Microstick and CCS IDE

[sseidman]

I'm trying to get into the dspic business fast, and the Microstick (http://www.microchipdirect.com/productsearch.aspx?Keywords=DM330013) seems to be just the ticket to do this while I build my own sandbox, but I'm not sure I can use this with the tools I'm already comfortable with.

Under "key features" it says "Integrated USB programmer / debugger – No external debugger required", and I'm concerned about drivers and whether the CCS IDE will see this. I've asked about it in their forum, but thought I'd ask here if anyone has managed to use this.

Alternatively, any recommendations for a dspic33 developer board? I'd love something that I can replace blowed-up dsp's on, that break out a few ports, SPI, I2C. I'd also love to get at USB pins, but that might be asking too much, as those seem to be only on the big packages. Sorry I can't be more specific about the needs, but I just want to put a toe in the water before putting in a major investment.

I have an ACE kit, and see that it supports 24H, but does it also support the dsPIC???

thanks,
Scott

[sseidman]

For the record, according to CCS support, the answer is "no", but I should be able to use the CCS compilers through the MPLAB IDE to get the job done.