This time the nano board was not much of a time saver. HA-ha-HA-ha. The parentheses are on other nano boards as well (but may involve other port pins). So look out!
I hope this helps someone else!
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Right. Not connected. There are two holes at the center of the board with possibility to solder blobs to get RC0 and RC1 hooked up to the edge connector. I guess the mystery is solved.
The cryptic info is on page 20 in the Userguide which I did no see, becuse it is hidden on page 2 in the PIC16F17576 CURIOSITY NANO EVALUATION KIT info page. Sigh.
https://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/aemDocuments/documents/MCU08/ProductDocuments/UserGuides/PIC16F17576-CNANO-UserGuide-DS50003869.pdf
My research.
PIC16F17576 Curiosity Nano – RC0 and RC1
Why RC0 and RC1 are in parentheses
Practical implications
PORC0..3
The parentheses mark special-purpose pins.
RC0 and RC1 are oscillator pins only, not available as general I/O on this board.
Usable Pin Map
Legend
Pin Map Table
Notes
You can safely design with RA0–RA7, RB0–RB5, RC2–RC7, RD0–RD5, RE0–RE2 as general-purpose pins.
Avoid RC0 and RC1 for GPIO—they are oscillator-only.
This time the nano board was not much of a time saver. HA-ha-HA-ha.
The parentheses are on other nano boards as well (but may involve other port pins). So look out!
I hope this helps someone else!
I am sure this will help others.