Tiny AVR Programmer

Tiny AVR Programmer Background

Today I will build an AVR programmer based on the FabOptimus that built by Ali Shtarbanov. It's very well documented and makeable at a fab lab. But, I wanna make a very small tweak. It has not a power indicator LED, So I will add mine.

Tiny AVR Programmer Circuit Design

This tiny AVR programmer is based on the ATtiny44 chip with a FabISP firmware uploaded to it. For PCB in-depth analysis and circuit design explanation check out my full tutorial on how to make this tiny AVR programmer.

I modified the FabOptimus original design and added a power indicator LED. check out the full tutorial for more details on that part.

PCB Ordering

As you can see, I fabricated this board using a CNC milling machine at Fab Lab Egypt. But, if you are searching for high-quality PCB manufacturing with a solder mask and silkscreen at a very fair price and fast worldwide shipping with no minimum requirements you may order as small as 10 pieces for 5$. you can order yours from PCBWay. You can also support me by just ordering this board from my link.

We love open-source. You can download all the project source files from the project documentation page.

FabISP Firmware Upload

To upload the FabISP firmware to the FabISP AVR programmer board, we need another programmer to help us upload the firmware to our FabISP board. we will use an Arduino UNO board as an ISP programmer and we will connect it to our FabISP AVR programmer board. For more explanation and FabISP firmware download check out the project documentation page.

To Upload the FabISP Firmware to the tiny AVR programmer board, we gonna use the AVR CrossPack(Since I'm using a mac machine) if you are using windows, you can use AVR studio or AVR Dude.

Tiny AVR Programmer Testing

After finishing the previous steps, your computer should now recognize the board as an ISP. Since I’m using a MAC machine, click on the Apple logo, then click in “About This MAC”, then “System Report”.

Tiny AVR Programmer Enclosure

I designed an enclosure for this tiny AVR Programmer board. you can download the source files from the project full documentation page.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to drop them in the comments down below! All the project design files are opensource. Feel free to download, edit, tweak, share. If you want to support me, consider buying me a coffee.