I have been trying to figure this out for a while and I think I may be using the wrong vocabulary in my searches. I developed a project using an Arduino UNO, I designed a PCB to host an ATmega328p and the other hardware needed to make my project work. After several redesigns and alot of head vs wall action I got everything working 100% (imagine the crowd cheering and fire works going off for the full idea of my jubilation at this point).
Now the real fun begins I need to make a bunch of these. I ordered all my parts including the ATmega 328p's w/bootloader from ADAFruit. I was even smart enough to use a socket form the 328! The chore is loading my sketch onto all these chips. I have seen many variations of the standalone programmer but it seems to me that these are for loading the bootloader. I could very easily pull the chip from my uno put a new one in compile and upload overe and over again but there has to be an easier way to set up a "master chip" and then copy that chip over and over again.
Maybe make a board dedicated to flashing the chips. A DIP socket, header, a crystal and a couple of capacitors. You could stick the chip in the socket and hit ctrl-shift-U and on to the next chip.
That is what I was thinking, I was hoping to find something that would be a permanent addition to my tool box. something that reads a source chip and write everything on it to the target chip. This doesn't seem to me like its that far off from the standalone programmers I've seen but they all seem to only mention the bootloader.
It occured to me that it may only be a matter of modifying the code used to burn the bootloader but If I were a superhero I would be "The Newb".
yes, ADA fruit presents some information as well as the tutorials here on the Arduino site, however I keep hitting a dead end. I have followed all the instructions and diagrams and everything else but I cant's get it to work. The only thing I haven't done yet is connecting 2 Arduino boards together but the whole point is to not have to yank chips in and out of my Arduino. Removing the PC from the equation would be an added bonus.
I think I need more then just pointing, at this juncture a flashing neon sign with a siren would be helpful
actually started reading just this morning, I am going to have to read it a few times to make sure I grasp it.
I am quite new at this and I have this obsession with not just getting something to work but knowing exactly why it does or does not, I am getting so much information from so many sources it is making my head spin, I need to step back and clear my head and start over. I have decided to undertake a project that is probably way more advanced then I am and hopefully I can figure it all out with the help of some of you guys here on the forum.
Load it once with your fuse settings, flash, eeprom if used.
Plug it onto the ICSP header, press the button, wait for green light to stop flashing. Done. 30 seconds or so, depending on how big your program is.
i saw that device yesterday, considered it briefly but let go because at that point my head was spinning.
I am the king of over-thinking, my biggest concern and the number one reason for wanting to explore this topic was that I didn't want to constantly pull chips in and out of my board, It stresses the board and the chips. But I found a simple way around it and will be posting my findings briefly in hopes it will stop someone else from spinning them selves in circles the way i have.
that does make sense however I am just starting and the goal of this particular project was to be as minimal as possible. The final product resides with close quarters and in our enviroment the less parts the better. I do think that on my next project I will attempt to go that route
CrossRoads:
I just make boards with an ICSP header and a header for an FTDI, program the chips right on the board from one or the other, so much simpler.
Even more cunning, do the traces and holes for the ICSP header and don't fit the header. Use "pogo pins" to connect to it.
Spring loaded pins so that as you push them onto the circuit they compress and add pressure and make a good contact. They are mainly used in production test equipment.