AVR chips are convenient because you can program them in circuit at their operating voltage. That is, unless you screw up the fuse settings and they’ll no longer listen to an In System Programmer. If you find yourself facing this problem, just build this circuit on a breadboard and ‘unbrick’ by holding down the button.
The circuit seen above is a High Voltage Serial Programmer. This is one of two high voltage protocols used by AVR chips; HVSP is for chips that don’t have enough pins to use High Voltage Parallel Programming. This rendition uses a 12V power source, which is the level necessary for the high voltage method. A 7805 linear regulator joins the mix to provide operational voltage, along with one transistor, an ATtiny2313 to control the circuit, a four-digit 7-segment display for feedback, and one button for control.
Watch the video after the break to see an ATtiny13 programmed to disable the reset pin using a breadboarded programmer. That chip is then easily rescued, having been automatically recognized by using its device signature.
Filed under: Microcontrollers
