Pololu USB AVR Programmer

The USB AVR programmer is a generic AVR ISP programmer

The primary function of a programmer is to inject the compiled program on the microcontroller. USB AVR programmer will enable you to transfer your compiled C program on the microcontroller of your robot. The use of a programmer is required.

The USB AVR programmer is compact and inexpensive. It allows you to program the AVR microcontrollers from Atmel such as the one that are present on the 3pi robots and m3pi robots. The USB AVR programmer connects to your PC via USB and communicates with your programming environment such as the Atmel Studio or AVRDUDE through a virtual COM port using the AVRISPV2/STK500 protocol. The microcontroller is connected to your USB AVR programmer by the 6-pin ISP connector and provided ISP cable.

Technical compatibility of the USB AVR programmer

The supported microcontrollers are:

• All the microcontrollers that can be programmed using the AVR ISP Interface (Check the documentation of your microcontroller.)
• The Orangutan microcontrollers
• The microcontrollers of the 3pi robots and of the m3pi robots.

The programmer is powered by the USB cable (5V supply).

Operating systems supported by the AVR USB programmer are:

• Windows XP
• Windows Vista
• Windows 7
• Linux

Technical incompatibility of the USB AVR Programmer

The USB AVR programmer does not support in-system programming (ISP), also called in-circuit serial programming (ICSP). Similarly, it does not support JTAG, debugWIRE, or high voltage programming.

The programmer does not work with the XMega microcontroller from Atmel.

What's included in the USB AVR programmer kit

The USB AVR Programmer kit contains:

• The USB AVR Programmer
• 1 x 6-pin ISP Cable
• 1 x mini-USB Cable

Additional functionality included with the USB AVR programmer

Serial TTL Communication

The USB AVR programmer provides a very useful additional functionality. Indeed, it behaves like a USB-Serial converter. The programmer installs in fact two virtual COM ports. One allows you to program the AVR microcontroller and the other, using serial TTL communication allows you to debug the microcontroller. You can then program and debug your microcontroller without having to open and close the programming terminal.

SLO Oscilloscope

The USB AVR programmer can also allow you to debug your firmware and circuitry through the use of a software SLO oscilloscope (Severely Limited Scope). In this case, the USB AVR programmer provides useful information to the oscilloscope. The application SLO-Scope for Windows is free and its source code is provided. To download, click the image below.