This project from our September 2003 issue has been immensely successful and the following frequently asked questions (FAQs) have been gathered from readers’ correspondence regarding this design. The answers are provided jointly by the author and our in-house design staff.1. I’m having problems with COMDLG32.OCX. An error report pops up telling me OCX is out of date.In most cases, this problem may be solved simply by copying all ocx (*.ocx) files to the Windows\System or Windows\System32 directory.2. READ on a PIC16F84 fails. Nothing happens, I get error report TRANSMISSION FAILED, or a READ window opens and nothing happens. The operation is occasionally successful.You’re looking at bad communication between PC and programmer, usually with laptops and notebooks. Replace T3 with a BC547, omit R20 and fit a 10k resistor between pin 7 of K2 and the base of T3. A future version of the software will contain communication error signalling and reporting.3. The PIC16F874A cannot be programmed; however no problems are encountered with the standard version (no A suffix).The A versions employ a different algorithm. Support will be incorporated in an update.4. Can you offer support for the PIC16C54, -C55 and -C57?Sorry, we can’t. These processors have been omitted right from the start because they are more expensive than comparable Flash types. We may investigate the possibilities of using equivalent types from the 16C55x series with serial programming capabilities. This is quite complicated however.5. Will there be an update for the 18xxx series?These new PICs are also eligible for support through an update. However we need to get samples first.6. Erasing a PIC16F628A and reprogramming it produces an error at address 0000. The same with the PIC16F73.The problem is under investigation, it may be the same as with the 16F874A. A 16F73 has only just arrived.7. Where can I buy or download the HEX or BIN file to program my own PIC in position IC6?As already explained in an earlier Correction/Update (November 2003), the code cannot be made available because the author receives royalty payments for every copy sold of the ready-programmed PIC.8. Where’s the list of PIC devices that can be handled?The list can be retrieved from the Windows program itself but for your convenience, here’s a printed version:12C508, 12C508A , 12C509 , 12C509A, 12CR509A, 12CE518 , 12CE519, 12C671, 12C672, 12CE673, 12CE674, 12F629, 12F675, 16C505, 16C554 , 16C556, 16C558, 16C61, 16C62, 16C62A, 16C62B, 16C620, 16C620A , 16C621, 16C621A, 16C622, 16C622A, 16CE623 , 16CE624, 16CE625, 16F627, 16LF627, 16F627A, 16F628 , 16LF628, 16F628A , 16C63, 16C63A, 16F630, 16C64, 16C64A, 16C642, 16C65, 16C65A, 16C65B, 16C66, 16C662, 16C67, 16F676, 16C71, 16C710, 16C711, 16C712, 16C715, 16C716, 16C72, 16F72, 16C72A, 16C73, 16F73, 16C73A, 16C73B, 16C74, 16F74, 16C74A, 16C76, 16F76, 16C77,16F77, 16CR83, 16F83, 16C84, 16CR84, 16F84, 16F84A, 16F87, 16F88, 16F818, 16F819, 16F870, 16F871, 16F872 , 16F873, 16F873A, 16F874, 16F874A, 16F876, 16F876A, 16F877, 16F877A.