ATtiny! Damn that thing is tricky

Projects Programming
1

This is like the third time I'm trying everything and nothing works.
I went to these two links:
http://hlt.media.mit.edu/?p=1706
http://hlt.media.mit.edu/?p=1695
And followed instruction after instruction.
My Arduino 1.0 is set to:
Proggrammer: AVR ISP mk II
Board: First, Uno to upload the AVR ISP. Then, ATtiny85 with intenral 8Mhz or 1, niether work with the same problem.
serial port COM4, it communicates great with the Uno.
ALL the connections are done between the UNO and the tiny.
A 22uF cap is between GND and Reset of the Uno.
The website said you need to "burn the bootloader" on to the attiny85 so it will work on 8Mhz.
Here is what happens when I try to burn the bootloader with ALL THE SETTING ABOVE:

avrdude: usbdev_open(): did not find any USB device "usb"

I'm running windows 7.
I hope I gave you all the info you need. If you comment with a quick question to me, please stay tunned for another minute untile I answer because if not, I will get my answer later.

2

Proggrammer: AVR ISP mk II ... ALL the connections are done between the UNO and the tiny.

So which is the programmer? An AVRISP mkII or an Uno?

3

To use the UNO with ArduinoISP as a programmer you should select Tools->Programmer->Arduino as ISP.

4

I tried Arduino as ISP, same problem.

5

When I tried arduino as ISP, it said something with a sync problem, I will copy the exact words later today.

6

I did the High-Low Tech thing with UNO running 0022 to make the blink program work and I never put any bootloader on the Tiny. But I see for 1.0 they had to add a trick-step to the dance.

By default, the ATtiny’s run at 1 MHz (the setting used by the unmodified “ATtiny45?, etc. board menu items). You need to do an extra step to configure the microcontroller to run at 8 MHz – necessary for use of the SoftwareSerial library. Once you have the microcontroller connected, select the appropriate item from the Boards menu (e.g. “ATtiny45 (8 MHz)”). Then, run the “Burn Bootloader” command from the Tools menu. This configures the fuse bits of the microcontroller so it runs at 8 MHz. Note that the fuse bits keep their value until you explicitly change them, so you’ll only need to do this step once for each microcontroller. (Note this doesn’t actually burn a bootloader onto the board; you’ll still need to upload new programs using an external programmer.)

And when I did it, it was a 10 uf cap but perhaps 22uf works too?

Proggrammer: AVR ISP mk II

That's a certain piece of hardware and it's not the Arduino as ISP. In the 0022 version there is no Burn the Bootloader step. You burn the program and the fuse bits are set then.

How many times have you checked the wiring? If you power the UNO off and meter-check for continuity between Tiny pins and the end of the jumper that goes into the Arduino, you might find a poor connection. And then there's the whole did you get the right pins business, in the diagram the notch end of the Tiny faces left, the yellow wire goes to pin 1, reset.

But you've checked the wiring. You've tried everything I can think of except one. Go back to 0022.

Hopefully it's something between W7 and your UNO. Then your Tiny shouldn't have gotten bricked.

7

Ok, I'll try on 0022 version. The connections are good, really good, so good that it's hard to pull them apart even if you want to.
So, here are the steps:

  1. Open up arduino 0022
  2. Load the arduino as ISP sketch and upload it to arduino UNO.
  3. make the connections to the tiny.
  4. Choose the attiny85 with internal 8Mhz crystal
  5. Choose the arduino as ISP proggrammer.
  6. Load the blink program, and change pin 13 to pin 0.
  7. Select - upload to board using arduino.

Correct?

8

Not quite. Maybe the 1.0 version has more target boards, mine is
ATtiny85 (w/Arduino as ISP)

So steps 4 and 5 are just choose the ATtiny85 (w/Arduino as ISP) board.

  1. Select - upload to board using arduino.

Are you trying to confuse me? You've already selected the board to upload to, it's the ATtiny85 (w/Arduino as ISP). Don't change that!

  1. Upload the program.
    That's the square button with the right-pointing arrow or File->Upload to I/O Board or ctrl-U.

My choices are ATtiny45 or ATtiny85 and 3 different programmers for each.
The clock speed for all of them is set for 8 MHz internal oscillator divided by 1.

A tiny can be run on an external crystal but losing 2 of the 6 I/O pins is probably why it's not much done and why the MIT group only gave us files to run at 8 MHz.

9

Gofilord:
When I tried arduino as ISP, it said something with a sync problem, I will copy the exact words later today.

