PIC Basics



The purpose of these pages is to provide a source for the software and details of any ommisions and corrections to my book, PIC Basics, which was published by the RSGB.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
When I wrote the book, all PCs came with RS232 serial ports. This is no longer the case. I have been informed of problems with serial port adaptors, such as PCMCIA cards for laptops and USB to serial adaptors, and the Velleman programmers. If you have not yet purchased a PIC programmer, it may be worthwhile looking for one with a different connection.
If you are having problems with the Velleman K8048 then you may need to use a different computer (or add a good old fashioned serial port to your new one). USB connected programmers are available from Quasar Electronics, MikroElekronika, Mecanique or various other sources.
Note that I have not used all of these programmers.
About the book:
Title:PIC Basics
Author:Cliff Powlesland (G8CQZ)
Publisher:Radio Society of Great Britain
Click here for RSGB web site
ISBN:1-905086-18-0
Price:£14.99 (£12.74 for RSGB Members)
Size:240x174mm
Pages:208
Chapters:
1.What is a PIC?
2.Understanding the PIC
3.Peripherals
4.Programming external circuits
5.PIC Compilers and programmers
6.Projects: Introduction
7 - 14.Projects (see below)
15.Using PIC chips in your own projects
Appendix.Full MPASM listings for projects in the book
The Projects:
1.A Clock for the Shack
2.Morse Key
3a.Automatic Morse Generator (Single Message)
3b.Automatic Morse Generator (Multiple Messages)
4.Two Tone Audio Generator
5.Frequency Counter
6.Digital Voltmeter
7.PC Based Audio Recorder
8.Morse Decoder
Click on the project name for more information
Downloads:
Please click on the appropriate disk icon to download the software of your choice. If you need more information before downloading, please click here for additional information.

ProjectTASM SourceTASM .objMPASM SourceMPASM .hexPC
1 clock clock clock clock
2 morse key morse key morse key morse key
3a morse generator morse generator morse generator morse generator morse generator
3b morse generator morse generator morse generator morse generator morse generator
4 two tone two tone two tone two tone two tone
5 counter counter counter counter
6 voltmeter voltmeter voltmeter voltmeter
7 audio recorder audio recorder audio recorder audio recorder audio recorder
8 morse decoder morse decoder morse decoder morse decoder
If you have problems because the file opens in another application, or you get a warning message when you try to download a file, this is probably because the extension (.ASM, .PIC, .HEX etc.) is registered to another application and it is trying to run the file. You need to save the file and not run it. Simply right click on the icon and select 'Save target as...' Choose the folder to save the data in and click on the Save button.
Pre-Programmed PIC Chip:
Please note that I can NOT provide pre-programmed chips for any of the projects in the book. One of the main aims, in writing the book, was to get people interested in what the PIC can do and to promote home construction. Supplying pre-programmed chips would undermine this and remove one of the main pleasures - that of doing it all yourself.
Other Projects:
I am NOT able to provide programs or pre-programmed chips for other projects.
Additional Information:
I will publish details of any errors and omissions as I find them (and as you tell me about them).
I may also publish additional information that I think may help you to understand the projects or the book.
Where this additional information relates to a specific project, I will include the information in the project files. Click on the project name, above, to see the project's information page. For information that is not project related, or which relates to all of the projects, I will put the information on a separate page. Click here for an index of this additional information.
Contacting the Author:
I can be contacted via the GARES web site's email address:
gares AT g4aym DOT org DOT uk
I would be delighted to receive comments and queries about the book or the projects in the book. However, I am unfortunately not able to provide information on other projects. Nor can I provide completed programs to customise the projects in the book.


Thank you for visiting this page.

Cliff Powlesland (G8CQZ)



I would also like to thank the Gloucester Amateur Radio and Electronics Society (GARES) for letting me host this information on their web site.

Click here for the main GARES web site