Freetronics AVRISP programmer

[vero96]

Hi all,

As there is no place in the "general" area of the Forum I have to post this here by default, In the past we have all probably enjoyed the fun which is reprogramming another board via ISP Now that the AVRISP programmer is out I think it will make things easier, One Question has anyone or does anyone know if this board works with Atmel's AVR Studio 4 ( version 4.18 to be exact ) as I have had trouble connecting to the program.

When I hit the connect button and the window opens to select an AVR programmer I select AVRISP auto connect ( I have also tried every com port available to no avail ) on doing so I get a connect failed message. The led is on, on the board, I have tried different usb ports on the PC and the board both as programmer and target, Still no go, so if any one uses these two together or knows how to I would love to know, please share

Cheers Vero

[angusgr]

Hi vero96,

Unfortunately the Freetronics programmer is a USBAsp compatible not AVRISP. Same end function (they're both in circuit AVR programmers) but a different protocol to the computer, and Atmel Studio doesn't support it (it only supports programmer types made by Atmel.)

You can use the avrdude command line tool to program from Windows, or either of the two GUI programs mentioned on the usbasp home page under "Software".

Regards,


Angus

[vero96]

Hey Angus

Thanks for the prompt reply still getting the hang of what does what in some respects, I went to the Atmel site ( store ) and also followed the link you posted and clicked on one of the images from what I can see and determine this one qualifys as AVRISP programmer http://www.projectik.eu/index.php/elekt ... usb-ver100 however I can not read most of it being a foreign language what I could determine is that particular devise is recognized by Atmel studio 4.12 as an AVRISP mk11 however on going back to the Atmel store http://store.atmel.com/PartDetail.aspx? ... escription this programmer looks like it would do the job of reprogramming an atmega8 at least I hope so, As it is an Atmel product.

Cheers Vero

[angusgr]

Hi Vero,

I think the confusion here is because AVR ISP is both a generic term (AVR in-circuit serial programmer) and also part of the brand name of some Atmel products, such as their "AVRISP Mk2" (which are different kinds of AVR in-circuit serial programmers.)

The USBASP will not work with Atmel Studio, but you can use it to program AVRs.

Sorry I wasn't more specific on the links. What I meant was the two GUI programs mentioned under Software, specifically:

Khazama AVR Programmer
eXtreme Burner

Either of these programs should be able to flash an atmega8 from inside Windows using our USBAsp.

You will also need the USBAsp driver for windows, I realised we weren't specific about this before so there's now a Windows Driver section on the quickstart guide page.

Please let us know how you get on.

- Angus

[vero96]

Hi Angus

Thanks for the head up! eXtreamburner - AVR http://extremeelectronics.co.in/avr-tut ... ogrammers/ Looks like it would be a more suitable and easier to use program as from what I can see it is possible to both read and write to the chip. Which is what is needed, The chip I have is a modded/reprogrammed atmega8 on a PCB.

As the modified atmega8 has ISP pins on the PCB and requires 5 volts whilst being read or written to I thought the Freetronics USBasp would do the job and with eXtreame burner sounds like a good way to go, if not perfect.

I would of posted a more specific question in the AVR Freaks Forum http://www.avrfreaks.net/ but at the moment they are not taking any more registrations due to some spam issue they are having, having said that it may not be the right place for the questions regarding a Freetronics products anyway.

At the moment I don't have a spare SMD atmega8 ( on the specific PCB ) to write to anyway, and provided the chip I have is not dead I should be able to read it and save the content and write to a fresh atmega8/PCB I'll just have to get familiar with the eXtreamburner software and GUI, Google and Youtube should take care of that.

Cheers Vero

[angusgr]

I would of posted a more specific question in the AVR Freaks Forum http://www.avrfreaks.net/ but at the moment they are not taking any more registrations due to some spam issue they are having, having said that it may not be the right place for the questions regarding a Freetronics products anyway.

Well, we're always happy to answer questions about Freetronics stuff here.

Please let us know how you go.

- Angus

[vero96]

Hey Angus,

I was successfully able to install eXtreamburner and the Zadig release appropriate for win XP sp3 and read the atmega8 chip on the pcb mentioned earlier and save the file both to eXtreamburner and a thumbdrive, good result have not written to a fresh chip waiting for it to arrive.

However I am still having problems getting Zadig ( ver.1.11 / I chosse to open it with 7zip I suspect that is where the problem occurred as it is an .exe file ) to install on win8pro OS upon hitting install a terminal window flashes up ever so briefly maybe a second if that - error: incorrect command line ( if I hit "Enter" enough I can read the error in the terminal window. )

....and I only found version 1.1.1.144 & 1.1.1.1.43 after following links/doing searches on Git and Sourceforge I can't seem to find it now? the sourceforge link was a redirect were the download starts in 5 seconds of clicking the previous link ( I think you know what i mean )

So if you have any ideas I'm happy to hear them! As I need Zadig version 1.11 for my laptop as the XP is a desktop / not at all appropriate for most of my work ( travel involved )

Cheers, Vero

[angusgr]

Hi Vero,

The current version of Zadig is v2.0.1.162, have you tried that? Can download directly from http://zadig.akeo.ie/ (scroll down to under the Download heading.)

Keep in mind that you always need a separate Zadig for XP compared to the Zadig for newer Windows versions (both are available to download on the linked page.)

Please let us know how you get on.

- Angus

[vero96]

Hi Angus,

Yes I have tried v2.0.1.162(1) from this page http://zadig.akeo.ie/downloads/ with no other instances of Zadig open / and the USBASP connected I still get the driver installation failed. In fact that instance of Zadig fails to "see" the USBASP.


I have tried every download on this page http://zadig.akeo.ie/downloads/ just for the hell of if ( mostly out of frustration ) Zadig worked fine with the XP using the correct version.


Also in all of the install attempts if I click on the arrow on the install box "install driver" is greyed out? not having much luck.

Cheers, Vero

[angusgr]

Hi Vero,

Sorry to hear it's still not working. Are you running Zadig using "Run as Administrator"? I didn't think Zadig necessarily required this (should request it on demand) but it might be worth trying.

Is the USBAsp still not visible in the dropdown if you select Options -> List All Devices?

Finally, you shouldn't have to do this but could you please try disabling driver signing and see if it works then. You can follow the steps under "Windows 8 users" here:
http://www.freetronics.com/pages/instal ... or-windows

Please let us know how you get on.

- Angus