Custom 'Duino: Stripboard ATmega644

Well, this is my first thread in the Exhibition area, and I hope it's a good one :).

I caught some ATmega644s on eBay for a steal, so I just had to make something. I've been working for a few days on putting this together; It's not exactly pretty, but it certainly works well!

It's the ATmega644 (no, not the ATmega644p that the Sanguino uses), and is running a modified version of the Sanguino bootloader (I didn't modify it, it comes with Sanguino software). I've tested all the I/Os, and the work.

As you can see by the second picture, I arranged most of it so I could avoid using too many wires and just bridge the connections to make it work. I also used many component leads for short connections. It's running at 16 MHz, and has onboard Power and Pin 0 Debug LEDs.

Without further ado, here are some pictures (the first one with labels :)):


This soldering job isn't winning any awards, but at least I managed to get everything working the first time! :slight_smile:

Nice :slight_smile: I need to do some more stripboard/protoboard arduinos...

Great that it worked first time for you. I now have 2 boards with either the 644 or 644P (in DIP and SMD respectively) and they are great to have the extra hardware serial and the extra digital pins. I didn't make either of them though (well I put one together - duino644). The extra space is an added bonus but so far none of my projects have gone over the 328s 32k (30k useable), most of them are under 20k :wink:

Mowcius

Very nice :). Looks like something I would be able to pull of, which is inspiring because that's not the case with everything I see around here ;).

Thanks guys!

Yeah, it wasn't too difficult, but an important step is planning. You need to lay everything out on the board, make sure it will fit, and visualize the wiring. If you don't think you can wire through a small gap, or are afraid you'd accidentally bridge some connections, try rearranging until you get a manageable structure.

I made a few mistakes in my design:

  • The chip is between components, so it's very difficult to remove
  • I forgot to connect the external power's ground, so that won't work until I do
  • I need to clean off the excess flux. I read somewhere that it's a little conductive, like water, and can short things out. I've discovered that even with the jumper removed, the power LED is still glowing dimly, telling me that this is true.

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Don't you need a crystal? (Newbie question ;))

Great work. The solder job is pretty good for a perf board.

If i'm not mistaking the little green box below the reset button is the crystal. Not all crystals are packaged in a metal casing. I have a few 455kHz crystals that have a yellow/orange plastic packaging.

Don't you need a crystal? (Newbie question Wink)

the brown dot at the bottom of the socket is a resonator, which is doing the job of the crystal and the 2 capacitors

Good work btw TchnclFl

Be careful with placing ICs on the carpet, that gets lots of static electricity which may damage the chips.

Great work.

Thanks! :slight_smile:

If i'm not mistaking the little green box below the reset button is the crystal.

Actually, that's a green LED. But you're right, they're not standardized.

Good work btw TchnclFl

Thank you ;D.

Be careful with placing ICs on the carpet, that gets lots of static electricity which may damage the chips.

Wow I never even thought of that, thanks for the tip!