Programming AVRs without AVR Studio?

[zapta]

I want to ICSP AVRs (e.g. ATMEGA328P) so I found in a drawer an old AVRISP MKII, upgraded it firmware, installed AVR Studio and was able to read fuses, read theFLASH, etc (haven't tried yet to program, waiting for a cheap board to try on). So far, so good. 

The problem is that AVR Studio is monstrous and I need only the programming tool.

Is there a way to instal only the programming tool? Any other programming tool that works with AVRISP MKII?

I have strong preference to GUI over command line.  Having a tool that works on Mac OSX is a plus but Windows is also good.

Thanks,
Z.

[madworm]

avrdude (command line) + gui tool (winblows)

[filip_cro]

AVRDude + Eclipse

[zapta]

avrdude (command line) + gui tool (winblows)

Any recomendation for a gui tool?

[zapta]

AVRDude + Eclipse

Does eclipse supports AVR development (other than the programming aspects)? Is it stable? Friendly?

(I am familiar with Eclipse in general, used it professionaly for Java programming).

[Mechatrommer]

The problem is that AVR Studio is monstrous

huh? now you are considering Eclipse? whats wrong with AVRStudio4?

[zapta]

The problem is that AVR Studio is monstrous

huh? now you are considering Eclipse? whats wrong with AVRStudio4?

I think the one I installed was Avr Studio 6 (?). It was a ~700MB or so, took long time to install (including all kind of Microsoft stuff) and when I open it I get a huge menu, just to select a the programming option that pops ups a modal window with the programming GUI. 

As for eclipse, it is already installed on my Mac for Java development so adding a plugin should be simple, though I would prefer a stand alone programming gui.

[dannyf]

You may want to see if avrisp mk2 is supported by AS5/6.

I use code::blocks + avrdudess as a gui to program the chip. Very happy with that set-up.

[filip_cro]

AVRDude + Eclipse

Does eclipse supports AVR development (other than the programming aspects)? Is it stable? Friendly?

It's just Eclipse with avr gcc and avrdude.

[psycho0815]

I use code::blocks + avrdudess as a gui to program the chip. Very happy with that set-up.

I second that. You can include custom tools in code::blocks quite easily for one click programming. Or use a makefile ,there a lots of templates on the web.

[zapta]

You may want to see if avrisp mk2 is supported by AS5/6.

I use code::blocks + avrdudess as a gui to program the chip. Very happy with that set-up.

Thanks. I managed to run avrdudess on my Mac. Looks nice. Will try to actually connect it to the MKii and program.  If it will work, this is what I was looking form.

[paf]

For embedded development on OSX, one can first install Xcode (including the command line utilities) and then MacPorts:
http://www.macports.org

MacPorts is a (FreeBSD ports-like)  package manager with lots of tools available for download.

After that, searching for avr one just needs to do on the command line:

port search avr

And the result is:

avarice @2.13_1 (cross)
    AVR JTAG-ICE control software

avr-binutils @2.24 (cross, devel)
    FSF Binutils for avr cross development

avr-gcc @4.8.2 (cross, devel)
    The GNU compiler collection for avr

avr-gdb @7.6.1 (cross)
    GDB for the AVR processors

avr-libc @1.8.0 (cross)
    C library for the AVR microcontroller.

avrdude @6.0.1 (cross, devel)
    an Atmel AVR MCU programmer

simulavr @1.0.0_2 (emulators, devel)
    Simulator for Atmel AVR microcontrollers

uisp @20050207 (devel)
    AVR In-System Programmer


After that, to install avrdude (for instance) the command is only:

sudo port install avrdude

Warning: some embedded development tools like sdcc and gputils are not in the cross category of MacPorts.

After that, you are in command line paradise.

If you want something more "Graphical" check  http://embedxcode.weebly.com  (Embedded development with Xcode as IDE).


