Matt from RougeCode is a Windows phone developer who keeps fidgeting with Netduino for building various gadgets as it’s an efficient prototyping tool. However, these boards cost at least $35 and need a lot of power to work, thereby making it quite difficult to utilize them for each and every project.
Figure 1: Flash LED light
In order to resolve this, he decided to make use of ATTiny chips that can control almost anything with the least amount of power. Moreover, they can be used in combination with Arduino to make the coding really easy. Since it’s not simple to connect these chips directly to the PC, Matt has explained how to use Arduino Nano to write code to them.
Other sources may render a complicated combination of Arduino Nano and ATTiny chips along with other components that need heavy wiring which is difficult to configure. Consequently, Matt has described an easy-to-follow guideline without any additional tools. To get started, the following materials are needed:
- Arduino Nano
- ATTiny chip
- Wires
- Breadboard
- LED
- 220 Ohm Resistor
Figure 2: Install Arduino
Figure 3: Select board of ATtiny
To begin with, the first task is to download and install IDE and then download the file that allows Arduino IDE to interact with ATTiny. The next step is to deploy the Nano by the plugging it onto the board via USB cable. During the uploading, the LEDs keep flickering thus indicating that the deployment is taking place. This will let Nano be aware of how to write stuff to the ATTiny.
After the deployment, the Nano and breadboard are connected with their center aligned together, which is later on joined by the Attiny chip. Now the next step is to get ATTiny to run Arduino for which there are 3 speed options. The faster it is the higher will be the power. Usually either 1MHz or 8MHz are suitable options as they consume very less power. However, the 20MHz option cannot be used without a crystal. Now with the help of burn bootloader option, the Arduino IDE is instructed to use Nano so as to write to the ATTiny.
To test its working, the circuit with earlier configuration is further joined by LED and resistor. As the blink sketch is deployed onto the board, the LED starts flashing. Finally the ATTiny chip can be plugged to a separate breadboard along with a battery for sourcing power.
It’s a very basic project that flashes LED lights but the same setup can be utilized with certain improvisations for more complicated tasks as well. For the convenience, one can keep the Arduino Nano permanently plugged onto the breadboard with the required wiring. This will enable the user to push it into any ATTiny chip as and when needed, without any fuss.
Complete details about the project can be accessed through the link mentioned below.
Filed Under: Reviews
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