There are just a few basic items that you need in order to program a PICmicro:

• PC-compatible computer
• A parallel printer port connecting lead (25-way to 25-way)
• Printed circuit board into which the PICmicro can be plugged and the connecting lead attached
• 12V DC power supply
• PICmicro assembly and send program

To obtain maximum benefit from these tutorials, it is preferable that you should also have a printer.

It is also necessary, of course, to have some software data (the Program) that you wish to load into the PICmicro!

The computer on which you are running this CD-ROM is ideal for programming PICmicros. It also seems likely that any other PC-compatible computer can be used for the purpose as neither speed nor memory capacity are important in this application.

Data is output from the computer to the PICmicro via the normal parallel printer port (LPT1) using any of the standard address registers &H378, &H278 or &H3BC. It is output serially, data on port line D0, and a clock signal on line D1.

You must be sufficiently familiar with your computer to know how to operate it within the Windows environment.

The development boards we provide will use less than 100mA of current at 12V DC. However we recommend that you use a 500mA power supply which will give you plenty of scope for powering other devices that you may wish to connect to the development board.