PIC12C672 Replacing Upgrading to PIC12F683 RT809F PROGRAMMER

Question

I'm new to the microchip PIC world but not to electronics. I've been learning chip level PC and laptop mother board repair. I have a smart battery charger that uses a PIC12C672 that was destroyed along with a Schottky diode and a MOSFET. I want to replace the PIC12C672 and program it using a file dump from another good working PIC controlled battery charger that I have that is of the same model. I have been made aware that there is a new design PIC, the PIC12F683 and some have said to use the PIC12F675. My question is can I take the dump file from the PIC12C672 and write it to either of the other upgraded PIC's ? Will this work without having to modifying the code? Should I just buy another PIC12C672 on Ebay and call it a day. Also I own an RT809F programmer, will this do the job? Thanks for any help with this.

• Bruce Abbott: "can I take the dump file from the PIC12C672" - have you already extracted the firmware from the working PIC12C672? MCUs in commercial products are almost always read-protected...
• Spehro 'speff' Pefhany: Almost surely Bruce is right and the MCU firmware is protected. Virtually nobody outside the open source community ships unprotected firmware.
• Michael Sukiasian: No I have not extracted the files from the original MCU. I was not aware of the copy protection. I have done this previously with BIOS AND I/O chips on motherboards so I figured it would be the same. I attemted to read the files from the original MCU but got an error stating the chip was not installed or may be damaged. I am going to give it a try with the working MCU and will let you know.

Answer 1

It seems you can pick upgraded PIC chips such as PIC12F683 or PIC12F675. Two things need to be considered before you pick chips in your case.

1. Pin placements and configuration
2. Electrical Specifications

Both requirements have been fulfilled in the newly selected PIC Microcontrollers.

Pin Placements and Configurations:

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When you see these 3 MCUs, all of them have a pins with same functionality at same place. So, replacing the MCU will not create any connection problem here.

Electrical Specifications

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Here electrical specifications are also compatible with the old one. So, you can choose any one of these two what you can afford.

When you look at specifications, PIC12F683 does have more heat dissipation capacity(800 mW) and Maximum source and sink current of GPIO pins (200 mA) than other two MCUs which might be an extra benefit if those conditions are met in your circuit.

• Michael Sukiasian: If I go with the PIC12F683, can I flash it using a dump file from the original PIC12C672 program code as it was written or do I need to re-write or modify the code in order for it to function the same. Im not programer or coder. I just want to read the file from another PIC12672 that I have, save the file and then write it to the PIC12F683. Will this work?
• CNA: You need to develop a program by selecting the MCUPIC12F683 and to do that create a new project in MPLAB software and select the new MCU. There is no need to change the program code since all pins are same in functioning and placement. If you do not know, how to do that please follow the link: wikihow.com/…

Answer 2

Added: R McMahon

While this new answer to a 7 year old post gives the appearance of spam the linked site appears to be relevant and useful. As well as material re tyhe software tyhe site contains links to a Chinese RT809F community. Treat with due care, but may be a way of adding new life to an old tool. Also has other useful links to other facilities on the same site.
YMMV Caveat Emptor ...

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The free RT809F Programmer Software is a powerful tool used to program BIOS chips, EEPROMs, and laptop I/O controllers. It supports a wide range of chips including 24, 25, 26, and 93 series flash memory, as well as ENE, ITE, and SMSC components.

The RT809F is a Serial ISP and VGA LCD/LED USB Programmer that can read/write data via VGA or HDMI without disassembling the device. Ideal for laptops, TVs, routers, and more, it offers offline and online programming with automatic chip detection.

Download RT809F Programmer Software (Latest Version) Free For Windows

• Russell McMahon: Would you please confirm that this software is free.