WinPic800 is a free (as in beer) PIC programmer software compatible with the Tait-style of hardware programmers. In addition, it is also compatible with the programmer I detailed in my last post.

However, due to the variety of styles and designs of the same programmer out in the web, one has to carefully configure soft programmers so they can talk with a hardware device. To configure WinPic800 to work with the parallel schmitt trigger programmer, please follow this instructions:

• Download the latest version of WinPic800
• Download the hardware definition file for this device
• Locate the directory where you installed WinPic800
• Put the downloaded .hwp file inside the Hardware folder
• Open WinPic800, go to Devices > Settings > Hardware
• Select the Tait Schmitt device entry and click OK

Now you may plug the hardware on the parallel port, insert a PIC on the programmer, turn it on and then click on Device > Detect Device. The name of the microcontroller on the programmers socket should be shown on screen.