PROGRAMMING THE CHIP
The kit comes with a pre-programmed PIC chip but if you want to program your own chip or modify the program, the .hex file is available as well as the assembly file, so you can see how the program has been written and view the comments for each line of code.
The PIC12F629 is one of the smallest micros in the range but you will be surprised how much can be achieved with such a tiny micro.
The program contains sub-routines to produce delays, sequences on the display and both read and write EEPROM; jobs that require accurate code - including a special sequence - called a handshaking sequence that prevents the EEPROM being written due to glitches. 
Even a program as simple as this is not easy to put together and to assist in this area, we have provided a whole raft of support material.
Not only do we provide a number of programs with full documentation but our approach to programming is simple.
It involves a method of "copy and paste" whereby sub-routines are taken from previously written code and copied into your program. Any modifications are made in very small steps so that each can be tested before adding more code.
This is exactly how we produce a complex project. Each step is written and tested before adding the next step.
This saves a lot of frustration as it is very easy to add a line of code that is incorrect and get an unsuspected result. 
If you follow our suggestions you will buy a programmer ("burner") called a PICkit-2 if you are using a laptop. It is the cheapest and best on the market and comes with a USB cable and 2 CD's containing the programs needed to "burn" the chip. If you are using a desk-top and/or tower with a serial port, you can use a cheaper programmer called MultiChip Programmer from Talking Electronics. You will also need NotePad2 to write your .asm program. This can be downloaded from Talking Electronics website. You will use LED_FX.asm or LED_FX-asm.txt as a template for your program, plus a 6 pin to 5 pin connector that fits between the burner and the project. This is also available on Talking Electronics website.
As we said before, this project is for medium-to-advanced programmers as it is very compact and does not have in-circuit programming pins.
To be able to modify the chip you will need a programming socket and this can be obtained from one of our other projects that contains the 5 pins for in-circuit programming.
You can then put the chip into the other project to be programmed and modified and re-fit it into this project for execution.

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
There are a number of kits, programs and courses on the market that claim and suggest they teach PIC Programming.
Most of these modules and courses use a PIC microcontroller as the chip carrying out the processes, but the actual programming is done by a proprietary language invented by the designer of the course.
Although these courses are wonderful to get you into "Programming Microcontrollers" they do not use any of the terms or codes that apply to the PIC microcontroller family.
All our projects use the 33 instructions that come with the PIC Microcontroller and these are very easy to learn.
We use the full capability of the micro and our pre-programmed chip is less than the cost of doing it any other way.
In addition, anything designed via our method can be instantly transferred to a PIC die and mass produced. And we use all the input pins and all the memory of the chip. The other approaches use less than 25% of the capability of the memory and one of the pins is not available.
In fact it would be difficult to reproduce this project via any of the opposition methods. It would require a larger chip and more expense. 
You can use our method or the opposition. Just be aware that the two are not interchangeable.
Ours is classified as the lowest "form" (level) of programming - commonly called machine code - invented in the early days of microprocessors - and now called mnemonic programming as each line of code is made up of letters of a set of words. The opposition uses a higher level language where one instruction can carry out an operation similar to a sub-routine.
But you have to learn the "higher level language" in order to create a program. And this requires a fair amount of skill and capability.  
It sounds great and it is a good idea. But if you want to learn PIC programming, it does not assist you. It is "a step removed" from learning PIC language. The other disadvantage of the opposition is the "overhead." The 1,000 spaces allocated for your program is filled with pre-written sub-routines. You may require only 10 of these sub-routines but ALL of them are loaded in the memory space. And they take up all the memory.
You have no room for your own program.
To get around this the opposition uses the 128 bytes in EEPROM to deliver instructions on how to apply the sub-routines. This provides about 30 powerful instructions using their language called BASIC (or a similar language). 
It's a bit like selling a diary filled with all the paragraphs you need to express yourself, and leaving a few blank pages at the back for you to write single lines such as: see page 24, paragraph 7, see page 63 paragraph 4, to create your diary entries.
It depends on how much you want to be in charge of writing a program. Using our method is like writing your own auto-biography. Using the opposition is like getting a "ghost writer."
When using a higher level language to create a program, you have absolutely no idea how the code is generated for the micro.
In some of the developmental kits, the code is "locked away" and you are NEVER able to access it.
Everything runs smoothly until a fault appears. With our method you can see the code. With the other methods, you cannot see the code - it's like doing key-hole surgery without the advantage of an illuminated endoscope to see what you are doing.
Everything has its place and our method of hand-assembly is only suitable for very small micros and you will eventually need to "learn a high level language."   The PIC12F629 has over 1,000 locations for code and this equates to more than 20 pages when printed, so this is about the limit to doing things by hand.
But our drive is to show how much can be done with the simplest devices on the market, at the lowest cost.
Anyone can show you high-technology at a high price but this is not where you start and this is not where you get enthusiasm.
We provide the things to get you started. That's the difference.

