Share My Creation B4J PIC Bootloader Uploader

PIC Microcontroller Projects & B4J Uploader​

Firmware Repository

This repository contains a collection of firmware projects for various PIC microcontroller families. It includes both the source code for the microcontrollers and the necessary PC-side utilities for firmware deployment.

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Repository Structure​

• MPLAB Projects/: Organized by PIC family. Each directory contains the complete source code, headers, and build files.
• B4J-BootloaderUploader/: Contains the B4J uploader utility used to flash compiled .hex files to the target hardware via a PC.

🛠 Requirements​

Requirement​	Purpose​
MPLAB X IDE​	Compiling and building the firmware projects.​
XC Compilers​	Required for the build process (XC8, XC16, or XC32).​
B4J Runtime​	Necessary to run the uploader utilities on your PC.​

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🛠 Setup & Installation​

• MPLAB Ecosystem – Microchip (Recommend 6.05 with Both Pickit 3 and MBLAB Snap or Pickit 4/5 does them all)
• MPLAB Compiler – Microchip
• B4J – B4X

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🛠 Setup & Installation​

Follow these steps to correctly link the Application and Bootloader projects:

1. Download the Repository: Click the green Code button and select Download ZIP, then extract it to your local machine.
2. Open MPLAB X: Launch the IDE and open the Bootloader project (e.g., BootLoader16F88.X).
3. Import Loadables:
   • In the Projects pane, locate your BootLoader16F88 project.
   • Right-click on the Loadables folder.
   • Select Add Loadable Project...
   • Select the corresponding project folder that has the BootLoaderApp16F88.X suffix.
   • Right click BootLoader16F88 folder and Set as Main Project
4. Click Production --> Clean and Build Project: This will automatically compile the bootloader/application and also merge them into a single .hex file. Bootloader folder have `BootLoader16F88.X.production.hex`, Application folder have `BootLoaderApp16F88.X.production.hex` and Bootloader folder also have both merged into `BootLoader16F88.X.production.unified.hex`.
5. Upload/flash (Chip with download icon) the bootloader and application with MBLAB. Which allows bootloader to flash, erase and verify in B4J. We need the bootloader minimal. If set as main, it will flash both bootloader and application.
6. B4J Uploader is what you use to upload the Application Intex Hex file to your 16F88 eg. File location ..\BootloaderApp16F88.X\dist\default\production\BootLoaderApp16F88.X.production.hex.

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Usage Instructions​

1. Build the Project (MPLAB)​

1. Open the specific project folder in MPLAB X IDE.
2. Select your target configuration. Under property make sure your programmer is selected.
3. Run Clean and Build.
4. Make sure minimal bootloader is flashed before B4J usage. Chip with download icon to flash.

2. Update Firmware (B4J)​

Updating the application device firmware requires the B4J uploader tool, but bootloader must be flashed with MPLAB first:

1. Connect your target PIC device to your PC.
2. Open the B4J Uploader utility.
3. Select Com Port and click Open Port.
4. Select configuration type eg. 16F88 in the combobox
5. Click Load Firmware the BootLoaderApp16F88.X.production.hex file generated in the previous step.
6. Execute the Flash command to flash the device. It will Erase, Flash and Verify in that order.

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Supported Families​

Project​	PIC Family​	Target Architecture​
PIC16_Project​	PIC16​	8-bit​
PIC18_Project​	PIC18​	8-bit​
PIC24_Project​	PIC24​	16-bit​

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bootloader.c and application.c share the same function name calls across all five PIC projects. Adding support for additional PIC devices requires only minor modifications to the C codes, config.h and .map configuration.

Note: Ensure your hardware connections are secure and the correct COM port is selected in the B4J uploader before attempting to flash the device.