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THE ETHERNET DEVELOPMENT BOARD

Part 1: Putting it all Together
by Fred Eady

Start ý Overview ý Elmerýs Silicon Glue ý Time to Kill ý The CS8900A-CQ ý Software and Firmware ý ICSP and LVP ý Assemble the Ethernet Electronics ý No Floating Allowed ý Installing the Bypass Capacitors ý Pin Point ý Finishing Installation ý Assemble the PIC16F877 Electronics ý The Rest of the Project ý Winding Down ý Finishing Up ý Sources and PDF

SOFTWARE AND FIRMWARE

The glue hasnýt hardened enough yet, so now that you know the Ethernet Development Board is PIC-based and uses a PC program to load the PIC16F877 code, I might as well talk a little about the Ethernet Development Boardýs software and firmware components.

The Ethernet Development Boardýs programming application runs on a Windows98-based PC. The PC application is a PIC16F877 ICSP (in-circuit serial programming) algorithm that employs LVP (low-voltage programming) via the PCýs parallel port. I hate to say this, but the Ethernet Development Board is a nifty little flash memory programmer if you donýt need the Ethernet capability. The buttons and code windows you see displayed in Photo 3 show the features of the ICSP programming module.

Photo 3ýJust in case you accidentally code-protect your PIC16F877, like a country song, the Erase button gets all of your bits back.

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