Giving a programmer is a great way to get people started in microcontrollers so If you want a cheap simple AVR programmer this might just be what you’re looking for.*It combines the*V-USB firmware,*USBtiny software,*a few resistors, and some zener diodes. An*interesting*trick using this programmer is if your trying to program another 8 pin ATtiny you can use some tape to isolate the USB data pins and then piggyback the target ATtiny on the programmer.
Unfortunately*in order to flash the ATtiny for your programmer you need a working programmer so it’s somewhat of a catch-22. *Make sure your careful when setting the fuse bits because it will use the reset pin making it hard to reprogram without additional programming hardware.*AVRs in general are a great way to start using microcontrollers so if your*interested*give out*tutorials a go. You’ll find some tips to get started in addition to information about using an Arduino, or a DAPA cable to flash the firmware to this chip.
Filed under: Microcontrollers, tool hacks
