PART LIST: (like this to keep on top) 1x ATMEGA328P chip with Ardunio bootloader 1x USB to TTL converter* 1x 100nF capacitor (-> USB-TTL converter) 1x 16MHz crystal oscillator 2x 20pF capacitor (-> crystal) 1x LED 1x 220 Ohm resistor (-> LED) *Pay attention of your choice, it should have the same 6 pins as the one used here. Cheaper 5-pin versions do not have the CTS and required DTR pin.
+Vineeth Penugonda For me it actually worked without any capacitor. AFAIK they only needed for stabilizing tne frequency. Try it, it should not be able to do any harm.
+Gergely Nagy Thanks Gergely. 1) Is Voltage Regulator required? 2) www.amazon.in/CH340G-CH340-Serial-Converter-Module/dp/B00W74BTK2?tag=googinhydr18418-21&tag=googinkenshoo-21&ascsubtag=238562e5-130a-4663-912a-7db57129bb8d www.ebay.in/itm/CH340G-CH340-Serial-Converter-USB-2-0-To-TTL-6PIN-Module-for-PRO-mini-/141653589990?_trksid=p2054897.l5670 Is this the same converter which your provided in the video description? :-)
+Vineeth Penugonda I do not see the pin labels, but the jumper makes me suspicious. There is the one I bought (after I received the wrong one, of course :-p), this is (or at least was a month ago) the cheapest that is the same as on the video: pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=161835245183&alt=web Actually the same setup did not worked for me first, probably due to driver problems with Win10: the IDE could not access to the USB serial port. There are fixes on the internet, but it was easier for me to program it by a Raspberry Pi over ISP. (link if you are interested: learn.adafruit.com/program-an-avr-or-arduino-using-raspberry-pi-gpio-pins/configuration, you simply connect to the appropiate pins of the atmega instead of the ardunio) I did not use a voltage regulator here, so the USB should work without it too.
I've watched a lot of videos on TH-cam. But this is in the top 5 ever. Brilliant video, brilliantly explained. I'm new to arduino and this showed me stuff I could easily understand and even more important, it got me more interested in learning more about electronics. I don't comment much on videos. This deserved one. Love your videos and the way you explain in a logical way. Cheers.
FindmeKicksUK I think everyone can see from your comment that you have just helpfully highlighted how it is in fact you who are the "tard". Why be so negative? Julian's videos are excellent.
it's completely redundant if he is making the video based on price as he stated. the components + usb to ttl is more than the price of the clone + shipping. for learning how to program an atmega328 great job!
Thank you for this video, Now i know that Arduino board is nothing but straight up wire from IC to pin headers (with protections). I have been dealing with the size of the Arduino for a long time, robots such as sumobots have very intense space requirements, This video has taught me to just draw a PCB with SMD ATmega chips, saves tonnes of spaces that was taken by headers. Great job!
You also need to connect AVCC to 5V, or portC might not work properly (according to the data sheet). I'd also strongly suggest connecting the two GND pins. A decoupling cap between GND and VCC would be advisable too. You can print stickers that you can stick on the DIP package, that show the pinouts. Very handy, so you don't have to lookup the pinouts. Great demo of the bare bones Atmega328 Julian. Thanks.
Interesting question Julian Ilett. Looking at the bare die of the ATMega8 (zeptobars.ru/en/read/atmel-atmega8 (top-right is pin 1)), you can see the large yellow square that looks to connected to the ground pads (also note square has a bigger clearance around the VCC/AVCC pads). Seeing that, I think you can probably get pretty close the the maximum rating, with only one pin connected. Though the bond wires may become the weakest factor here. Also noise might be more of an issue with only one pin connected. Wait. Looking a bit closer I see the yellow square is interrupted at the bottom (left), and partially interrupted at the right (bottom). So probably a bit less maximum current. But since Arduino doesn't really promote using the analog pins as outputs, you can probably get away with it. ADC measurements may be a bit more noisy. I think we're full circle now (-:
Julian, great video, thank you very much. I'm not a pro, and am using a Surface 4, and def had to connect AVCC (20), AREF (21) w/10kohm in series to 5v on usb to make the arduino IDE recognize the device on the com port. The ide had "port" greyed out until I did this. Now working. Very cool video - thank you.
