Quote Originally Posted by mister_e
or invest in a real device programmer... ICD-2, Elnec, PicStart, EPIC...etc etc

You have to be rich to buy cheap
Sure, but there are EPIC clone designs available in plenty to build one yourself. In fact, I have built one that is almost the same as EPIC, but even more reliable on account of certain minor differences (such as pull-ups on both sides of the 74 buffer, clock, data lines pulled up to *unswitched* 5 volts, and so on). Coupled with the Winpic800, its a robust team.

Regards,

Anand