![]() If you want to maximize your new ICD 3's life, keep your work environment clean, dry and dust free, make sure the ICSP cable never gets yanked, and whenever possible disconnect it at the target end rather than the ICD 3 end. Its enough of an issue that Tag-Connect (a Microchip Premier 3rd party partner) have put a specific warning about the cable supplied with the Microchip AC164110 adapter on their PICkit 3 solution page because damaged jacks were making them look bad. However, hypothetically speaking, if Microchip have outsourced the cable assembly, and its being subcontracted to whichever pacific rim sweatshop puts in the lowest bid, its not surprising that some, or even whole batches are defective. If appropriate tooling is used and is properly maintained, zero defects are entirely possible. Occasional connector assembly problems are a QC issue. simply crimp the connectors so that when the cable is laid flat, one is contacts up the other contacts down). The only nasty design choice was the end to end pinout reversal which could have easily been resolved by standardising on a crossover cable (i.e. ![]() At least the tooling and connectors are readily available. IMHO Microchip could have made much worse design choices than the 6P6C jack they chose to use. Also as the ICD 2/3 programmers cannot be connected to a target without an intervening cable, the risk of mechanical strain damaging the programmer's socket are much reduced. Properly assembled modular connectors are generally reckoned to be between two and three orders of magnitude more reliable than the female socket for a 0.1" pitch header system used on the PICkit 2/3 or IDC box headers used on 3rd party programmers. See Microchip using the wrong name for a 6P6C Modular connector certainly doesn't help their users avoid incorrect cables which may damage the jack. * RJ11 is actually a two or four contact plug for telephone line applications with the same dimensions as a 6P6C plug. With a little care, damaged 6P6C sockets are entirely avoidable. *ALWAYS* check all new cables are properly crimped. You could faff around trying to retension the contacts with a dental probe, but as you have just seen, if its on a programmer, Microchip's replacement policy is fast and effective + it maintains your warranty. RJ11 connectors are used on phone lines, specifically single lines, they only have two pins. If it still fails with a known good cable (properly crimped then continuity checked), you probably have a damaged socket on the ICD3. You should then use the test interface board supplied with the ICD 3 to check the integrity of the socket and cable. If not, re-crimp with a 6P6C crimping tool (not 6P4C) to seat them. Check the tip of the plug to see if the shoulders of the individual contacts are fully seated against the bottom of the grooves in the plastic plug body. If the cable was particularly badly crimped, it may have bent the contacts in the ICD 3's 6P6C modular socket. On the third attempt, I checked under the microscope with plenty of light before crimping, and it definitely looked like all wire strands were in the right slot, but post crimp the angry beep from my meter says otherwise.There have been various reports of Microchip supplied 'RJ11' (actually 6P6C Modular plug *) cables that are not properly crimped. Ok, so maybe the RJ11 crimp contacts I have are not intended for stranded wire - and certainly not for 22AWG wire - but I figured it was worth a shot. I've got plenty of RJ11 crimp contacts, so I've tried to crimp one on to one end of the new cable, but after three careful attempts, where I've spent a lot of time trying to make sure all strands from each wire go in the right place, I've ended up with three crimps where two pins have been shorted out. Annoyingly, it has RJ11 sockets (I hate RJ11), and I had been making do in the lab with a piece of flat telephone cable I had lying around. Having got the cable I ordered, one of the first things I wanted to do was to make up a good ~6m cable for my 1-Wire AAG/Dallas weather station.
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