This page is dedicated to everybody needs to program a PIC (Microchip) device via USB port. Looking on the web for ready-to-use projects, I found a good one called Open Programmer, coming with several schematics, PCBs and Open Source code. The original link is http://openprog.altervista.org/OP_ita.html
What concerned me was the need to mount, on the mainboard, a specific socket board depending on the model of PIC being programmed. Moreover, the proposed layout did not meet my personal “compact look” ideas. So, I propose here a small layout version of that circuit, adopting a single smart on-board ZIF socket. This version sacrifices many non-PIC microcontroller models. I will thank everybody proposing a larger range implementation, suitable to program Atmel and other devices. Anyway, if your goal is to program PIC devices, you are on the good site.
A small box, a USB connector, a ZIF socket, two leds. That’s all in my compact proposal.
Description
The details are available on the original project mentioned above. Hereafter, I shown my Compact version, with a schematic, PCB layout and instruction for assembly and inserting it in a very common little plastic box. At the bottom of this page, I supply a copy of the program to load on the PIC18F2550 used to manage the programming functions, as well as a copy of the PC side program. I tested the program up to Win-8 without problems. Take into account that, on the original site, a newer version of both Firmware and Software is available.
For More Details: USB PIC Programmer