Before we get started with the C learning experience, we need to hook up the PicWiser to the PC. PicWiser contains a USB interface which provides both a serial communications port and provides +5 volts for power. The serial communications is important for downloading programs from the PC using the interface program detailed in the next section. Once the programs are downloaded, the serial channel can be used for various functions such as reading data from PicWiser or sending commands to it.

The first time you connect PicWiser to your PC with the USB cable, Windows will detect it and need to install the driver for it. The Virtual Com Port (VCP) drivers cause the USB device on PicWiser to appear as a COM port on the PC. The most current driver is available at www.ftdichip.com/vcp.htm. Click on the link and save the zipped file to a directory like c:\ftdi. Unzip the files to the same directory and when you plug in PicWiser and Windows ask you where the driver is you can point it to this directory.

Note that when you connect PicWiser to the PC using the USB cable, the onboard LED will blink if it's the first time you've connected it and haven't overwritten the default program.

Pressing the reset switch will cause the micro to enter the reset state and the LED will remain off while the switch is pressed. The reset switch is important when downloading programs to the PicWiser.