My best regards
paf

[Erwin Ried]

I use khazama programmer with an $4 USD avrasp from ebay

http://khazama.com/project/programmer/ 

[abhishekavr]

Use ponyprog.
Tad simple !
and works like a charm.
You might need to configure the ponyprog a bit.
You can read more here http://microcontrolleravr.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/making-your-own-programmer-board/

[filip_cro]

LOL. At least buy 3$ USBASP.

[Kappes Buur]

Use an Arduino 

http://michael.holachek.com/2012/09/avr-programming/

There are so many YouTube tutorials on programming AVRs, for example:
Dennis Miller for using Atmel Studio
Ben Heck for programming AVRs
NEWBIEHACK for all kind of Arduino related stuff
mjlorton for lots of arduino and other stuff

[dannyf]

LOL. At least buy 3$ USBASP.

2nd that. You could build one for more, of course.

[zapta]

Thanks everybody for the information. I found a combination that works for me on Windows:

1. Atmel USB drivers extracted from Atmel Studio 6  (AtmelUSB.exe, 14,068kb)
2. Libusb-win32-bin-1.2.6.0.zip (adding a filter for ISP MKII)
3. setup-AVRDUDESS-2.2.exe  (it includes avrdude).

Small footprint, clean UI and works smoothly.

[old gregg]

same thing for me. I installed AVR studio and I realised how massive I was. The folder in my document is 1.4G !  took ages to install as well with all the microsoft softwares. Nightmare. Don't understand why it has to be so huge.

By the way, for those you have issue with avrdude and Arduino (the "get_synth 500 error" or something like this). I managed to make it work good, don't know why though.

I change the programmer for "arduino" (-c arduino) and the baudrate (-b 115200) and the arduino is back on work with avrdude. Those values were on a webpage .

I switched to WinAvr with programmer notepad . I used to wath great newbiehack videos so it should work fine. But now I'm fighting to know how to connect (and make it work) with my new AVRspi MK2 programmer.


 

[amyk]

avrdudess

Nice pun, hopefully no one finds it a little sexist...

[dannyf]

The 6.0 and later AS has lots of ARM-related stuff in it. Use 5.x instead.

[Psi]

I've had issues with USBasp semi-bricking AVRs

After finishing code development using USBasp (100s of flashes on one mcu without issue) i started to assemble and flash more units and 4 out of 25 ATMega165v stopped accepting SPI reprogramming and started running at 1/2 speed after their first ever flash failed.

It must have corrupted some undocumented fuse bit or something, since 4mhz RC osc isnt an official option on that mcu, they definitely ran at 4mhz instead of 8mhz afterwards.
Corrupt RC osc calibration byte maybe?

My problems with the USBasp may have been just a bad unit, but yeah, i don't trust it.
A stable software based USB stack on a 8bit mcu maybe pushing things a bit too much.
For now i will stick to the LPT programmer method which has always worked perfectly.

[Phroon]

Having a tool that works on Mac OSX is a plus but Windows is also good.

If you are looking for a Mac toolchain take a look at Crosspack.  It's a nice package of avr-gcc, avrdude and tons of other AVR tools.

It's command line and Makefiles though, so there would be a bit of a learning curve for you.

[jadew]

I've been getting by just fine with avrdude + notepad++. Having to write your own makefiles has a lot of benefits (first and foremost, you learn more).

Now... AVRs are not particularly complex devices so remembering the few include files and the names of a few registers (which you'll know anyway from the datasheet, since that will always be open) is not such a big deal.

[corrado33]

I actually really like AVRSTudio. It's great for beginners and troubleshooting as you can step through your program and see register's change in uh "stepped time?" (This feature has helped me tremendously when I was starting out.) The size doesn't bother me too much, 1.5 Gigs is nothing in today's world of 3 TB hard drives for $100.

With that said, if I'm ever on the mac or linux box I just use avrdude. I don't know what else you guys were mentioning, I always thought avrdude was a standalone command line tool but who knows...