Hi Peter yes far to nice here in sunny Suffolk (That the first dat for about
a month I could say that !!) to be struggling with machine code. I think
though I have not had time to read it all that Andy has summarised the
problem with "hex"

It also occurs to me that there are proprietarty formats of "hex" that are
not really like other "hex" For instance there is an Intel hex beloved of
all of us who hacked 8080s and Z80s in the 1970s This has a starting address
a byte count 16 2char ASCII representations of each byte and a checksum
before the carriage return. Motorola also have a similar but non-compatible
format. You often come across those formats refered to as hex files, though
they are not machine code images.

yes its frustrating many of use spent many hours poring over printouts
ringing the calls and conditional jumps.........happy days. It is a useful
skill to be able to understand how these liddle beasties work at the low
level. Like most skills it is not obtained easily :-))

Enjoy your gardening and take your frustration out on the weeds which seem
to have grown  n+1 times as fast as anything "wanted" in the last few weeks.

Best Wishes
Alan
G3NYK

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "M0FMT" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 2:18 PM
Subject: Re: LF: Re: PIC Projects with no HEX code


Hi Alan

Thanks for coming back it was really a rhetorical outburst at yet other
project failure. But in a way its nice to know I am not entirely alone.
It looks as though you have been there before me. I am relatively new to PIC
programming and I don't know what I am doing. Try to "Save" from my
programmer does not work it saves the text file OK but not completely. So if
loaded into a new or blank PIC it won't run. However if say down loaded from
an operational PIC held in the programmer S/W and modified at HEX level then
load into a blank PIC its OK!! I have a lot to learn.

I have a "store" of stolen routines that will run so I am trying to modify
them to my applications. Several have worked OK but its too much to ask to
get a good one every time I suppose. Like changing call signs and locator in
ROM and altering the configuration of speed etc for a CW beacon. Straight
forward keyer no memory is another and Johan's SM6LKM stuff is very good I
have found. A lot of articles promise a lot but don't deliver, it would be
really nice if they always attached a text file of HEX because otherwise
whats the point? Its easy enough to use character recognition to down load
HEX from the printed page ... it works for me. It just means you have to be
very diligent checking each line of text. A ruler and strong glasses it
works every time.

I suppose I am at the stage where I just want to build projects as
advertised I don't have the knowledge to write from scratch but have managed
to modify some programs.

This may seem a bit off topic but now we seem to be into automated Beaconing
at each other on MF/LF ......"if you can't beat 'em .......... " PIC is one
way to go . Saves tying a up a PC.

Any way its stopped raining, garden to work to do and another lot of Bees to
hive. This is not how I saw retirement.

Thanks for the info and encouragement.

73 es GL Pete M0FMT IO91UX


________________________________
 From: Alan Melia <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, 30 April 2012, 0:21
Subject: LF: Re: PIC Projects with no HEX code

Hi Peter my success is much higher than that BUT I have found some PICs wont
program correctly on some programmers though the s/w indicates the ought to.
I would say if you are not using a Microchip programmer and s/w this might
be part of the cause.?? This is one I have run into.

Reasons for lack of source inclusde, shyness and not wanting to be cricised
for poor or naive programming. Producing commented source is quite a labour
intensive job. If an "outsider" is to understand exactly what you have done.
Many who reuse chunks of code cant be bother with
 the hassle

Then I have seen code "stolen" and used for profit making ventures, or 98%
copied, without any reference to the originator. Does it matter.....well it
does to some people. The code is the majority of the investement in a PIC
project. Remember a assembly coders stock-in-trade is a large collection of
small routines which he used continually to achieve standard operations.
Because these are used more than once they are usually well tested.

I like to see source because I can learn how to write it myself from other
peoples approaches. The most exasperating thing is if you suspect a bug (not
just not working, but an exotic one) you have no way of. helping the
originator

Alan
G3NYK

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "M0FMT" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2012 11:33 PM
Subject: LF: PIC Projects with no HEX code




Success rate is about 10% on projects with the HEX code attached.

If people don't want their projects duplicated then don't publish them
FCS!!!

Its pointless!


M0fmt exasperated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!