The AVR is a Modified Harvard architecture 8-bit RISC single chip microcontroller (µC) which was developed by Atmel in 1996. The AVR was one of the first microcontroller families to use on-chip flash memory for program storage, as opposed to One-Time Programmable ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM used by other microcontrollers at the time.

AVR Links And Resources, My First Project

August 6th, 2009

Here are some sites that I am checking out (and bookmarking so I can read/study them later) for more hints with AVR programming:

  1. avrfreaks.net - They seem to have many code snippets, but need to be a member.
  2. atmel.com - Maker of the MCU, they must have some of the answers I am desiring!
  3. imakeprojects.com - ISP bootloading firmware to making your first project!
  4. esopenkolinks.blogspot.com - List of links for newbs.
  5. youtube.comr - AVR videos, some have links to sources.

IRC AVR chatrooms: #nerdkits (very quiet and everyone is in the same boat as me, they don't know), #AVR (best helpers anywhere)

I've since learned I can use a USB ISP to put on default bootloader/firmware. The customized nerdkit I got only has 10 source codes to work with but I no there's a more standard AVR language that has more contributors. Now I just need to get a firware that has many contributors of source codes. Don't get me wrong, the NerdKit is a great kit, just I was expecting more tested projects with part lists and source codes as I thought I was buying an Arduino clone (but after item was on it's way, I learned I was wrong) from reports by CompuMike in Arduino clone forums I read.

I was even told to forget a firmware/bootloader, just to use an Mega128 ISP programmer (or get a mega128 developer board with ISP, header, reset switch and other goodies built in) to dump your code on and it should just work. This I have to research more before I can confirm or test. I am not sure even where to find source codes that will work without any custom firmwares and what scripting language to use. When asking these questions I was reffered to site http://tom-itx.dyndns.org:81/~webpage/ by a member of IRC chat channel #AVR, so I guess i have some reading to do tonight.

Suggested keywords for me to Google yet: freeRTOS, contiki, sdcc, gcc-avr (free open-source C/C++ compiler for the Atmel AVR series processors)

Here's a photo of my first ever test project I did yesterday (was too lazy to get digital image from camera earlier):

This LCD displays custom text (and waits for text input from PC VIA serial RS232), calculates the current temperature every 100ms and send data back to the PC that a Visual Basic 6 application so it can display the temperature beside my time in windows taskbar). On the actual ciruit that controls the LCD is all on the breadboard and consists of about $6.00 in retail cost parts (another few dollars you can get a 2 line LCD or pull from old stereo/vcr/etc) and does not require an expensive Mega128 developer board. The usb2serial on the right hand side is the writer to transfer code to the MCU (it already has a bootloader installed from vendor) and can be disconnected leaving us a cheap circuit we could market.

It is nothing fancy, nor is it a project I really wanted to make. But I did want the ability to control something and experiment with a sensor. I enjoyed making and using only specific particular parts with a breadboard to create a customized digital thermometer prototype.

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