Tag:

Atmega

list of 3rd party Attiny, Atmega support urls for the Arduino IDE

Much as it probably upsets the embedded purists you can use many of the Atmel now Microchip microcontrollers with the Arduino IDE

To do this you need to the following basic process in the IDE

Process

This is a basic process for adding new cores to the Arduino IDE

Open the Arduino IDE.
Open the File > Preferences menu item.
Enter the URL in Additional Boards Manager URLs – you can find these in the links below
Open the Tools > Board > Boards Manager… menu item.
Wait for the platform indexes to finish downloading.
Scroll down until you see the entry for the core you desire and click on it.
Click Install.
After installation is complete close the Boards Manager window.

Core List

There are more than this but here are some that we recommend

You can visit the links and find out more about the features present, features that are missing and the exact list of microcontrollers that are supported

attiny10core

This is a minimal Arduino core for programming the ATtiny10/9/5/4. It doesn’t include any Arduino functions pinMode(), millis(), etc.

https://github.com/technoblogy/attiny10core

ATTinyCore

Arduino support for almost every classic tinyAVR device! Supports ATtiny 1634, 2313/4313, 24/44/84, 441/841, 25/45/85, 261/461/861, 87/167, 48/88, 43 and 828. Supports programming vis ISP, Serial (Optiboot – all parts with >4k flash, and all parts with 4k flash for which an 8k version is available) or VUSB (Micronucleus – where appropriate)

https://github.com/SpenceKonde/ATTinyCore

MicroCore

MicroCore is a lightweight Arduino hardware package for ATtiny13, ATtiny13A and ATtiny13V. It’s easy to install, easy to use, have lots of features and support most Arduino functions. If you’re into low level AVR programming, I’m happy to tell you that all relevant keywords are being highlighted by the IDE through a separate keywords file.

https://github.com/MCUdude/MicroCore/

megaTinyCore

Arduino core for the tinyAVR 0/1/2-series – this is any ATtiny with 2, 4, 6, or 7 in the 1’s place, 0, 1, or 2 in the tens, and the flash size in the remaining digits

https://github.com/SpenceKonde/megaTinyCore/

MegaCore

Arduino hardware package for ATmega64, ATmega128, ATmega640, ATmega1280, ATmega1281, ATmega2560, ATmega2561, AT90CAN32, AT90CAN64 and AT90CAN128

https://github.com/MCUdude/MegaCore

MightyCore

Arduino hardware package for ATmega1284, ATmega644, ATmega324, ATmega324PB, ATmega164, ATmega32, ATmega16 and ATmega8535

https://github.com/MCUdude/MightyCore

MiniCore

Arduino hardware package for ATmega8, ATmega48, ATmega88, ATmega168, ATmega328 and ATmega328PB

https://github.com/MCUdude/MiniCore

Boards

Another ATmega Prototyping PCB in kit form

In this article we look at another very useful little self build kit for Atmegas from Rkeducation in the UK, this one is called the RKAT40 Prototype PCB for 40 pin Arduino

It looks like this – once you have assembled it

RKAT40 Prototype PCB

Specs/Features

The board ban be used with all 40 pin Arduino and Microcontrollers wuch as the Atmega16 and ATmega32
Incorporates a large prototype area with plated through holes for your own projects and experiments
There is an ICSP header for programming ATMEL MCUs
There is also a JTAG header
The Input and outputs are easily accessed via plated through holes around the MCU
The prototyping area has 0V 3.3V, 5V and 12V power rails with power indicator LEDs
You can power the board using a battery or DC mains supply, I recommend the latter option
The board includes a 7805 and a LD1117V33 3.3 volt voltage regulator
The unit has 2 surface mount SO8 footprints with plated through breakouts for each pin for prototyping

Schematic

The schematic is in the doc link below but as I like looking at schematics – here you go

rkat40 schematic

Assembly

As stated this is a self build kit – you’ll need a soldering iron and some basic soldering skills.

This is an easy kit to assemble though as all the parts are through hole and no smd parts here – so ideal for beginners

As always when building kits like this it is recommended that you start with the resistors, capacitors, switches, leds and ic socket – then move onto the headers, barrel jack and voltage regulators.

If your are using an external power source you may want to add a heatsink to both of the regulators in particular depending on the input DC voltage. You can see in the schematic that both use the same DC supply.

I used a 12v regulated DC supply, always use a regulated supply.

I also soldered my own dual row headers for the output pins

Purchase

I found 2 links in the UK which include an ATmega – these are different from the Atmegas I tried – I tried an Atmega16 and Atmega32 from my collection, which just goes to show the flexibility of this board with the microcontrollers that can be fitted

Rk Education RKAT40 Prototype PCB with FREE ATMEL ATMega644p – Self Build Kit

Rk Education RKAT40 Prototype PCB with FREE ATMEL ATMega324p – Self Build Kit

Links

You can get the board directly from rkeducation below and a link to the docs

rkat40-prototype-pcb-for-40-pin-arduino

RKAT40 Component List and Instructions

Boards

The RKAT40c Compact Project PCB for 40 pin Atmegas

This next board combines an Atmega chip which you have to supply and a easy to build minimal system board with parts.

The board is easy to assemble as it features only through hole parts and no smd parts

Features

Software is downloaded from a PC into the microcontroller from an Atmel AVR programmer or a FTDI USB cable
The clock reference can be either a ceramic resonator or crystal oscillator
All input and output pins are available via pin headers – you need to supply your own
Power supplied via either a DC socket or there is a 2 way header, the maximum input voltage is 5.5V DC max
Power can also be supplied from the FTDI cable connection, there is a 2 way header plug to select USB power
Power switch and LED power indicator

There are 2 methods of programming using this board

1) Software can be downloaded using a USB FTDI cable that connects from one of your PC USB port and to header J3.
2) Using an AVR programmer or equivalent, connect this to the ICSP 2×3 way header.

I soldered the resistors first, then the capacitors, switch, led, headers and then the socket

I have used an Atmega16 and an ATmega32 with this board

Schematic

rkat40c schematic

Purchase

Rk Education RKAT40c mcc Compact Project PCB : from Amazon UK – £5.99

Links

You can get the board for only £3.99 from Rkeducation directly in the UK

Rkeducation link
RKAT40c MCC Component List and Instructions
RKAT40 Component List and Instructions