Thanks for the heads up, Mtripoli. I haven't yet done this simultaneous programming (5 devices only) extensively, but it has worked about 20 times in a row with no problems. Although I have verified devices a few times, I do not plan to do so much in the future. But before each one goes into the field, I run a diagnostic which, among other things, should indicate whether the PIC got programmed.

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to see in the programming protocol you linked. I sort of read through it, but nothing caught my eye as a danger. I don't have an RB7 on my PIC and I didn't see any others in the document that used RB7 for programming. I think I will verify the first 100 units and if there are no problems, just continue on. I'll still do the diagnostic, of course.