Offering PICs with bootloaders already programmed

Archive New Product Ideas
1

It would be nice if SparkFun would offer PICs with the Screamer boot loader already programmed into it. That way, a customer can download the Screamer PC client and be able to download their programs into the PIC without having to have a PIC programmer.

I know it would be a hassle to have to deal with something like this in low volume, but I would pay a few dollars for that service if I didn’t have a PIC programmer handy. Recently, I was helping a friend with a project and I had to order the Olimex board (and a spare PIC), program the boot loader into the PICs myself, and then ship everything to him to work with. It would have been quicker and more convenient to have him order the parts directly from SparkFun.

I think it would make it easier for people just getting started with PICs to get up and running without having to worry about specialized programmers. Imagine the Fun Development Board with the bootloader already built in!

Just a suggestion.

2

Check the pic section, the 16F88 has the option of having the bootloader burnt in.

3

pittuck:
Check the pic section, the 16F88 has the option of having the bootloader burnt in.

Thanks for the pointing this out. The thought did cross my mind when I posting my previous message that maybe, somewhere on the site, I could order a PIC with the bootloader on it. I will say, in my defense, that I made an attempt to find it, that it is on page 2 of the PIC section, and it is only available for the 16F88! :oops:

The challenges of how to set up the cart to make it possible for one to order a preprogrammed chip aside, I think that the place to list such an option is in the Development Boards section. I only went to the Chips/PIC section because I wanted to order a spare 16F877A for my friend’s Olimex board that I was ordering.