Ive been looking at this tutorial in the arduino playground and i have a few questions which i hope you could help me with http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Standalone
if i burn the bootloader to the atmega8 as shown here Arduino Playground - Burn168 , i will be using the avr studio only for burning the bootloader? cant i use the same interface to upload my arduino code to it?
Does it arduino code uploading take place with the serial communication? Which means i need an RS232 - TTL converter to get a serial connection to upload code to the atmega8?Cant i use the programmer to upload code? or does the programmer only burn bootloaders?
I was able to find a RS232-TTL converter which means i can setup a serial communication with the atmega8 using a serial port so i can get serial data from the atmega8 . but unfortunately there is only one serial port in each computer.. So i think USB is the way...From this link http://www.nskelectronics.com/usb__rs232ttlrs485_brds.html .. the first product is a USB-UART converter is this basically a USB to Serial converter? So should i buy this USB-UART converter and the RS232-Serial converter to communicate with the atmega8 over USB ( but obv a serial connection ) ?will the USB-UART and the RS232-Serial connected together give what i want? Or should i just buy a USB to Serial converter cable?Im looking for a cost effective solution as i will need multiple atmega8 to communicate over serial...i know there are USB-TTL converters available but im not able to find one at stores nearby..hence the question..
Do these USB communication converters have good linux support?
Thanks a lot..
You only use a programmer to burn the arduino bootloader. After that, you use either an FT232 usb to serial chip to convert between the rx and tx signals (cause that's how to be bootloader enables easy flashing to the arduino).
Make one of these:
It's a one shot deal just make sure you find out which fuses to set (or that you want to set). It's not hard as there are tons of how-to's all over the internet.
Heck if you want just build the avr programmer on the bread board as well so you can use the parts for other things afterward. However if you think you want to venture more into avr bootloading in the future (or buy blank chips) then it would be good to go ahead and build a permanent solution.
But as soon as the bootloader is installed, you just need to build or buy one of these:
Usb to uart, and I believe someone has found a way to bit-bang with this adapter (use for programming/bootloading). So you may only need to buy this. After you set this chip up properly, you can use your Arduino IDE to flash straight to it.
thanks a lot for your reply.. i dont think it would be feasible for me to buy it from sparkfun.. shipping and stuff would make it really expensive.. is the first product in this link http://www.nskelectronics.com/usb__rs232ttlrs485_brds.html , the same as the sparkfun link you sent me ( USB TO UART ) ?
You Don't need all that you are calling for you can buy a NOKIA CA-42 or NOKIA DKU-5 Cable in INDIA as i have , i have an CA-42 (though was a little tough to have that in North India!) and Modify it as http://letsmakerobots.com/node/23728 and your ON no need of traditional Board you can free your self of it all alone.