INSIDER V1.0
In-Circuit debugger, created by E.E. Atanasios Melimopoulos. Updated Ver 1r1 (3/20/2009)
This project was sent by Electrical Engineer Atanasios Melimopoulos (Copyright (c) June 15, 2007)

INTRODUCTION:
In-Circuit-Debuggers, as you may already know, have become the PIC's debugging standard tool for many programmers because it's easy use and handy interface to the target picplaced- board. They come with MPLAB plug-ins that provides a full rich set of commands and functions in order to debug your code in real time.
After hours of using some brands of ICDs, ICD2, etc. on different projects, I faced some hardware situations where the two pin interface ICD <-> PIC becomes annoying and sometimes difficult to work around. Apart from the fact that your target pic must run at selected clock frequencies that allows the ICD-Uart baudrate multiplier to fit. Also, some pics do not allow the same on-hook commands upon which ICDs are based. There is no electrical isolation between the pic-target board and the USB/Serial PC-GND interface.

Against some opinions, PC serial comm ports are not obsolete, my Dual Core PC desktop has two and my Core 2 Duo Laptop (HP nx6320) has one. Of course I could place an USB-Uart bridge chip in order to use the PC USB port (maybe later) and you can find a handy PCI card serial port for your Desktop PC. (USB-serial-port cable doesn'lt work).
By now I have no time to design and build an IDE Windows interface that would allow Symbolic cross-references to the user program to be debugged, the interface between the INSIDER and the PC is via Hyperterminal. So, all the variables and address references to the user program are absolute HEX, although not being so friendly because of this. At least, the INSIDER'ls Commands Set is designed to ease the HEX management as much as it was possible. In the near future, this Command set will be the console commands upon which the IDE windows based INSIDER Program will work (Anyone wants to help? Welcome).
This is a non-profit based project so the same is applicable to any other source of contribution sent and shared with. There is no responsibility to the author about any kind of damage, injuries and consequences of any type in projects where the INSIDER will be involved. Any feedback, contributions or modifications needed to build and IDE windows program for the INSIDER, are welcome and you can contact me via email:

You can download the entire document, PCB, schematic and software here: (Last update: 7/10/2009) ZIP File, 320Kb.
Originally posted (11/20/2008)
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