Hi. I am following a YT vid to learn to write a hello world program from scratch on AVR using MicroChip studio.
Here is the vid:
The person teaching the tutorial is using a USBASP S 51 as a In Service programmer.
I can't find this item on Amazon.
I found one on Amazon, that says ' ATMEL 51 AVR USB ISP ASP Microcontroller Programmer'. It doesn't have the 'S' in front of the 51. Will this work as a programmer?
I already have a ' A Set AVR ISP USBtinyISP Programmer for Arduino Bootloader'. Could I use it to program the Arduino? I ask this because, from its name, it seems like this programmer is for loading a bootloader only and not for loading regular programs like blinking an LED.
If none ofmy options are good, then can someone please tell me what other programmers will work?
I don't know but I think there is programming/programmer information somewhere on the Arduino website.
Does Amazon give a link to manufacturer's documentation?
This one seems to be recommended by Atmel/Microchip.
Here are some instructions for using a Arduino as a programmer.
...Of course, the cool thing about the Arduino is that you get a complete-working microcontroller board that also serves as the programmer (with the bootloader it can "program itself") and the development board!
Yes. It is my explicit wish to do barebone programming. I am sick of using in built functions. Anyone can blink an LED with a pre made function. I want to get into the guts of the chip and learn how to blink an LED on port 0 by setting DDRB = 1 etc.
I want to find out why the syntax for a delay is _delay_ms(500);......where the heck to programmers read/learn that there needs to be a underscore?......why is it nor Delay-ms-500? etc etc .
I wanna know why it is DDRB and not APPLECHUNKY or something. I just want to learn to program the ATMega chip without the Arduino IDE.
What if i am stuck on an island without the Arduino IDE but with MicroChip studio only?! LOL.
OK you want to become a real pro in microcontroller programming.
You should become a pro in buying electronic components too.
First and most important rule: don't buy anything on amazon !
amazon does not offer the best prices (not even with a shipping-flate-rate) not provide detailed informations like datasheets etc.
use mouser or digikey or farnell or rs-components and almost any other specialied onlineshop
but don't buy at amazone
The "USBASP" programmer is a hobbyist design from USBasp - USB programmer for Atmel AVR controllers - fischl.de
Is uses a software bit-banged USB implementation, which is reported to have some problems with newer computers.
The advent of AVR/etc chips being used as security dongles, and I guess a glut of ATmega8 microcontrollers, followed by Arduino generating even more interest in the AVR chips, resulted in a flood of AVRISP clones from ... all over.
The plus side means that they're pretty easy to obtain and very cheap. The minus side is that it's nearly impossible to tell whether any particular AVRISP programmer is any good, or what version of the firmware it might be running, or ... etc. (For instance, there are a lot that use the old standard 10pin programming connector, while most modern boards use a 6pin connector.
Any programmer that can burn the bootloader of an Arduino can probably program an AVR with an arbitrary program as well.
If you're serious about "barebone" programming, you should probably consider something like the ATmega328P Xplained Mini evaluation board from Atmel/Microchip. This is more-or-less Arduino Uno compatible, has a built-in device programmer, and includes debugger support as well. (And it's cheaper than an Uno. Although postage might make up for that.)
There is also nothing to stop you from using the Arduino bootloader to upload barebones programs, if you already have an Arduino. "barebones software" and "hardware from scratch" are slightly different categories of AVR experimentation.
Can you tell us what board you are planning on using?
You can use the Arduino IDE for "from scratch" programming. Just don't use any of the IDE macros:
i.e. use main() instead of loop etc.
I'm not 100% positive but I believe any code you write in the studio will work on the Arduino IDE. I could be wrong here but they will at least be very close.
I am using those cheapass USBASP dongles all the time (Windows 11 pro) and if you buy two of them, you can use one to update the firmware on the other.
Or use an UNO for that as described here
Sometimes I have to use Zadig to change the USB drivers to libusbK when the dongle is not detected.
When embarking on bare metal programming you will be surprised how much you can do with e.g. a 1K part like an Attiny13.