Great explanation, with a clear and comprehensible language. Very appreciated when you see the tons of videos made by people who do not articulate and talk at the speed of a formula 1.
I always learn something from watching a video. Many good points in this one. Also, like the soldering of a resistor to the LED for prototyping. Never thought of this, but it makes breadboarding so much easier. Thanks,
I started now to use the Atmel328 directly on PCB and this tutorial was the base for it! Thanks a lot! Only one remark: I was only able to upload a sketch via USB - TTL converter to the chip adding a 10K resistor between +5V and pin 1 (reset).
The 10k resister you recommend adding, is it from pin 7 to pin 1 on the atmel chip or from the atmel chip to the USB - TTL converter. Sorry but need a bit more info. Thanks for any help. Like Gerry have had no luck with this for 3/4 days and this suggestion sounds good.
Re: The One Day Ardunio Project: The 10k resister you have added, is it from pin 7 to pin 1 on the Atmel chip or from the Atmel chip to the USB - TTL converter OR just on the USB -TTL converter alone. Sorry but need a bit more info as I have the same problem as you had. Thanks for any help.
Dirk H If this is all it takes to run arduino programs, what is all the extra stuff on the board? in other words, if I make projects using just the microcontroller like this, will I be missing anything important?
Just a note to the fans of Julian watching this build. And to you, too, Julian, but you may already know. OK, I did all this (your build) on my breadboard but my USB to serial interface was different. It worked fine the first time uploading the code but I had to wait to upload again. What I did was put a pulldown resistor between Reset (Pin 1 on the Atmega) and Ground. I had a 22K and that works. I am sure a lower value would work. This is AFTER the ceramic cap. (From the USB to Serial interface pin DTR to the ceramic cap). Before I put the resistor in, I would have to wait about 2+ minutes before I could upload a new sketch. I mounted the resistor on the breadboard so I didn't modify the interface. I hope I explained what I did clearly. CP2102 is the chip on the interface. SI or S1Labs. (Replace the word "interface" in my post with "converter").
Maybe on your country, but here in brazil: Protoboard: +- 3.50 dollars Chip: +- 3.50 dollars usb module: +- 2.50 dollars wired jumpers: +- 3 dollars. o/ components: +- 2 dollars Total: +- 14.50 dollars Arduino Uno R3: +- 7~13 dollars Is a LOT more cheap buy a arduino on place of the separated components.
But if you want to make a system on pcb that uses an atmega microcontroller(arduino's microcontroller) you need to know how to do it. If you want to just play with an arduino ok get the board.
So, am I correct to assume that, if a lot of your projects are standalone (no USB data-connection to a computer required), you can: 1. buy a bunch of extra ATmega's with Arduino bootloader, 16Mhz crystals and 20pF capacitors 2. program and test your project on the single genuine Arduino UNO you already own 3. lift the ATmega from it's socket and solder a crystal and 2 capacitors directly to it's pins (or place all on a breadboard) 4. remove the other project components from the UNO pins, and solder them directly to their respective pins (or place them on the breadboard) 5. hook up a 5V power source (smartphone battery / powerbank?) to the ATmega's VCC and GND pins 6. run your project straight from the ATmega, or the single breadboard (eliminating all the extra space for the Arduino UNO) 7. rinse and repeat?
That, and removing unneeded stuff allows you to have a very low power sleeping arduino. Good to have a load of cheap sensors left and right running on batteries.
Great video. I just sourced parts to build my own Arduino. $5.94 for the parts. I already had the resister and LED. This is a well documented video with step by step instructions. Thanks for taking the time to post..
Really interesting project, julian. I always hope for a new of yours every day in my subscription list and always watch yours first! :) You are my favorite channel to watch right now.
Nice project... just FYI, I used a similar but different USB serial converter, also sourced on Ebay, and I had to use a 22 nF capacitor to couple the DTR line on the USB converter to pin 1 (reset) on the ATmega328, instead of the 100 nF mentioned in the video.
