requirements and limits of 8Mhz 3.3v

So I did the locks this time and still the bootloader disappeared after a regular upload
: /

That's unusual. What programmer are you using, and are you burning the bootloader from the IDE or outside the IDE (not that either shouldn't work, but...)

If burning the bootloader from the IDE, lock bits should be handled, see the board.txt entry earlier in the thread.

I did it outside the ide, ill try it with the ide when I get home and see what happens
But if I did it outside it shouldn't make a difference, very weird

FWIW, here's a batch file I use...

echo off
echo ** Write optiboot (Arduino Uno) bootloader on ATmega328P chip
avrdude -c usbtiny -p m328p -v
echo ** Chip erase
avrdude -c usbtiny -p m328p -e
echo ** Set fuses
avrdude -c usbtiny -p m328p -U lfuse:w:0xff:m -U hfuse:w:0xde:m -U efuse:w:0x05:m
echo ** Write bootloader...
rem avrdude -c usbtiny -p m328p -U flash:w:optiboot_atmega328.hex
avrdude -c usbtiny -p m328p -U flash:w:optiboot_atmega328_westfw_2011-06-15.hex
echo ** Lock
avrdude -c usbtiny -p m328p -U lock:w:0x0f:m
echo ** Bootloader written!
avrdude -c usbtiny -p m328p -v

Hi,

The (me)duino sounds like great fun!

If you are looking to build to a low power spec, I can definitely recommend this power saving tutorial by Nick Gammon.

http://www.gammon.com.au/forum/?id=11497]http://www.gammon.com.au/forum/?id=11497[/url]

I got my board to use sleep and interrupts, voltage at 3.7v from lipo and current during sleep < 6uA, from using the tutorial. I set fuses to disable brown-out detection and use internal 8MHZ osc. ADC disabled during sleep.

Cheers

Hi Jack!
Can you send me the source code of this optiboot version? I want to know if the watchdog are implemented.

I will upload using the Arduino as burner.

What winAVR version do you use to build it?

Best regards!
Frank

FrankRadio:
Hi Jack!
Can you send me the source code of this optiboot version? I want to know if the watchdog are implemented.

I will upload using the Arduino as burner.

What winAVR version do you use to build it?

Best regards!
Frank

Hi Frank,

Source code is from Arduino 1.0, find it in hardware\arduino\bootloaders\optiboot

WinAVR is 20100110 which I believe is the latest version.

Cheers ... Jack

FYI, here is my boards.txt entry to use the 8MHz Optiboot bootloader. I just modified the .path and .file lines to point to the new bootloader (original lines commented out).

pro328.name=Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (3.3V, 8 MHz) w/ ATmega328

pro328.upload.protocol=stk500
pro328.upload.maximum_size=32256
pro328.upload.speed=57600

pro328.bootloader.low_fuses=0xFF
pro328.bootloader.high_fuses=0xDE
pro328.bootloader.extended_fuses=0x05
pro328.bootloader.path=optiboot
pro328.bootloader.file=optiboot_atmega328_pro_8MHz.hex
#pro328.bootloader.path=atmega
#pro328.bootloader.file=ATmegaBOOT_168_atmega328_pro_8MHz.hex
pro328.bootloader.unlock_bits=0x3F
pro328.bootloader.lock_bits=0x0F

pro328.build.mcu=atmega328p
pro328.build.f_cpu=8000000L
pro328.build.core=arduino

Hi there,

thanks a lot for the "boards.txt" file. I used it in combination with the earlier posted optiboot code (optiboot_atmega328_pro_8MHz.hex) and an UNO R3 as a programmer for the 3.3V 8Mhz ProMini board. Uploading the bootloader worked very well. However, when trying to upload a sketch via the Ardunio IDE, I got the following error message: "avrdude: Yikes! Invalid device signature. Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override this check." Does anyone have an idea how to tackle that problem?

I think you have a 328 not a 328p, you will probably have to do it manually with avrdude to either overide the check or change it to the proper one

The uP signature says: MEGA328P / AU 1208

winner10920:
I think you have a 328 not a 328p, you will probably have to do it manually with avrdude to either overide the check or change it to the proper one

A Pro Mini would certainly have a 328P, assuming it is the official version made by Sparkfun (can be purchased various places though) http://www.sparkfun.com/products/11114

ray1408:
Hi there,

thanks a lot for the "boards.txt" file. I used it in combination with the earlier posted optiboot code (optiboot_atmega328_pro_8MHz.hex) and an UNO R3 as a programmer for the 3.3V 8Mhz ProMini board. Uploading the bootloader worked very well. However, when trying to upload a sketch via the Ardunio IDE, I got the following error message: "avrdude: Yikes! Invalid device signature. Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override this check." Does anyone have an idea how to tackle that problem?

Ray, what are you using to program the Pro Mini? I assume that worked OK before you burned the new bootloader? Which version IDE are you using?

Hi Jack,

thanks a lot for your help. The boards are from Sparkfun. And everything worked very well with the old bootloader. Everything - exept one thing: the watchdog timer library (wdt.h). Which finally led to the decission to get the newer optiboot on those boards. The IDE is 1.0.1. I will try to manually overide with avrdude in the meantime.

ray1408:
Hi Jack,

thanks a lot for your help. The boards are from Sparkfun. And everything worked very well with the old bootloader. Everything - exept one thing: the watchdog timer library (wdt.h). Which finally led to the decission to get the newer optiboot on those boards. The IDE is 1.0.1. I will try to manually overide with avrdude in the meantime.

Glad to help, if it qualifies as help at this point :wink: Not sure what to think, I have a 5V Pro Mini that I think still has the original bootloader. I could try updating it to Optiboot, not sure if that would tell us a whole lot though.

Hi,

it seems that Sparkfun has recently updated its collection. There is a new 3.3V 8Mhz board available (http://www.sparkfun.com/products/11114) that replaces the old one (http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9220). The description might allow the conclusion that the bootloader has been changed since no reference is given anymore to the Duemilanove w/ 328.

ray1408:
Hi,

it seems that Sparkfun has recently updated its collection. There is a new 3.3V 8Mhz board available (http://www.sparkfun.com/products/11114) that replaces the old one (http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9220). The description might allow the conclusion that the bootloader has been changed since no reference is given anymore to the Duemilanove w/ 328.

Or that "Pro Mini" was added to boards.txt. Maybe it wasn't there in some earlier version. Which Pro Mini version do you have? Either way, I don't see how it could make a difference.

@ray1408, FWIW, I was able to burn the Optiboot bootloader onto a 5V/16MHz Pro Mini and then program it as an Uno. Similar but not identical to your situation.

Hi Jack, sounds good and I d like to reproduce that. Did you use any special software / hardware to upload the bootloader and the sketch files?