LED FX Circuit

The CIRCUIT
The circuit is very simple. It is just 3 LEDs and 3 switches. All the work is done by the micro.
We have added a 5v regulator and diode so the project can be connected to all sorts of voltages.
It will work on 6v if the regulator is removed or on 7v to 15v (AC or DC) with the regulator fitted to the board.
This makes it suitable for a 9v battery or the AC supply from a model railroad. I know you are going to say "it is inefficient using a 9v battery" but it is convenient.
 

THE LEDs
The LEDs supplied in the kit are ultra high-bright white LEDs. They are too bright to look at directly but can be used for all sorts of applications and effects. You can change them to suit your own application.

SURFACE-MOUNT COMPONENTS
To make the PC board as small as possible, we have used surface-mount components. Once you start using SM components, you get hooked. Through-hole components seem enormous. You will need fine tweezers to hold them in place while one end is soldered.
Always use very fine solder as you only need very little for each component and the main reason for adding extra is to take advantage of the flux to clean the connection. Always solder resistors with the value showing.

CONSTRUCTION
You can build the circuit on any type of PC board and we have used a small piece of matrix board.
The kit of components comes with all the parts you need to get the project working, including a pre-programmed chip and the matrix board.
To modify the program you will need a PICkit-2 programmer and this comes with 2 CD's containing all the software needed for In-Circuit Programming.
You will also need a lead (comes with PICkit-2) to connect the programmer to your lap top via the USB port and an adapter we call 6pin to 5 pin Adapter to connect the PICkit-2 to your project.

6pin to 5pin Adapter


Adapter connected for In-Circuit Programming
(the chip is placed in another project for in-circuit programming
or any PC board with 5 In-circuit Programming pins)

Construction is on a piece of matrix board  14 holes x 9 holes. These two drawings will be sufficient to position and solder all the components:

  
LED FX components on Matrix board                Underside of board     

The kit comes with a printed Circuit Board and 3 x high-brightness white LEDs. If you want to drive LED strips, ask for 3 x 1k standard resistors and 3 x BC338 transistors.

Driving LED Strips
One reader wanted to use the LED Fx project to drive 3 LED strips for his son's bike.
You will need to connect 1k resistors to pins 5, 6 and 7 and use 3 x BC338 transistors as shown in the following circuit:

The PROGRAM
The program does a bit of detecting when turned on. It detects to see if a bit has been set in EEPROM to tell the micro to go to a required sequence or start with sequence 1.
It also detects if switch A or C has been pressed at the instant the project is turned on so that the micro is directed to the sub-routine where the user-sequence can be entered or if the EEPROM bit is to be cancelled.
All this gets done in the SetUp routine and then the micro goes to Main.
 
