Review - Microchip Low Pin Count Demo Board

Introduction

I think this board was originally issued as part of the PICkit 2 starter kit. It’s a bit dated now, but can easily be updated by plugging in a more recent/advanced PIC, if that’s what you need. For example, yesterday I needed to start work on a new project using the PIC18F14K22, so I ordered a Low Pin Count Demo Board, which arrived today. I plugged in the PIC18F14K22 and was blinking the LEDs within a few minutes. Onwards and upwards…

Since I currently use the Microchip ICD3 for debugging, I also got the Microchip RJ-11 to ICSP Adapter. This allows you to connect the ICD3 RJ-11 directly to the ICSP header on the Low Pin Count Demo Board. You can power the board from the debugger, or there’s a footprint for a 2 x 0.1” power header.

Note that some Microchip Low Pincount devices require an additional device specific header to enable debugging.

Features

The Low Pin Count Demo Board is about 9 x 5cms, and has the following features.

• * 20-pin DIL socket which will accept 8, 14 and 20-pin PIC devices.
• * ICSP header for programming and debugging.
• * Four LEDs on port RC[0..3]
• * A switch on RA0
• * A pot on RA3.
• * A small prototyping area
• * A14-pin expansion header.

Note that the switch doesn’t work while the debugger is active, as it shares the *MCLR/VPP pin.

Documentation

There’s not much that needs to be said about such a simple board, and the User Guide mainly describes some example assembler code that can be downloaded from the Microchip web site. However, the User Guide does include the simple board schematic. 

Overall Experience

The Low Pin Count Demo Board provides a quick and convenient way to start simple applications with Microchip Low Pin Count MCUs. In addition to the populated board, you also get two bare PCBs, so it represents good value for money.