melabs Serial Programmer Troubleshooting

Power Supply:

Low Voltage  -  Make sure that you are using the recommended AC adapter to power the programmer.  The Serial Programmer requires 16VDC to operate.  At lower voltages, the LED will light and the programmer will communicate with the computer, but it will not program a PICmicro^® correctly.

Communication Errors:

"Invalid programmer port selected"  -  This means that the programmer software can't access the serial port that you've selected.  Either the port doesn't exist or it's in use by another program on your computer.  Close any programs that communicate through a serial port.  Make sure the correct port is selected in the programmer software. (File > Port) 

If using a USB adapter, check the Device Manager in Windows for the port that has been assigned to the adapter.  Most USB-to-Serial adapters will end up on COM4 or COM5 when installed.  Set the port in the programmer software to match that shown in the Device Manager.

"Unable to communicate.  Check cables and check or cycle power." - This indicates that the programmer software successfully opened a serial port, but the programmer doesn't respond when queried.  Make sure the correct port is selected in the programmer software. (File > Port)   Make sure the connection is secure and that the programmer is powered.

Programming Errors:

"Target device does not match selected device."  -  This indicates that the programmer has read an unexpected device id from the target PIC^®.  Make sure you've selected the correct device in the dropdown list on the toolbar.  You will also get this error if the programmer can't put the PIC into programming mode.  This can be caused by low power supply voltage, a defective PIC, incorrect placement of the PIC in the programming socket, or a bad in-circuit programming connection.

• Problems specific to PIC18F1220, 18F1320, 18F2220, 18F2320, 18F2620 and 18F4620 can sometimes be fixed with a small modification to your Serial Programmer board.