In Main, the program increments a "jump" file and calls a table where it finds a directive to go to a particular sub-routine.
The sub-routine is executed and the micro goes back to Main where it looks for a release of SwA. This forms part of a key debounce as the key must be fully debounced as it is advancing the micro through the sequences.
To provide a totally reliable debounce, the key is detected as not being pushed for the duration of a whole cycle of a sequence and a separate loop is then executed where the key can be detected as being pushed, to advance the program to the next sequence.
To create your own sequence as sequence1, the project is turned off and SwA pressed while turning the project ON.
This sends the micro to a sub-routine called Attract.
As soon as SwA is released, the program starts to time the duration when a switch is not pressed and it "times-out" after 2.5 seconds.
The program also times the duration when a LED is illuminated. It also accepts 2 or 3 LEDs illuminated at the same time. These are all clever instructions that need to be looked at to see how they operate.
Up to 15 steps can be entered and each step occupies three bytes. The first value identifies the illuminated LEDs, the second byte identifies the ON duration (in increments of 5mS) and the third byte identifies the OFF time.
These 45 bytes are contained in files 30h to 5Fh.
When a switch is not pressed for 2.5 seconds, the program "times out" and sends the values to the EEPROM. It then shows the sequence on the LEDs.
If the project is turned off and on again, this sequence will be displayed as sequence1.
To replace the sequence with something else, simply repeat the steps above.
If you want one of the pre-programmed sequences to appear each time the project is turned on, simply advance through the sequences by pressing SwA and when the desired sequence is playing, push SwB.
This will record your choice. Turn the project OFF then ON again and the chosen sequence will be displayed.
To remove this feature, press SwC when the project is off and at the same time, turn the project ON.
All these feature have been added to the program, one at a time, and it is important to add them in the correct order. For instance, you can only add a removal feature after the initial feature has been produced. Reading and writing to the EEPROM is a most complex operation and the instructions must be laid out as shown in the program, as they include a hand-shaking sequence. When you need this code it is copied and pasted in its entirety, to prevent a mistake.
Nearly every instruction has a comment to explain not only what it does, but why it was chosen.
If you think you can start programming without reading programs from other developers, you are wasting your time.
No individual can work how to do many of the tasks via the simplest set of instructions and you will find some programmers have used complex code to do the simplest task.
That's why you have to pick out the "wheat from the chaff" and remember a good routine, while discarding the over-complex sets of code.
This brings up an important point.
Don't expect to be an A1 programmer in a week. It takes time to absorb the skills of programming and it is really only understood by a microscopic percentage of electronics enthusiasts. If you take it up and understand it, you are one of the microscopic few.
It is a world that, once you are in, will open up a whole new field of ideas and development.
It's like taking up a new spoken language and, in fact, a program reads like a book, so the analogy is very close.   
There are some very "clever" instructions such as XOR where you can compare two files by using the XOR function and determine if they are the same. And very powerful instructions such as djnz that decrements a file and if it is zero, the micro jumps over the next instruction.
Other clever instructions transfer the contents of a file to another via the "carry."
You cannot be expected to know these "tricks" unless you study programming. That's why we are here.

