User manual

MPLAB
®
X PICkit™ 3 USER’S GUIDE
 2013 Microchip Technology Inc. DS52116A-page 13
Chapter 1. About the In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer
1.1 INTRODUCTION
An overview of the PICkit 3™ In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer system is provided.
• PICkit 3 In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer Defined
• How the PICkit 3 In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer Helps You
• PICkit 3 In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer Components
1.2 PICKIT 3 IN-CIRCUIT DEBUGGER/PROGRAMMER DEFINED
The PICkit 3 In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer (see Figure 1-1) is a simple, low-cost
in-circuit debugger that is controlled by a PC running MPLAB X IDE software on a
Windows
®
platform. The PICkit 3 In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer is an integral part
of the development engineer’s tool suite. The application usage can vary from software
development to hardware integration.
The PICkit 3 In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer is a debugger system used for hardware
and software development with Microchip PIC
®
microcontrollers (MCUs) and dsPIC
®
Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs) that are based on In-Circuit Serial Programming™
(ICSP™) and Enhanced In-Circuit Serial Programming 2-wire serial interfaces.
In addition to debugger functions, the PICkit 3 In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer
system also may be used as a development programmer.
The PICkit 3 debugger was developed for programming and debugging embedded
processors with debug functions. The PICkit 3 features include:
• Full-speed USB support using Windows standard drivers
• Real-time execution
• Processors running at maximum speeds
• Built-in over-voltage/short circuit monitor
• Low voltage to 5V (1.8-5V range)
• Diagnostic LEDs (power, active, status)
• Read/write program and data memory of microcontroller
• Erasing of all memory types (EEPROM, ID, configuration and program) with
verification
• Peripheral freeze at breakpoint
Note: The PICkit 3 In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer is NOT a production
programmer. It should be used for development purposes only.