1 Device Support

Click the link below to see device support for “PICkit 2 Debugging” (PK2D) and “PICkit 2 Programming” (PK2P).

· Device Support List

1.1 Debugging Considerations

For low pin-count devices (8 to 28 pins), a Header board is usually required. See the Header Board Specification (DS51292) or Header help file (hlpHeader.chm) for a list of available headers by device.

For high pin-count devices (40 to 100 pins), a Header board may available, but is not required. See the Header Board Specification (DS51292) or Header help file (hlpHeader.chm) for a list of available headers by device.

PICkit 2 does not support the optional header for the following devices at this time:

dsPIC33F

PIC24F/H

NOTE: To connect PICkit 2 to a debug header board requires the AC164110 RJ-11 to ICSP Adapter.

NOTE: PICkit 2 reserves 64 bytes less flash memory than the MPLAB ICD 2 for the following devices:

PIC18F2682

PIC18F2685

PIC18F4682

PIC18F4685

2 Operating System Support

This tool has been tested under the following operating systems:

Windows^® 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2, and Windows Vista™ (32-bit and 64-bit) OSs

NOTE: Windows NT^® and Windows 98/ME OSs are NOT supported.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Beginning with MPLAB IDE v7.51, MPLAB IDE and PICkit 2 will no longer be tested on Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows NT^® OSs. MPLAB IDE and PICkit 2 may continue to work under these operating systems, but their operation will no longer be verified through testing.

3 Reference Documents

The following documents may be found on our website or MPLAB IDE CD-ROM:

· PICkit 2 Development Programmer/Debugger User's Guide - DS51553

· Low Pin Count User's Guide - DS51556

· 44-Pin Demo Board User’s Guide – DS41296

· Header Specification - DS51292

· Programming Specifications for devices - various DS numbers

· Development Tool Selector

4 What's New in v8.15

· Debug support for PIC18F14K50-ICD, PIC24HJ128GP506 family devices.

· PIC16F886 and PIC16F887 reserved file registers when debugging have been changed from file registers 0x165-0x170 to 0x1E5-0x1F0.

· PIC24 and dsPIC33F devices now use a programming executive (PE) for programming operations. In addition to providing significant reductions in programming time, the PE implements the device id corruption errata workaround for PIC24H and dsPIC33F devices.

· The PE will be used on all PIC24 and dsPIC33F devices by default when the following setting is checked: With PICkit 2 active, open Programmer > Settings or Debugger > Settings. On the Settings tab, the checkbox for “Use Prog Exec if available” should be checked to enable use of the PE on these parts. This setting may be unchecked to use low-level ICSP programming if a problem using the PE is encountered. However, using ICSP instead of the PE does not provide protection from the device id corruption errata for applicable devices.

· When use of the PE is enabled, PICkit 2 will alert the user if an error with the PE occurs, and continue programming using ICSP.

· See Section 6 of this readme for known issues with using the PIC24 and dsPIC33F PE.

5 Repairs and Enhancements Made in v8.15

· A bug affecting the use of multiple PICkit 2 units with multiple instances of the MPLAB IDE has been fixed. This functionality now works as intended. If using other PICkit software with other PICkit 2 units at the same time a PICkit 2 unit is being used with MPLAB IDE, be sure to use the following minimum software versions: PICkit 2 Programmer v2.52 and PK2CMD v1.12.

· PIC16F886 and PIC16F887 debug banking issue fixed. Also note that the reserved RAM when debugging these devices has changed from file registers 0x165-0x170 to 0x1E5-0x1F0

· PIC16F/LF723 and PIC16F/LF724 debug banking issue fixed.

· PIC24 and dsPIC33F devices now use a programming executive for faster programming. See Section 4 of this readme for more information.

6 Known Problems

The following is a list of known problems. For more information on operation, please see the online help file for the PICkit 2 (hlpPICkit2.chm). Bolded prefix represents internal tracking numbers.

· The Programming Executive (PE) for PIC24H and dsPIC33F parts may fail on certain programming ports of certain 44-Pin devices. Known problems exist with using the PGC3/PGD3 port on the following devices:

PIC24HJ16GP304, PIC24HJ32GP204, dsPIC33FJ16GP304, dsPIC33FJ32GP204, dsPIC33FJ16MC304, dsPIC33FJ32MC204

If a “PE Error” is frequently encountered in the MPLAB IDE Output Window, try using a different PGC/PGD programming port pair on the device.

· To use the PICkit 2 as a debugger, two 4.7KW pull-down resistors are needed on pins ICSPDAT and ICSPCLK for units with a black pushbutton. Units with a red pushbutton have the pull-down resistors already internal to the unit.

PK2-17:	When the PIC18F8680 Oscillator Config bits are set for "HS - hardware enabled 4x PLL", the first attempted ICSP communication after VDD is applied fails. Suggested work-arounds: PICkit 2 Programmer Application If powering from PICkit 2: 1) Check the VDD PICkit 2 "On" checkbox under the Microchip logo. 2) Select Device Family > PIC18F until the PIC18F8680 is detected. 3) It should now program properly as long as VDD is not interrupted. If powering externally: 1) Select Device Family > PIC18F until the PIC18F8680 is detected. 2) It should now program properly as long as VDD is not interrupted. PICkit 2 from MPLAB IDE If powering from PICkit 2: 1) This only needs be done after first selecting PICkit 2 as the programmer, or after PICkit 2 is first connected to the target. 2) Select Programmer > Verify - it doesn't matter the results; this is just to the 8680 out of the problem state. 3) It should now program properly as long as VDD is not interrupted. If powering externally: 1) This only needs be done after first applying power and connecting PICkit 2 to the target board. 2) Select Programmer > Verify - it doesn't matter the results; this is just to the 8680 out of the problem state. 3) It should now program properly as long as VDD is not interrupted.
PK2-46:	PICkit 2 may not enter debug mode when 32 KHz LP oscillator is selected as clock source for PIC16F505, PIC12F508, PIC12F509.
PK2-53:	With 'reset to beginning of the main’ enabled, setting advance breakpoint on data memory with non zero pass count and then disabling it, might result in all debugger option to disable.
ICD2-81	MPLAB PICkit 2 fails to program/verify the PIC24FJ128GA010 device when user code does runtime flash erase /write operation. It appears the device is executing code before the full programming cycle is complete. For PIC24F devices during a programming/verify operation (or subsequent verification operation) of user code that performs self-writes and/or self-erases to program space, a verify sequence may fail if the code execution occurs within the first execution cycles following reset. Workaround: Place a delay in your code before the code section that performs the self-write and/or self-erase. The specific delay value may need to be adjusted, but 100 ms would be a conservative value to start out with. Here is a C language example that illustrates the workaround: int main (void) { // Place 100 ms delay here before any self-write/self-erase code . . . . . . . . . } .