Here are the files you will need:
LED_FX.asm
LED_FX-asm.txt
LED_FX.hex
 

;******************************* ;;LED FX.asm ; 11-3-2010 ;******************************* list p=12F629 radix dec include "p12f629.inc" errorlevel -302 ; Don't complain about BANK 1 Registers during assembly __CONFIG _MCLRE_OFF & _CP_OFF & _WDT_OFF & _INTRC_OSC_NOCLKOUT ;Internal osc. ;_MCLRE_OFF - master clear must be off for gp3 to work as input pin ;**************************************************************** ; variables - names and files ;**************************************************************** temp1 equ 20h ; temp2 equ 21h ; temp3 equ 22h ; temp4 equ 23h ; jump equ 24h ;jump value for table1 fadeUp equ 25h fadeDwn equ 26h sequences equ 27h sw_duration equ 28h testing equ 29h ;**************************************************************** ;Equates ;**************************************************************** status equ 0x03 rp1 equ 0x06 rp0 equ 0x05 GPIO equ 0x05 status equ 03h option_reg equ 81h ; bits on GPIO pin7 equ 0 ;GP0 LED C pin6 equ 1 ;GP1 LED B pin5 equ 2 ;GP2 LED A pin4 equ 3 ;GP3 Sw A pin3 equ 4 ;GP4 Sw B pin2 equ 5 ;GP5 Sw C ;bits rp0 equ 5 ;bit 5 of the status register ;**************************************************************** ;Beginning of program ;**************************************************************** org 0x00 nop nop nop nop nop SetUp bsf status, rp0 ;Bank 1 movlw b'11111000' ;Set TRIS GP0,1,2 out GP3,4,5 input movwf TRISIO ; bcf status, rp0 ;bank 0 movlw 07h ;turn off Comparator ports movwf CMCON ;must be placed in bank 0 clrf GPIO ;Clear GPIO of junk call _memory btfss gpio,5 ;SwA to: "record new sequence" goto record btfsc gpio,3 ;SwC removes attract sequence goto $+.10 movlw 0FFh bsf status,rp0 ;select bank1 movwf EEDATA bcf status,rp0 ;select bank0 movlw .101 bsf status,rp0 ;select bank1 movwf EEADR bcf status,rp0 ;select bank0 call write movlw .101 bsf status,rp0 movwf EEADR bsf EECON1,0 ;starts EEPROM read operation. Result in EEDATA movf EEDATA,w ;move read data into w bcf status,rp0 xorlw .8 ;look for 8 - for Attract mode btfsc 03,2 goto Attract_Seq ;selected sequence will appear first goto Main ;**************************************************************** ;* Tables * ;**************************************************************** table1 addwf PCL,F ;02h,1 add W to program counter retlw .10 ; retlw .50 retlw .30 ; retlw .50 retlw .100 ; retlw .40 ;program starts at bottom of table retlw .10 ; retlw .50 retlw .30 ; retlw .50 retlw .60 ; retlw .10 ; retlw .50 retlw .10 ; retlw .50 retlw .100 ; retlw .20 ; retlw .50 retlw .30 ; retlw .50 retlw .70 retlw .60 ; retlw .100 ; retlw .50 retlw .100 ; retlw .50 retlw .100 ; retlw .70 ; retlw .50 retlw .30 ; retlw .50 retlw .70 ; table2 addwf PCL,F ;02h,1 add W to program counter goto seq1 goto seq2 goto seq3 goto seq4 goto seq5 goto seq6 goto seq7 goto seq8 goto seq9 goto seq10 goto seq11 goto seq12 ;**************************************************************** ;* Delays * ;**************************************************************** _xuS movwf temp2 _uS movlw .10 movwf temp1 decfsz temp1,f goto $-1 decfsz temp2,f goto _uS retlw 00 _ZuS movwf temp2 goto $+2 goto $+2 decfsz temp2,f goto $-3 retlw 00 _xmS movwf temp2 _x nop decfsz temp1,f goto _x decfsz temp2,f goto _x retlw 00 ;5mS delay for increments in timing for "New Sequence" _5mS movlw 05h movwf temp2 _5 nop decfsz temp1,f goto _5 decfsz temp2,f goto _5 retlw 00 _10mS movlw 0Ah movwf temp2 _10 nop decfsz temp1,f goto _10 decfsz temp2,f goto _10 retlw 00 _50mS movlw .50 movwf temp2 _50 nop decfsz temp1,f goto _50 decfsz temp2,f goto _50 retlw 00 _100mS movlw .100 movwf temp2 _100 nop decfsz temp1,f goto _100 decfsz temp2,f goto _100 retlw 