Great video! To be pure minimalist, no LED/Resistor and the USB to Serial Adapter would be part of your special programming cable (not part of the board). You can make a simple PCB, the Microcontroller, the Crystal, 3 Capacitors, A 4.5V Battery Clip, a Diode, and a Female Header Connector that you plug the USB to Serial Adapter into to program/comms and then remove it (freeing up 2 more I/O if you need them but no comms). I would suggest a 1uF Capacitor across the VCC and GND pins of the microcontroller for added decoupling of the power pins. To save even more money, you could learn the complicated process to install the Bootloader yourself. I think I am going to add this project to the Summer STEM class I teach - I try to save my students every penny as they pay for project materials, but I teach the class for free (8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 8 weeks over the Summer).
The Led at digital pin 13 blinks for 1 sec after I start uploading.... but after that it shows : avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 1 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00 avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
Hi, just for the records, I tried to do this project today and received the same error when uploading the sketch. The problems was solved putting a 10K resistor between PIN 1 and VCC.
that's not my issue. I have the 10KR in pin 1 to vcc and still no go... I have hours upon hours of searching, setup, re setup, reloading of bootloader numerous times.. i have no idea what i'm doing wrong! I cannot get my CP2102 to work for nothing!
i had watched this video 6 years ago, i was really surprised to see this recommended to me, the god ol days, your channel really helped me getting started with Arduinos
Hey Julian. This 1-Day projects is pretty amazing. Not only because it is good to understand how all this works together but also because this makes it possible to create a custom board that fits into different boxes or other housings where a genuine or clone board does not fit into. Thanks a lot!!
I was wondering, as I looked over the official board, why one couldn't just build an Uno from inexpensive components, and then I happened on your video. I also bought the official version, but wanted to play around with building a variation. Thanks for taking the time to post!
+LightningShock captain just said that? Anyway I came here to say you could just buy those Atmega328ps off ebay (and some 16mhz crystals and a few ceramic caps) and use them alone. Those get through the customs and free shipping and what not everytime at least to Finland. And youll only need one of those usb thingys, you can program every chip with the same one.
Thank you for this video, Julian. This tutorial truly helped get me started on moving into making barebones Arduinos, and my own embedded devices. One thing that I learned that might be related to the issue you had with manual reset on the programmer. Putting a 10K pull-up resistor between RESET and VCC seems to let the 328 reset itself automatically after a sketch is uploaded.
Especially if you intend to use the Analog pins as analog pins... which means that the analog references (AREF) pin needs to be connected to VCC as well.
Peter Feerick so i connect AVCC and AREF bins to VCC ? i have a lcd display that displays temperatures it all runs of 5v and i am putting VCC to D9 pin as a to act as voltage reference for analog calculations ? is this all sound ok ?
Yes, you attach AVCC to the VCC pin even if you aren't using the Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). And you attach AREF to VCC to set the reference voltage of the ADC. If you are using any of the A0 - A5 pins and analogRead(), you are using the ADC. As long as your supply voltage is below 5.5, then all is good!
Peter Feerick thank you for your reply. i had someone write the code for my little project as im new and still learning. the code was made for a fake learnardo and now im using the code on a ATmega328P-PU (attempting my first pcb layout. and i was unsure about those pins. it works with those pins not connected however i will connect them as you advise :)
I enjoy watching your postbag series. I also built one of these own Arduino with similar components. It did not work at first. Finally I learnt about the tiny 3.3/ 5 V switch on the Serial adapter in one of your other videos. Switched it to 5V and eveything works fine. Thanks
The main seller on eBay you use for your parts doesn't have 20 picofarad capacitors, but they do have 22 picofarad capacitors. Is this acceptable? Thanks for a great video!
Julian Ilett hey, i seen you buy alot of stuff from ebay i wanna buy 830 ties breadboard and jumper wires cheap but dont know how much is shipping, could you explain me how ebay works ?