In Arduino 1.0 they made the serial buffer so small you get a serial overflow when trying to use the ArduinoISP sketch. You can go back to 0.22 or use a slower baud rate in the sketch and in the programmers.txt file.

10

And once again I feel good about not switching!

I am beginning to think that I'm going to have to get a programmer and learn the whole dreadful avrdude and tool chain business since when I do more than check things out I want it to be on stand-alones.

Until there comes a supreme reason to switch I will stick with 0022.

11

Once you invest $10 in an ISP programmer there is no reason not to use 1.0.

12

fine. Arduino 0022, upload the ISP sketch to UNO, load the blink sketch, upload that to the tiny85, I'll try that.

13

johnwasser:
Once you invest $10 in an ISP programmer there is no reason not to use 1.0.

HUH? Where? Or do you mean build my own?

14

$3.86 including free shipping:

You should probably also get a 10-pin to 6-pin adapter since it comes with a 10-pin cable and the Arduino has a 6-pin header. That's another $2.48:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Pin-Convert-to-Standard-6-Pin-Adapter-Board-For-ATMEL-AVRISP-USBASP-STK500-/170813886006?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c54d0e36#ht_1060wt_954

15

I can't do PayPal. I live in a bad neighborhood in a building that UPS, Fedex and those can't get into the back end where I live (okay with me, most all the trouble is in the front end) so my address isn't 'approved' by PayPal. Can I use another address? I have a friend across town I've known over 40 years now. Not unless that address is on your credit card says PayPal. Then screw you, says I.

Anyway my buddy across town does have PayPal. I'm pretty sure to get one.

Guess who only buys online where they will send the purchases to a given alternate address?

16

johnwasser:
$3.86 including free shipping:

Embedded Processors & Controllers for sale | eBay

You should probably also get a 10-pin to 6-pin adapter since it comes with a 10-pin cable and the Arduino has a 6-pin header. That's another $2.48:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Pin-Convert-to-Standard-6-Pin-Adapter-Board-For-ATMEL-AVRISP-USBASP-STK500-/170813886006?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c54d0e36#ht_1060wt_954

A few q's:

  1. How does that thing connect to my microcontroller?
  2. Can I use the arduino environment with that? and just upload sketches normally just using this?
  3. If so, how? Is there a guide?
17
  1. How does that thing connect to my microcontroller?

Through a 10-pin or 6-pin header. The ISP comes with a 10-pin cable. The Arduino has a 6-pin connector, hence the need for an adapter.

  1. Can I use the arduino environment with that? and just upload sketches normally just using this?

Yes.

  1. If so, how? Is there a guide?

Select Tools->Programmer->USBasp. Then select File->Upload Using Programmer

18

I've got that same one, works great although its not the lastest version, and you can't update it
not that that affects anything still works on all my boards

19

johnwasser:

  1. How does that thing connect to my microcontroller?

Through a 10-pin or 6-pin header. The ISP comes with a 10-pin cable. The Arduino has a 6-pin connector, hence the need for an adapter.

  1. Can I use the arduino environment with that? and just upload sketches normally just using this?

Yes.

  1. If so, how? Is there a guide?

Select Tools->Programmer->USBasp. Then select File->Upload Using Programmer

What if my micro-controller is on a breadboard? Let's say, I bought an AT90S8535 microcontroller chip only, how does this connect to it? Or a better example, an ATtiny?
and does the board give voltage to the microcontroller?

20

I think you should be able to plug the programmer pins into a breadboard and break the wires out yourself.

What John W. first wrote:

You can go back to 0.22 or use a slower baud rate in the sketch and in the programmers.txt file.

Maybe the quickest and least change would be to try the slower baud rate route. To get at least 1 chip to blink right and sleep better knowing it's so.

I find my programmers.txt in my 0022 folder under /hardware/arduino
It looks like this:

avrisp.name=AVR ISP
avrisp.communication=serial
avrisp.protocol=stk500v1

avrispmkii.name=AVRISP mkII
avrispmkii.communication=usb
avrispmkii.protocol=stk500v2

usbtinyisp.name=USBtinyISP
usbtinyisp.protocol=usbtiny

parallel.name=Parallel Programmer
parallel.protocol=dapa
parallel.force=true
# parallel.delay=200

arduinoisp.name=Arduino as ISP
arduinoisp.communication=serial
arduinoisp.protocol=stk500v1
arduinoisp.speed=19200

Shouldn't be too hard adjusting that baud rate.

Just an assumption but I guess the matching change in the Arduino as ISP sketch would be where it sets Serial.begin.

I'm still running 0022 and I'm not going to 1.0 just to test out what I don't need with 0022!