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The simple USB microcontroller programmer is designed for the beginners. It is built around Microchip MCP2200 microcontroller that is preprogrammed by the manufacturer. The only setback is the MCP2200 chip that is only produced in two SMD (surface mounted device) versions. Though it is possible to solder it to standard prototyping PCB (printed circuit board) and connect it to other necessary electronics, this certainly requires a steady hand and a good eyesight. The pin spacing of the bigger version of MCP2200 is twice as small as normal spacing for standard chips.
NOTE: Use PIC programmer v1.2 application to program PIC18F2xJ50 microcontrollers.
It is possible to use an alpha knife to split the contact circles in half and then solder each pin to a half-contact. Wires must be carefully soldered on each half-contact to make connections to other electronics on the prototyping board.
There are also other ways to build the programmer circuit. You can buy a rather expensive interface PCB board for SMD. Should you decide to design your own PCB from scratch, you need a high quality PCB mask to avoid etching-off tin SMD contacts.
Photos:
How to solder MCP photos:
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