NOPPP, the "No-Parts PIC Programmer," is more fully
described in a magazine article (Electronics Now,
September 1998).  Build the circuit shown,
run the program NOPPP.EXE on your PC, and you can program
PIC 16F84, 16C84, and 16F83 microcontrollers.


FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ABOUT NOPPP, SEE:

http://www.mindspring.com/~covington/noppp


IMPORTANT NOTE!

The NOPPP programming software has been updated and now
includes a TEST MODE so that you can check your NOPPP circuit
with a voltmeter.  This will help you find wiring errors.
It will also help *me* if you find that NOPPP does not work
with your parallel port -- I'll be able to figure out what's
wrong and suggest appropriate modifications.


IMPORTANT PRECAUTIONS:

(0) Make sure all the ground pins from the cable (pins 18-25)
are grounded on the NOPPP circuit board.  Grounding just one
of them can cause erratic performance or complete failure.

(1) Use a short cable from NOPPP to PC.  Cable crosstalk can
be a problem with cables more than 3 feet long.

(2) Make sure your 12-volt supply is actually 12.0 volts or
higher.  Some PC power supplies put out as little as 11.7 V.

(3) When running under Windows 3.1, NOPPP must apparently
run full-screen, not in a window.  If you have problems
under Windows 3.1, try running NOPPP under plain DOS.
(NOPPP has no problems under Windows 95 or 98.)

(4) When running NOPPP under OS/2, hardware timer access
must be enabled.  (It's in the settings for the DOS session.)


WHAT ELSE IS HERE

TOPIC03.ZIP is the software for TOPIC, a programmer designed by
David Tait that is fully compatible with NOPPP and preceded it.
TOPIC software should work well with NOPPP, and vice versa.


Michael A. Covington
Covington Innovations
285 Saint George Drive
Athens, Georgia 30606

