Category Archives: programmers

FPGACheap DIY Altera FPGA USB programmer

This is a DIY USB programer for Altera FPGAs. It only uses a PIC uC and a few discrete components to provide a JTAG interface with a FPGA. Somun found it on a Japanese site (machine translation), and with the help of Google Translate he built one for himself. There are two versions available. The […]

PICKit2 clone that works with both 5V and 3.3V devices

Felixls and Suky designed a PICKIT2 clone (machine translation) that works with both 3.3v and 5v devices. Using a 3.3v voltage regulator they have access to both the 5V USB and a 3.3V power supply. Simply by moving a jumper you can chose which supply will power the board and PIC. Via the forum.

Audioino: Arduino programmable via sound card

Here’s a unique way to program an Arduino chip: using your computer’s sound card! Chris from the hobby-roboter forum provides the details on this amazing hack in his forum post. The process simply requires the Atmega168 to be programmed with Chris’ special audio bootloader. The whole project requires only the addition of three resistors, two […]

Protostack ATmega168A kit + USBasp programmer giveaway

Protostack gave us an ATmega168A development board and USBasp programmer to give away.  This is the latest version of the AVR through-hole development board, it has with a flexible power supply and huge prototyping area. We’ve watched the Protostack board evolve over several years, and it just keeps getting more refined. The introductory tutorials are […]

mikroProg PIC programmer/ICD

mikroProg is a fast USB 2.0 programmer with mikroICD hardware In-Circuit Debugger. Smart engineering allows mikroProg to support PIC10, PIC12, PIC16, PIC18, dsPIC30/33, PIC24 and PIC32 devices in a single programmer! It supports 570 microcontrollers from Microchip. Outstanding performance, easy operation and elegant design will blow your mind. mikroProg lists for $99 plus shipping and […]

Computerless Arduino programming hack

Teague Labs has developed a device for programming and altering the code on Arduinos without the need for a computer. This opens new opportunities for in the field programming and testing of Arduino projects. The Computerless Arduino consists of two major components; an Arduino-compatible microcontroller loaded with a realtime code interpreter, and a stand-alone 5 […]

Versaloon programmer

Versaloon is a full-opensource platform for multiple applications, including a programmer, debugger, logic tester, logic analyzer and simple oscilloscope. It’s based on generic USB_TO_XXX protocol, which can support more than 10 kinds of interfaces including JTAG, SWD, SPI, IIC and so on. USB_TO_XXX is not only used to control these interfaces, but also it can […]

Updated AVRDude for testing

The current version of AVRDude (v5.8) is incompatible with Bus Pirate firmware v5.0-v5.9. Later today we’ll release a Bus Pirate firmware that restores compatibility with v5.8. A more permanent fix is available though. Tim updated AVRDude to be compatible with all Bus Pirate firmwares, and take advantage of some new commands to increase the programming […]

Bus Pirate PIC programming adapter

An experimental PIC programming adapter for the Bus Pirate is now available for $7 at Seeed Studio. This is unproven green label hardware. Only buy this if you want to contribute to PIC programming applications like piratePICprog. There is NO software support, and the final hardware will be slightly different. If you need this for […]

Programming PICs with a programmer

A new tutorial covers the basics of programming a PIC with a PIC programmer supported by MPLAB, like a PICkit or ICD. This frequently-requested tutorial is geared towards programming the bootloader into a project like the Bus Pirate. Bootloaders make it easy to upgrade firmware without dragging out (or owning) a programmer. Just activate the […]

EEPROM programmer to a low-cost desktop test bench

Openschemes bought an inexpensive Top2005 multiple chip programmer, but they couldn’t get it to work well. In a two-part series they trace the circuit and create alternative FPGA bitstreams that turn it into a full-featured desktop test bench. Great writeup of a reverse engineering adventure. Via the forum, thanks for the tip IPenguin!

Inexpensive multi-programmer update

An update of the inexpensive, medium-speed AVR/PIC/CPLD/Arduino programmer is posted in the forum. This programmer is designed for people who don’t own a programmer, and just want to rescue a bricked PIC or AVR. This version takes into account the pin connection diagram MichaelZ outlined during our last design review. The update has a single […]

piratePICprog wiki page

The new Bus Pirate PIC programmer has a wiki page with instructions and examples. The application is nearly complete, there’s just some tweaking required to get the memory settings right for each PIC family. If you’re interested in contributing, there’s a development section on the wiki with links to the source code and compiler.

Preview: Inexpensive multi-chip programmer

This is a preview of an inexpensive, medium-speed AVR/PIC/CPLD/Arduino programmer. It’s designed for people who don’t own a programmer and just want to rescue a bricked PIC or AVR. The programmer uses the bitbang mode of a FT232R FTDI USB->serial converter chip. The same one used on the Bus Pirate and Arduino. There’s existing apps […]