything is a hack, then here are some hacks I respect:
I respect the guy that made a mini (albiet goofy) scanner out of an optical mouse. *That* is an “awesome hack”. The guys that figured out how to run iOpeners with Win98, or the cuecat as a regular barcode scanner, also “awesome”. Any guy that puts linux on something originally not designed for it is “awesome”. The guys that wrote the drivers that re-enable the pipelines on nvidia and ati cards, etc.

Anyway, all, have a good weekend, and hack something if you can. :)

GrangerX