[PIC] Brenner programmer - error 997 (while uploading firmware)

Hey, I have made a Brenner 8 mini 4 on breadboard.
First I programmed PIC18F2550 with boot_0_20mhz.hex with PICKIT2 and it verified properly, altough it gave me strange warning about the bit settings.
I have plugged the USB of Brenner , I have selected the apropriate USB sprut driver (for XP) and it recognized is as sprut-device.
I opened the USBURN (by sprut) and it did not find any programmers, but it found "sprut device".
It redirected me to "Upload new firmware" screen.
I didnt know what firmware to choose, but I selected b8_fw16.hex.
It uploaded it and started checking for erros, and then it showed error 997.
What's wrong?
Please note that I don't know german and their entire site is in german.

Here are the screenshots:

Pickit2 strange warning after opening the Sprut's bootloader (after that I have succesfully written it to PIC):

The sprut device is visible in windows devices manager (at the status is OK):

The USBURN have succesfully detected SPRUT device just after starting it:

The 997 in USBURN (While uploading new firmware to Brenner):

When I click OK at the error above, it starts repeating the same MessageBox over and over, I have to kill to process to exit the loop.

And then when I launch USBURN again it starts with such error message:

And after clicking OK:


And when I click "Detect Programmer" after that it immediatelly shows "Error code 997" and I can't do nothing (except reprogramming the 2550 with PICKIT2 and starting over and over again....)

EDIT:
AFTER SOME TRIES it loaded the firmware without errors (I don't know why and what was wrong!):

And then I pushed the Button, and it showed such message in german:

What's that?!

Please any comments or hints on this guys, anyone has tried this programmer? I have no idea what's going on here...

- - - Updated - - -


It looks like it is working now, but it always start with that GERMAN "Division by null" message.


NOW I will try to do the CALLIBRATION (?). Any hints are welcomed!

Unfortunately, my German is more than a bit rusty, however I believe the phrase:

gleitkommadivision durch null

Click to expand...

Roughly translates:

Floating Point Division by Zero

Click to expand...

What is the OS which you are running the software, Windows XP?

Also, are you running the software as Administrator (Administrator Privileges)?

WindowsXP / 2000 / NT

The software requires Administrator privileges. The cause is the USB driver from Microchip. I try to switch to the LibUSB driver.
Robert wrote about this issue following however:

I could now take the Brenner8 under XP Prof as a restricted user in operation. I have the compatibility mode in the link -> Windows 2000 and then set the burner of USBurn was recognized, I could identify the PIC, and I burn verifizieren.Schalte the mode again, then the burner will no longer be seen from USBurn. I switch it back on, then it's also immediately.
Whether this is universal, but I dare greatly to be doubted, but it works at the moment actually so with me. Even the computer off and on again .., no problem at all.
Interestingly, today worked the operation of the burner under 'XP Prof users' on another partition by copying, unpacking etc. immediately, and. without any settings This partition has an older patch level, but it is also WinXP SP2. Whether there is a connection?

Click to expand...

You certainly are going through a lot of trouble to build a PIC programmer. Why not buy an inexpensive PICkit 3 clone?

BigDog

Yes it is XP,I tought it's the best for such purposes.
Well, the discussion about the buying stuff is not really the point of this topic.

I have managed to fix some things and now it seems I have properly calibrated it:
One of the causes turned out to be the Zener diode, named "3.3V" but it gave me 2.6V on VREF pin... I didn't expect the Zener value to be so different...

I can get the 9V, 10V, 13V etc by clicking buttons and the measured voltage is the same. I have adjusted the resistor divider value.

The diagram - is it correct?


- - - Updated - - -

EDIT: according to the measurements, the VPP (12-13V), PGD (5V), PGC (5V) are OK, but I somehow failed to identify the PIC with this programmer.

1. I ran the callibration
2. I checked all voltages (were OK)
3. I clicked "Identify" - what's strange, it said that there is a PIC16F84, but I didn't connect any and I don't have such PIC
4. I connected the PIC16F628 to the ICSP of brenner
5. I clicked "Identify"
6. It gave me 997 error (and every time I click "OK" it gives me next 997 error)

7. After that, even if I restart the USBURN, it gives me 998 and the programmer is no longer recognized (it is recognized again only if I reprogram 2550 with bootloader and upload the firmware again)

Ideas? And why does it recognizes empty icsp as PIC16F84? Does it really have a 0xFFFF signature or what?!

Okay is it almost always working now, but I didn't put the L2 (10uH) and C8 parts, are they necessarY?
I kinda understand that C8 is 100nF used to stabilize PIC power supply, but what's the purpose of L2?
Can the absence of C8 cause sometimes troubles with programming?
Schematic:

Hi,

I strongly recommend to use C8. It should be ceramics type, preferred X7R.

The use of L2 is to "clean" the often very noisy USB supply voltage of 5V.
While the C tries to stabilise the voltage, the L2 keeps the "noise current" low.
Together they build a 2nd order low pass filter.

Klaus