ATtiny FTDI question - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: blackjames
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2012, 10:19:55 pm
content: hey guys, does antone know if i can program a ATtiny45 or 85 via my usb to ftdi converter from sparkfun using arduino software?

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2012, 11:59:21 pm
content: USB to FTDI is just a way to generate a serial port from a USB port.So connecting a USB to FTDI cable to a microcontroller only gives you access to the TX RX serial port (UART) from the PC.ATmega/ATtiny, and in-fact most micros, cannot be programmed from their UART when they are brand new and contain no code.So what people do, and this is what arduinos do, is flash a small program to the micro which accepts UART commands and reprograms itself! This is whats called a 'boot loader'.So, first you need to flash a bootloader to the micro using the proper programming pins(MISO MOSI SCK RESET). Once the bootloader is working it will allow reprogramming over the usb serial port from then on.NOTE: im not an arduino expert, so i dunno about its compatibility with the ATtiny 45/85

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2012, 05:15:09 am
content: There's a trick to bootload a blank Atmel using a serial port and a few resistors and diodes to drop the voltage.

author: blackjames
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2012, 08:04:00 am
content: i tried using an arduino board to program it, but i cant get it to work

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2012, 08:54:10 am
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on September 01, 2012, 05:15:09 amPretty standard direct serial/parallel programmer.avrdude supports various configurations of these.Note that the ATTiny series use a slightly different serial protocol from the ATMegas due to their low pin count.

author: jeremy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2012, 10:09:33 am
content: You can program a tiny with an arduino:http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/ArduinoISP

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2012, 12:17:34 pm
content: FYI You can use an FTDI (FT232rl) chips in bit-bang mode to program an AVR chip via ISP.http://tuxgraphics.org/electronics/200705/article07052.shtmlQuoteAlexander.

author: sirus20x6
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 02:13:32 am
content: I like to use my buspirate to program avr chips. somewhere I made a post about it on dangerousprototypes forum in the buspirate section.

author: iugamarian
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 20, 2015, 08:02:31 pm
content: For anyone interested here is a patched uisp_bbpg that allows ftdi communication by bit banging for programming avrusb500 and avrusb500v2:https://github.com/iugamarian/uisp-bbpgWorks on many platforms - Raspberry Pi, 64 bit computers.

author: bingo600
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2015, 08:13:05 pm
content: AFAIKAvrdude actually supports "Bitbanging" via a FTDI adapter , and i mean (Not using the MPSSE)Ohh it might only be for the older programming modes.I'd seriously consider an usbasp (2$)http://www.ebay.com/itm/201035834899/Bingo

author: iugamarian
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 20, 2015, 08:20:33 pm
content: Interesting, maybe in:http://tuxgraphics.org/common/src2/article07052/avrusb500-upd.htmlavrdude commands can be used in the makefile to program the programmer.I do not like usbasp - needs (old) driver and now that Windows 10 came up... and Linux changing...