Hello,
I put together a minimal breadboard arduino using a atmega328P-PU as according to http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/ArduinoToBreadboard. I uploaded the bootloader using an arduino UNO as an ISP, and this worked perfectly. I have the "blinky" sketch (the default sketch) running and blinking a LED on pin 13. I connected the minimal arduino to my FTDI cable from Sparkfun (instead of popping the atmega chip out of my Uno as the website says), and when I try and download a sketch I get the error
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
I know that the reset is working because the arduino stops running the blinky sketch until the IDE throws the error, then the blinky sketch starts back up. I have tried to flip the RX and TX connections with no avail. Also tried a 0.1uf capacitor in the reset line, but then the reset stopped working (I think the FTDI already has one built in). I'm running arduino 1.0.1. Any ideas?
"Also tried a 0.1uf capacitor in the reset line, but then the reset stopped working (I think the FTDI already has one built in)."
It has no cap built in.
Does your standalone have a 10K pullup resistor with a diode in parallel (cathode to +5V)?
What board type did you select as a target? Try a different one.
I did the same recently - downloaded a bootloader, tried to load a sketch as Duemilanove - found I needed to select Uno instead. Bootloader was expecting one serial port speed, IDE was using a different speed.
I don't think there is a formal explanation of the diode. It appears to act similar to a diode in a relay coil/motor design to dissipate some kind of voltage bounce that is supposedly high enough to put the chip into High Voltage programming mode and getting stuck there after the reset switch is pressed. The diode was introduced into the Arduino design in the more recent revisions.