Tools and supplies, software and a lot of links, after the jump!

Okay! I assume you already have a few things already, if you’ve read this far. I assume you have a soldering iron with some practice with it, a good mini-vise (That bad boy was worth every penny!), your usual assortment of wires, sockets and protoboard, a computer with an USB outlet, and some C for microcontrollers skills- What you’ve learned with your Arduino will help you with this.

Got a cup of coffee ready? Time for some reading.

1. Firstly, You will need an AVR programmer. I use Lady Ada’s USBtinyISP. Limor makes great products, and you’re supporting the community, too. You get the kit for 22 bucks, and it’s a steal at that price. It’s easily the cheapest and best In System Programmer you can get. Buy it, build it. Love it. Make it a special bed out of a cigar box to sleep in. I did!

2. Get to know your AVR microcontrollers, and order a little sampler from Mouser, Digikey, where ever. I ordered these to start, five of each. *don’t forget crystals and sockets! read the white pages for each chip to learn more* The list went: ATtiny13, ATtiny2313, ATmega168, and ATmega48. The ATtiny13 and ATmega48’s have been replaced by newer designs, so you might get lucky and find old stock somewhere, at a really good price. Basically, I went for a variety of chips, with different capacities and pins. I would have a look at the google ads on this page, perhaps you can find a good deal on hardware.

3. Software! You need software, of course, to make it all go. I use a mac, so I installed Crosspack, formerly known as AVR macpack. It includes AVRdude (AVR Downloader/UploaDEr – Kind of a stretch, if you ask me!) good ol’ GCC, and basically everything you will need in one package. Once again, Limor has provided an excellent tutorial on using AVRdude and her programmer in general. Read, learn, love. If you’ve got a windows box, you can use Atmel’s AVRStudio software, but please read Limor’s tutorial in order to learn how to use her programmer with it. I don’t have windows, so I don’t have the experience!

4. Lastly, You’ll need to wire up target boards, to hold your microprocessors while you throw code on them. EvilMadScientist Labs makes a great target board – get the development model with the ZIF socket and don’t forget the crystals for extra fanciness! This is only for a few MCU’s that you may find yourself using often. It’s not needed, really, but hey! It really looks cool, and is very tidy and professional, and ZIF sockets are just sweet! For your target board needs, though, I would like to refer you to this article I wrote not too long ago. They work nicely for me. And at about two bucks per, very inexpensive! I’ve labeled and attached all of my target boards inside small tins for tidiness, and longevities sake.

So, there you are! You now have what you need to start throwing code on AVR microcontrollers, on the cheap.

PS. Here’s something to get you started on using GCC for AVR’s. You’ll need it! GCC Tutorial for AVR

AVR Target Board

I recently outgrew my still-loved Arduino, and desired to learn how to use AVR Microcontrollers in their intended way. So, I started assembling tools and software. I built a AVR programmer from Limor’s USBtinyISP kit, and it was easily the best choice for me. Then, I installed a bit of software, but then the big problem arose: How to interface the unique microcontrollers to this specific programmer. I found very little direction on how to complete this simple task, and I hope to fill in the blanks for you. I am assuming you know how to solder, and have some basic electronics know-how, ’cause you are playing with microcontrollers..

Parts! You need a 2 row, 6 pin connector. (Mouser Part #M22-2580305), a suitable piece of plain old protoboard, some thin gauge wire, and a IC header to fit the microcontroller you wish to use. And for God’s sake, use a marker to indicate which way is up for your chip!

So, for this simple process, you need to link six pins from your IC header to your 6 pin connector. But what goes where?! Good question! Lucky for us, there are standards. The programmer I am using is an ISP programmer, which means that each of the six pins goes to a unique pin on each microcontroller. To find out which pin does what on your microcontroller, simply obtain the white sheets on the chip. They’re on Atmel’s website. For our purposes, we’ll be using the popular ATtiny2313 microcontroller. To cut things short, have a look at the clip from the white pages for this chip.

ATtiny2313 layout

See those six items in red? They’re highlighted for a purpose. It’s because they correspond to the six pins in your 6-pin connector!  Now,  it’s  just  a matter of soldering your wire up to make a connection between the proper pins on both the header and connector. Here’s a little cheat sheet for what goes where on the connector:

6 Pin ISP connector

So, just clip some wire, and make your connections. Use a marker to remember which pin is #1! This will save you a lot of headache later.

Finally! One more step. Take a little more wire, and connect it in series with the Ground and VCC pins on your header. You need to feed your chip a little power. Personally, I leave these wires sticking up and out of the board, so I can take a 2xAA battery pack I’ve attached clips to for easy moving between target boards. And for crying out loud, use different colored wires, so you don’t mix things up.

From here, you’re all ready to go. I don’t want to rewire the same thing all the time, so I used some plastic standoffs, and glued the thing into a mint case, for safekeeping. You can even get extra fancy and use a ZIF socket. Whatever makes you happy, as long as you make those six little connections right and power your chip while programming it.

Have fun!