9. Expert advice

Sometimes the things just go wrong and you run out of the right ideas to get your PIC device running. Usually, it is only a small mistake that prevents your PIC project to succeed. If you are unable to find the right answer in Tips & Tricks & Troubleshooting section, also take a look at the topics discussed here. They are based on the practical questions that I have received. Please, write to simonvav(alpha)gmail.com, if you are unable to solve your PIC problem.

a. My K8055N board does not connect to a PC. What can I do?

b. Buying a PIC programmer

c. Connecting 32-bit PIC to a K8055 or K8055N experiment board

d. Soldering an SMD device to a standard PCB

e. Programmer or bootloader?

f. PCB or prototyping board?

g. Is modifying K8055 or K8055N board necessary?

h. What are additional functionalities in PIC18F2xJ50 and PIC32MX250F128B firmwares on this website compared to the original Velleman firmwares for K8055 and K8055N?

i. Alternative technique of soldering a low pin count SMD device

j. PIC32MX250F128B configuration samples (*.h files for C-language applications)

k. Modular oscilloscope for everyone

l. Velleman K8055(N) and universal temperature sensor K8067

m. How to program PIC18F24J50 or PIC18F26J50 microcontroller with PICkit 3 programmer/debugger?

n. Can I have source code?

o. How to achieve high speed communication between a PIC microcontroller and a PC via USB?

p. Kit, basic circuit or PCB?

q. My computer won't recognize my Velleman PIC programmer

r. How to set the PWM prescaler value and drive a stepper motor...

s. Is a PIC32 microcontroller truly an overkill for a trivial application compared to a PIC18 microcontroller?

t. Is 10-bit A/D conversion on a Velleman K8055 or K8055N experiment board truly achievable?

u. Can I use J chips on an unmodified K8055 board? Can I possibly use full speed USB with an unmodified K8055 board?

v. Is an experiment board kit with 32-bit PIC32MX250F128B microcontroller possible in the future?

w. Is an assembly language superior to C language or C++ when programming modern 32-bit microcontrollers?

x. How does PIC32MX250F128B/PIC32MX270F256B compare to PIC18F24J50 and PIC18F25K50?

y. Is it possible to inbuilt artificial intelligence i.e. self-learning features into a microcontroller?

z. How does PC USB Projects compare to Arduino projects?

aa. Is a RAM based USB PIC programer possible?

ab. Why PIC18FxxJxx microcontrollers are superior to PIC18Fxxxx microcontrollers?

ac. Is ARM Cortex-M0 more powerful than Microchip PIC32?

ad. Is it better to start with a microcontroller chip or a microcontroller module?