ummm, I'm in the UK.
I might go and look at the site now. I went a bit made getting samples ages ago so I still had loads left...
even if the don't have any free samples of that particular chip on ebay they are only about a pound, (and I'll send you a tube with a few in for free)...
the programmer I use is the JDM programmer.
it works on the serial port of a desktop PC (it won't work with laptops, they don't produce enough voltage).
I'd hazard a guess that you could build a JDM programmer on a breadboard for less that the price of a single Arduino chip. (mines on a bit of vero board).
or a programmer is available on ebay for £10 -I know this because I've finially decided that I want a new programmer that will work on a laptop so that I don't have to keep hold of a desktop.
as for the other bits, the 16f877 does require a crystal and a capacitor for the clock circuit.
but the 16f628 has an internal oscillator, you don't actually need any external components at all. it's a bit limited in so far as you only have 2 ports (port A and port b) to play with, but either port can be set to either input of output, there is no analogue in (there is on the 877), but you can do serial transmission on both...
I program using C, but suppose I could use assembler, there is a free compiler available called HiTech C (though I use a paid for cone called PicC). then I use ICProg to load the program onto the chip... though if I get myself a Pickit programmer (the USB one) then I'll be able to program directly from Mplab without having to use a separate program to get the compiled code onto the chips...
what is your project going to do?
free samples
go to
Microchip Technology Inc. is a Leading Provider of Microcontroller and Analog Semiconductors, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide.
hover over the buy sample menu and click sample
log in
on search for samples select 8-bit pic controllers for the producet line
and 16f628a for the chip type (i think that the 16f628 isn't made any more which is why there are no samples)
or click 16f877a for the other chip.
(i stick to these two chips for the simple reason that I happened to have them when I built the programmer, and to program these you have to pull a specific pin low... I didn't have a switch at the time so my programmer is stuck on configured only for these two chips).
but there are plenty of chips that you can program either with the Pickit or the JDM programmer.
(pic kit is £10 on ebay, jdm can be built for around £5)...