ATtiny Programming Jig – Part 1

Lately I have been making a few projects with the ATtiny84/85 micro controllers. The pumpkin light controller I presented a few months ago, as well as a brushless motor controller I have been playing with (amongst others) have been built with these controllers. I use the Arduino IDE to write and compile the code and an Arduino programmed with the ArduinoISP sketch to write the code into the chips.

At first, I wired up a small breadboard, which worked fine until I needed the breadboard to test something else. Arrrgh. Need to make it more permanent. Rather than make one board for each of the controller types I have, I built it for all three – ATtiny84/85/861. So far, I have tested it with the 84 and 85 with perfect results.

I always like to put a cheat sheet on the underside of my boards. Not only does that help in remembering which pin connects where, but it also serves as an insulator. I cover both sides of the paper in clear packing tape (poor man’s lamination), punch a few screw holes and attach it with some risers and screws. Keeps the solder side out of the inevitable clipped wire strands and soda-pop condensate puddles.

The jig includes the Arduino reset override capacitor and LED indicators referenced in the ArduinoISP code. The lights sure look nice when blinking, but about the only thing they really show is whether code is being written to the ATtiny or not.

This jig has worked well over the past few months, but is also wearing out its welcome. I am currently working on an Arduino shield version, which will make it much easier to disconnect and reconnect the jig, without taking my glasses off to see if I connected the jumper to the right hole or not. More info to follow.

Meanwhile, here is a draft schematic of the board, for those who are interested: attiny programmer.sch