Hi. I don't know if someone else has mentioned this before now, but for my Arduino to work, I needed to put a 10k Ohm pull resistor directly between pin 1 and 5V. This ensures that as soon as the program is loaded, the /reset will immediately be pulled high again. This just helps that the reset pin is not in an unknown state after the DTR is 5V, but the capacitor still needs to be charged
the diy one works out better if you need a lot of them in one project. i keep a uno that has the removable chip and use that to flash my chips so no usb to serial. I am making a Quadrino ( 4 hips on one board) This is to run a 4ch Oled Vu meter. it comes up at the same size as one uno and fit in my amplifier nicely. the major benifit of using ready made arduino is the fact that you can run them on 12v .To cut a long story short it depends on your final use for the arduino if you need one to test and practice get a builtr one if you need to put them inside projects build them. GREAT VID
You can build ATtiny85 yourself, but by default Arduino IDE doesn't support the ATtiny chips. High-Low Tech Group at MIT Media Lab created their own libraries and shared them publicly, so you can download and use them. I made a video about it some time ago, so you can ask if you have any questions about it.
Jou programe the ATtiny with a SPI programmer and mot via a serial bootloader. There is nu bootloader on the ATtiny. Jou can use the UNO as a SPI programmer for the ATtiny. And for the IDE add the ATtiny hardware library to the IDE. Then you can upload the skets via a (UNO) SPI programmer. I use a USBtiny SPI programmer. There also DIY with a AT chip. But you can buy theme for allmost nothing.
Tthis was one of the most soothing stimuli for my brain I have ever watched. Your voice, filming and explanation was simply terrific, and have made me want to get me an Arduino Uno (although I now know how to build one from scratch)! Thanks for making this, and please continue making more!
I know you are not a comedy channel, but you missed a great oppertunity to sample "But shit, it was 99 cents". From thriftshop, when you were talking about the crystal.
Very nicely done video. I really liked the extra bit of detail given for side points, such as what the capacitor was for when bridging the USB-to-Serial converted to the input on the Uno. Very excellent incites.
+Very Manly Man yeah but those prices are probably high because of people wanting to resell them for a higher price. I haven't check my self though. So I dunno.
+Very Manly Man arduino it's a microcontroller (made to learn easy way to the microcontrollers with out all the problems handle microcontrollers),raspberry zero it's a computer(made for introduce the computational cience to the people with a minimum cost) those both are good ideas. but with a diferent purpose
Hi Julian, I'm happy to use a purpose made board, but I've learnt a significant amount by watching your video. You've not only made a interesting and informative video, but it has allowed me to understand much better how the Arduino works. Many thanks.
1) it is about understanding of how it works 2) you can build your own PCB and put together with another components to make real world application in small packaging
The nice thing about this arrangement is that if you want to embed it in a project, you can just solder the microcontroller and passives down to your board, remove the USB-serial adapter after programming, and the finished product won't look like it has an Arduino in it. I wonder how many commercial products are now built this way, using the Arduino bootloader and libraries, instead of Atmel Studio?
Really enjoyed this. Whether it is cheaper or not this gives a better understanding of how it works, plus I can make a smaller setup for some circuits.
im going to make a uno,ive just ordered a uno and a mega,for reasons too long for here,but i also make pcbs,im going for a perf board to use for pitch,and use zif sockets,and if i need a permanent micro controller,i can program a chip,and fit it to a board with correct headers etc,but using only the needed components for what ever it is for,socket for crystal timer,surface mount parts too where needed,for a good pcb look for toner transfer technique,easier to do than uv resist ,for beginners,seeing as the parts are super cheap on ebay,one can be made for (much)less than a tenner,and be very versatile,bread board can be disturbed easy.Each to there own,im a technician ,and enjoy being anal about this ,but it can make things easy in the long run,chips etc can be removed safely!. All the best,enjoy electronics,that's the main thing.
This is an example for other TH-camr's to follow. I punish myself watching about 5 videos for every one that has this quality. 1) Your voice is clear and the thoughts are well planned (no mistakes, unnecessary pauses, or "I should have mentioned this earlier..." 2) Your camera had good light and focus, and showed everything about the project including pin assignments. The friggin volume was high enough to hear (unlike most TH-cam abortions). 3) You supplied relevant reference material and a BOM. 4) Your train of thought was logical and you verbalized your thinking without dead air. 5) No drama or unrealistic emotions. 6) No boring and useless intro on what a great guy and how smart you are and how important it is to subscribe! I hope you continue with more advanced topics. P.S. I soon hope to create a TH-cam series on aviation topics and would appreciate knowing what camera, microphone and lighting you used. Thanks :)
What i love the most on your Arduino is that it is really small so i can put it in anything. I just must find out where i can get such programmed chip in Romania. Great explained! Thx!