00 _150mS movlw .150 movwf temp2 _150 nop decfsz temp1,f goto _150 decfsz temp2,f goto _150 retlw 00 ;**************************************************************** ;* Sub Routines * ;**************************************************************** _memory movlw .48 movwf temp1 movlw 2Fh movwf fsr incf fsr,f movlw 0FFh movwf indf decfsz temp1,f goto $-4 retlw 00 ;SwB puts current sequence into EEPROM for turn on. ;and puts "marker" in location 101 Attract movf sequences,w ;put sequence number into w bsf status,rp0 ;select bank1 movwf EEDATA bcf status,rp0 ;select bank0 movlw .100 bsf status,rp0 ;select bank1 movwf EEADR bcf status,rp0 ;select bank0 call write movlw .8 bsf status,rp0 ;select bank1 movwf EEDATA incf EEADR,1 bcf status,rp0 ;select bank0 call write nop goto $-1 ;Project must now be turned off ;Seq selected as Attract will be displayed when project turned on Attract_Seq movlw .100 bsf status,rp0 movwf EEADR bsf EECON1,0 ;starts EEPROM read operation. Result in EEDATA movf EEDATA,w ;move read data into w bcf status,rp0 movwf temp4 movf temp4,w call table2 goto $-2 ;record new sequence - looks for "no switch pressed" for 1.25 seconds to exit ;uses files 30h to 5Fh (48 files) ;three files per "step" 1st file = LEDs, 2nd = Off time, 3rd = on time ;15 steps allowed - look for 5Dh record btfss gpio,5 ;wait for release of button A goto $-1 movlw 30h movwf fsr ;start storage at file 30h ;look at keys being pressed - identifies 2 or 3 keys pressed together _r1 clrf sw_duration _r1a call _5mS incfsz sw_duration,1 ;5mS x 256 = 1.25seconds goto $+2 goto Store ;time out! store files 30h to 5Fh in EEPROM btfss gpio,5 ;see if one or more Sw is pressed goto $+5 btfss gpio,4 goto $+3 btfsc gpio,3 goto _r1a ;no sw pressed create 2.5 sec timing ;1,2,or 3 sw pressed call _10mS ;delay to detect 2 or 3 switches incfsz sw_duration,1 goto $+2 goto Main btfsc gpio,5 ;SwA goto $+2 bsf gpio,0 ;turn on LED A btfsc gpio,4 ;SwB goto $+2 bsf gpio,1 ;turn on LED B btfsc gpio,3 ;SwC goto $+2 ; bsf gpio,2 ;turn on LED C ;LEDs have been illuminated movf gpio,w movwf indf ;w moved to fsr's file (30h+) incf fsr,f movf sw_duration,w ;off time!! movwf indf ;w moved to fsr's file (30h+) incf fsr,f clrf sw_duration _r2 call _5mS incfsz sw_duration,1 goto $+2 goto record ;time out! keys pressed too long. Start again btfss gpio,5 goto _r2 ;sw pressed btfss gpio,4 goto _r2 ;sw pressed btfss gpio,3 goto _r2 ;sw pressed ;file empty. Put duration into file movf sw_duration,w ;on time movwf indf ;w moved to fsr's file (30h+) incf fsr,f movlw 5Dh xorwf fsr,w btfss 03,2 goto $+2 goto Store ;stop at 15 steps. store files 30h to 5Fh in EEPROM clrf gpio goto _r1 ;sequences: ;seq1 Self-Programmed sequence ;1St file:LEDs 2nd file:OFF time 3rd file:On time seq1 bsf status,rp0 clrf EEADR bcf status,rp0 bsf status,rp0 bsf EECON1,0 ;starts EEPROM read operation. Result in EEDATA movf EEDATA,w ;move read data into w bcf status,rp0 movwf gpio bsf status,rp0 incf EEADR,1 bsf EECON1,0 ; movf EEDATA,w ;move read data into w bcf status,rp0 movwf temp4 ;this is OFF time. Store it bsf status,rp0 incf EEADR,1 bsf EECON1,0 ; movf EEDATA,w ;move read data into w bcf status,rp0 movwf sw_duration ;this is ON time call _5mS decfsz sw_duration,1 goto $-2 clrf gpio call _5mS decfsz temp4,f ;create OFF duration goto $-2 bsf status,rp0 incf EEADR,1 bsf EECON1,0 ; movf EEDATA,w ;move read data into w bcf status,rp0 xorlw 0FFh ;look for 0FFh - end of routine btfss 03,2 goto $-31 retlw 00 ;seq2 chase right - very fast seq2 bsf gpio,0 call _100mS bcf gpio,0 bsf gpio,1 call _100mS bcf gpio,1 bsf gpio,2 call _100mS bcf gpio,2 call _100mS clrf gpio retlw 00 ;seq3 chase right seq3 bsf gpio,0 call _150mS bcf gpio,0 bsf gpio,1 call _150mS bcf gpio,1 