Getting Started with PIC32

Follow these steps to get started with PIC32.

Software

This section discusses the software that must be installed on your computer. This software is only compatible with Windows. We are going to install MPLAB (software used for editing, compiling, and debugging code), the C32 compiler (software to create the program) and the Microchip Applications Library (common source files for programming).

1. Download and Install MPLAB IDE vX.XX Full Release Zipped Installation located near the bottom of this page.

2. Download and Install MPLAB C Compiler for PIC32 vX.XX Academic Version located near the bottom of this page (the academic version is free)

3. Download and Install Microchip Applications Library located at bottom of page. Extract this folder to C:/Program Files/Microchip (the Microchip folder will be created when you install MPLAB).

Bootloader

An advantage of the PIC32 is that a bootloader can be installed. This means you do not need a programmer to put new programs on the PIC. The UBW32 comes preloaded with a bootloader, but the NU32 board does not.

The HID bootloader is used to put HEX files on the PIC32. The HID bootloader should be included in the Applications Library downloaded above. It will be located under the start menu Programs -> Microchip -> MCHPFSUSB v2.6 -> Tools -> HIDBootLoader

NOTE: occassionally, the bootloader will get stuck verifying that the program is running. (There must be a bug in the bootloader application code) It will take 90-100% of CPU. End task manually with the task manager if this happens.

See Programming HID Bootloader on PIC32 for directions on how to install a bootloader on your PIC.

First Program

You can test your bootloader by programming this HelloWorld hex file on to PIC using the directions to load programs with HID Bootloader.

The directions here detail how to code and program Hello World on to the PIC32 using the HID Bootloader.