Hi Hippy
>It's not worth considering any other programmer IMO, it'll simply end in tears
>and frustration, not handling the chip you've chosen or the software you use
>knows the chip but not the programmer or vice-versa. Been there done all
>that. Don't waste your time.
The Mikroelektonika boards are pretty good - the one I have (EasyPic5) supports virtually all 10Fxxx, 12Fxxx, 16Fxxx, and 18Fxxx devices and is quite inexpensive, especially considering that the development board already includes an ICD, which Microchip wants you to to pay extra for. Their compiler (demo up to 2K compiled code) and programming software is free, and at least for me the whole thing (compiler and board) was up and running and flashing LEDs within 10 minutes (literally!). Reading an ADC took another 10 minutes.
One thing I agree with, the Picaxe is easier for a beginner (I got my start on a Picaxe after all, and still use it for quite advanced applications after several years now). What's more, and somewhat surprisingly, even though the Picaxe is often considered a "beginner" product, IMHO the average technical competency (and helpfulness!) of the people on this webboard here is miles/kilometers above comparable webboards for more "professional" offerings like the Mikroelektonika compiler or others; here we have also a much more lively discussion (and not always Picaxe related
So I am sure to stick around! Took me ages to find the confidence to jump to bare PICs (once I did it it was of course easier than I thought), and I still wouldn't use them instead of a Picaxe except for cases where either I need more speed, or for larger scale production where cost is an issue. Heck, I am working for a large electronic test equipment company and use Picaxe's in some of my selfmade lab equipment!
Wolfgang