Issue Uploading Bootloader to Anet A8 Mainboard via Arduino as ISP

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to burn a bootloader onto an ATmega1284P on an Anet A8 v1.5 board, using an Arduino Uno as ISP. I’ve followed numerous tutorials, but I keep getting the “programmer is not responding” error. Here’s a breakdown of my setup and troubleshooting steps so far:

Setup Details:

  1. Arduino Board: Arduino Uno Minima as ISP with Arduino ISP sketch loaded.
  2. Connections: Using the ICSP header on the Arduino and the J3 header on the Anet board. I have uncommented #define USE_OLD_STYLE_WIRING
  3. Power: Anet board powered by a 12V lab power supply.
  4. Capacitor on Reset: Tested with a 10uF capacitor across RESET and GND on the Arduino, both with correct, removing it and even reversed polarity.
  5. Baudrate Adjustments: Tried multiple baud rates, including 19200 and 9600, both in avrdude and in the Arduino IDE.

I keep getting this:
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 1 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x03
...

Hi @akkar.

Which version of Arduino IDE are you using (e.g., "2.0.1")? The version is shown on the window title bar and also in the dialog that opens when you select Help > About (or Arduino IDE > About Arduino IDE for macOS users) from the Arduino IDE menus.


Please also tell us the exact name of the item you have selected from Arduino IDE's Tools > Programmer menu.

Although this is necessary in some cases when using the classic UNO R3, it is not necessary when using the UNO R4 Minima as an "Arduino as ISP" programmer.

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It's version 2.3.3

Arduino as ISP

Thanks for the info

OK, I think this is the cause of the problem. You must select "Arduino as ISP (ATmega32U4)" from the menu when you are using the Minima as an "Arduino as ISP" programmer.

Select that programmer from the menu and then try again. Hopefully this time it will be successful.

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Thanks, when I get home I will try what you suggest. :ok_hand:

But didn't the Arduino Uno Minima use a Renesas RA4M1?
By the way, does Arduino Uno Minima support ISP programming? :thinking:

PS Possibly I can also try with a Nano that I already have available (A000005)

Yes, I made a poor choice of the name of the "Arduino as ISP (ATmega32U4)" programmer. At that time, the AVR boards were even more prevalent than they are now so we only really thought about the need to support the use of a board like the Leonardo, Micro, or Pro Micro as a programmer. It would have been more appropriate to call it something like "Arduino as ISP (native USB)".

I have personally verified that you can use it as an "Arduino as ISP" programmer. However, you can't use such a programmer to program an UNO R4 Minima as a target. You would instead use an appropriate programmer (e.g., a CMSIS-DAP compliant programmer/debug probe) connected to the UNO R4 Minima's SWD header.

The Nano will also work, no problem. But if you want to use the Minima you can definitely do that

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