Hi all,
I am at my wits end here... This is the set up.
I have been following this
http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Standalone and other set-ups. but for speed here is what we have:
New ATMega328p MC on a breadboard.
PIN 1 to RST (also tried with and without the following in various combinations: Pull-up res 10k and .1uf cap via GND tactile switch
Pin 7 to VCC
Pin 8 to GND
Pins 9 and 10 of the MC connected across 16mhz xtal and 2 x 22 caps which then go to GND.
Pin 17 to MOSI
pin 18 to MISO
Pin 19 to SCK
Pin 20 to VCC
Pin 21 to VCC
Pin 22 to GND
Other end of the comms wires go to a ISP breakout (tried it with out break out as well)
USBtinyISP plugged into USB port.
Now here is odd bit.
If I plug the USBtinyISP into my Uno R3 and select Upload via programmer from the file menu of IDE 1.0.5-r2 it works. (blink sketch)
if I plug the USBtinyISP into my Uno R3 and select Tools > board > Uno then Programmer USBTinyISP then Burn Bootloader. It works.
But I'll be darned if I can get ether feature to work on the breadboard version even with a FTDI usb port powering it + TX/RX and the USBtinyISP power (J3) jumper disconnected.
I just keep getting
avrdude: initialization failed, rc=-1
Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override
this check.
So I tried it via Windows avrdude: -c usbtiny -p M328p still no joy but again if it's on the uno board it works.
I have checked the continuity of the wiring and even soldered one up on a strip board with a DIL socket still the same no wanna play.
This all started because I had this issue with some brand new ATMega644P and PA's that I am building into a prototype that needs more pins than the 328P offers and as I could not communicate with those I figured on Keeping it simple and using tech I already used in the past. I have built lots of stuff using the standalone 328p's in the past but never used an ISP programmer before.
Anyone got any ideas??? cos I am losing the plot, only been at this for like two days - I have read so many web pages on the subject now it's all becoming a haze of MOSI MISO

Would be very grateful if someone can help me out with this one as I am obviously missing something and being daft.
All the best Steve