ATtiny85 Programming

2012 01 03.

• A good starting point is this YouTube video: How-To: Shrinkify Your Arduino Projects
• Now, head to MIT's High-Low Tech group's tutorial as look it over
• Here's the result: Part 1. Part 2.

ATmega328P Programming

2012 01 12.

• After considerable research and numerous unsuccessful attempts I successfully burned a bootloader onto a blank ATmega328P and uploaded the Blink example sketch to it.
• A good start is Arduino's tutorial: From Arduino to a Microcontroller on a Breadboard. Download, unzip and set up thre breadboard.zip file and install as per instructions.
• After a few hours I discovered that I had ordered the wrong uC. Instead of the ATmega328P-PU I ordered the ATmega328-PU. It shouldn't be a problem except that the device ID is slightly different so it wouldn't burn the bootloader. Some day soon I'll find a way to get around the ID.
• Luckily I had purchased a couple of ATmega328P-PU from Creatron and, once switched, the bootloader burned. Yeah!
• I removed the ISP wires and replcaed them with the TX/RX/Reset wires as required. Unfortunately I had to remove the ATmega328P from the UNO for the Blink sketch to upload successfully (which really defeats the purpose of this entire ISP exercise, IMO).
• Finally, the photo below confirms that the new ATmega328 is running the Blink sketch on its own.