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[on:]

So I bought an Atmega8 with no bootloader on it. I uploaded the ArduinoISP sketch on my Uno, and hooked it up to my Atmega8 like this: http://arduino.cc/en/uploads/Tutorial/BreadboardAVR.png
Then, in Arduino 0022, I selected the "arduinoNG w/ Atmega8", and clicked burn bootloader > w/ arduino as ISP. After A few seconds I got the message that it was done. Problem is, I can't upload upload any sketches to the Atmega8. I'm using my Uno as a USB to serial converter, and hooking up the reset, TX, and RX pins to the Atmega8 like this:
http://arduino.cc/en/uploads/Tutorial/ArduinoUSBSerial.png
After selecting "arduinoNG w/ Atmega8" and pressing upload, all I get is the occasional rapid blinking from an led I hooked up to pin 13 and this error message from Arduino 0022 "avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00
avrdude: stk500_disable(): protocol error, expect=0x14, resp=0x51"
I'm trying to load the blink sketch. Any ideas? I'm new to all this bootloading stuff so I'm really surprised i even got this far.

[Reply #1 on:]

I'm trying to load the blink sketch. Any ideas? I'm new to all this bootloading stuff so I'm really surprised i even got this far.

Have you tried pressing reset on your NG?  Perhaps the auto-reset stuff isn't working?

Brad.

[Reply #2 on:]

Ok, crisis averted. Turns out my TX and RX wires weren't soldered very well. Also, just for future reference, the 10k resistor from reset to Vcc is important. I couldn't upload without it.

EDIT: I do have another question though. Why does it take 9 seconds from the time I apply power for the program to start running? It's quite annoying and doesn't happen on my Uno.

EDIT 2: Also, I can't upload with arduino 1.0, but I can't compile my 1.0 sketches with arduino 0022.

[Reply #3 on:]

The 9-second delay is normal for the official ATmega8 bootloader.  I think that was a very conservative STK protocol timeout on the early bootloaders that has since been dropped on the more modern boards, but I could be mistaken.  In any case, there's no hardware cause for that delay that I know of, so an alternate bootloader should cure it if it's a problem.

What problem are you having with 1.0?  That's what I'm using and it seems to be working fine.  I highly recommend getting either a FTDI cable or a breakout board.  You have to pull the chip out of your Uno to use it as a serial adapter, otherwise you'll be talking to two targets at once.  I don't know about you, but that was more work than the ~$20 was worth to me.