bsf gpio,2 call _150mS bcf gpio,2 call _150mS clrf gpio retlw 00 ;seq4 chase right with off-delay at end seq4 bsf gpio,0 call _150mS bcf gpio,0 bsf gpio,1 call _150mS bcf gpio,1 bsf gpio,2 call _150mS bcf gpio,2 call _150mS retlw 00 ;seq5 left right left right seq5 bsf gpio,0 call _150mS bcf gpio,0 bsf gpio,2 call _150mS bcf gpio,2 retlw 00 ;seq6 middle on middle off seq6 bsf gpio,1 call _150mS bcf gpio,1 call _150mS clrf gpio retlw 00 ;seq7 All on all off seq7 clrf gpio call _150mS decf gpio,f call _150mS clrf gpio retlw 00 seq8 ;seq8 middle on then sides on bsf gpio,1 call _150mS bcf gpio,1 bsf gpio,0 bsf gpio,2 call _150mS clrf gpio retlw 00 ;seq9 police flasher 3 times left 3 times right seq9 bsf gpio,0 call _50mS bcf gpio,0 call _50mS bsf gpio,0 call _50mS bcf gpio,0 call _50mS bsf gpio,0 call _50mS bcf gpio,0 call _50mS bsf gpio,2 call _50mS bcf gpio,2 call _50mS bsf gpio,2 call _50mS bcf gpio,2 call _50mS bsf gpio,2 call _50mS bcf gpio,2 clrf gpio call _50mS retlw 00 ;seq10 random flicker seq10 movlw .32 ;start at bottom of table movwf jump bsf gpio,1 movf jump,w ;put table jump value into w call table1 call _xmS bcf gpio,1 decfsz jump,f goto $+2 retlw 00 ;top of table found movf jump,w ;put table jump value into w call table1 call _xmS goto $-11 ;seq11 slow fade up down seq11 clrf fadeUp ; clrf fadeDwn incf fadeUp,f ;to create 1 (delay routine does not like 00) bsf gpio,1 movf fadeUp,w call _xuS bcf gpio,1 movf fadeDwn,w call _xuS decfsz fadeDwn,f ; goto $-8 incf fadeDwn,f ;to produce 1 bsf gpio,1 movf fadeUp,w call _xuS bcf gpio,1 movf fadeDwn,w call _xuS decf fadeUp,f incfsz fadeDwn,f goto $-8 clrf gpio retlw 00 ;seq12 fast fade up down seq12 clrf fadeUp clrf fadeDwn incf fadeUp,f ;to create 1 (delay routine does not like 00) bsf gpio,1 movf fadeUp,w call _ZuS bcf gpio,1 movf fadeDwn,w call _ZuS decfsz fadeDwn,f ; goto $-8 incf fadeDwn,f ;to produce 1 bsf gpio,1 movf fadeUp,w call _ZuS bcf gpio,1 movf fadeDwn,w call _ZuS decf fadeUp,f incfsz fadeDwn,f goto $-8 clrf gpio retlw 00 ;Store Store the 15 steps in EEPROM Store bsf status,rp0 ;select bank1 clrf eeadr bcf status,rp0 ;select bank0 movlw .48 movwf temp1 movlw 2Fh movwf fsr incf fsr,f ;fsr starts at file 30h movf indf,w ;retreive data in file 30h bsf status,rp0 ;select bank1 movwf eedata ; bcf status,rp0 ;select bank0 call write bsf status,rp0 ;select bank1 incf eeadr,1 bcf status,rp0 ;select bank0 decfsz temp1,f goto $-10 goto Main write bsf status,rp0 ;select bank1 bsf eecon1,wren ;enable write movlw 55h ;unlock codes movwf eecon2 movlw 0aah movwf eecon2 bsf eecon1,wr ;write begins bcf status,rp0 ;select bank0 writeA btfss pir1,eeif ;wait for write to complete goto writeA bcf pir1,eeif bsf status,rp0 ;select bank1 bcf eecon1,wren ;disable other writes bcf status,rp0 ;select bank0 retlw 00 ;**************************************************************** ;* Main * ;**************************************************************** Main clrf sequences movf sequences,w call table2 btfss gpio,5 ;Is swA still pressed? goto $-3 ;SwA still pressed movf sequences,w ;SwA released call table2 btfss gpio,4 ;SwB puts current sequence at turn-on goto Attract btfsc gpio,5 goto $-5 ;SwA not pressed incf sequences,f movlw .12 xorwf sequences,w btfss 03,2 goto $-12 goto Main ;**************************************************************** ;*EEPROM * ;**************************************************************** org 2100h END

GOING FURTHER
We have not produced all the possible sequences and you can add more by simply creating a new sub-routine.
You need to add it to the table and make sure you end with retlw 00 to send the micro back to Main.
We have provided all the hardware and software for you to do this. Now it's now up to you.