What I'm getting from this is that I should buy a real Uno to support the developer, set it up as a programming rig, and then buy the bare chips to use them in finished projects. You've shown us a good way to build the chip into a circuit without having to put the whole Uno in.
Thank you for producing and uploading this video. Its great to understand the components of a micro-controller and really work out how all the components mesh together to make it all function. It may sound naive and I understand that an engine is also just a collection of simple parts it still does baffle me how we can make electricity run in circles and do tricks for us ^^
You can completely understand why the cheaper units are being purchased. I do have to say that the retail outlets are obviously making a few extra bucks on the item or it would not be worth selling them. It does seem that just maybe they add a few too many bucks, hence going for a cheaper unit, which does the same thing practically.
Good job! The advantage from the assembly is able to record the program in several ATMega just changing the microcontroller as well as being easier to mount the later own circuit.
This is really cool, but I think the idea of an arduino is to also save money and space on additional electrical components by allowing you to code the components you have making it save money, time and space. The other big point of an arduino is that it helps to get people of all ages get into coding and electronics as it is a really easy way to start. A year ago I had no idea how electronics worked but use computers everyday and code a few things myself, but with arduino and raspberry pi I was able to easily jump into the unknown and so am grateful for all they have done and best of all as the video shows, it really doesn't cost a lot to get into either. Also, though I find maplin to be very overpiced when it comes to electronics.
I like this. Helps us to understand the behind the scenes of what is going on so we can understand thing better. Yes, please create a How to Program instruction.
If you bought all the parts in bulk I'm sure you'd be saving a lot of money but you would be missing out on all the protection features, the reset button, the pins, the built-in LED. I see the arduino as a protoyping board. Once you're happy with the code and you're sure you got everything right you remove the chip from the board and buy a new one to program.
+Domino SixO Yes, but... this ATmega chip can be used without external chip programmer. An AVR programmer alone costs at least 3 dollars, which is almost as much as the total cost of this Arduino.
brinckau You bootload and program the chip with arduino. The arduino is the base/platform to use different kid of chips and programing them thru arduino. What is in this video is just the Chip "328p" or any kid of chip without the arduino platform of curse the FTDI works as a arduino programming chip. So even if you program your chips you don't need the arduno ftdi after that, you just take the chip and use if on what you need.
Domino SixO The FTDI works as a programmer *if* your chip is pre-programmed with the bootloader. Or, more precisely, the chip is its own programmer (thanks to the bootloader) via the FTDI interface. If you buy a chip without bootloader, then you have to buy a chip programmer, because you can't use the FTDI interface alone. So what this video shows is not just a chip + FTDI interface. It is an Arduino, ie a chip + a bootloader + FTDI. But of course, once the chip is programmed, we can take it off and put it on a PCB to use it. That said, I kinda agree with you and I think the Arduino is kinda pointless if you want to learn how to use a microcontroller. But I have to admit that its self-programming abilities and its IDE make it very easy to use. You just connect it to your computer via USB, write a program, and click the upload button. Without an Arduino, it is slightly more complicated.
brinckau Arduino board works only as base to upload bootload and code, the most important is the chip, you can take off the chip of the arduino board and put it on your own pcb without needing arduino board of curse that only if you upload the chip one without needing the usb port..etc
Domino SixO If you buy everything shown in this video *but your chip is not pre-programmed with the bootloader*, then you won't be able to use it. Right? So, unless you have an external chip programmer (like those "usbasp" that are sold on eBay for a few dollars), the hardware shown in this video is useless. That's why the guy in this video *does have an Arduino*. He can program his chip as he wants because what he built is actually an Arduino. The Arduino is not a base to upload the bootloader. As far as I know, an Arduino can not write its own bootloader to its chip (without tricks). You need an external chip programmer.
If you already have the arduino uno board, you can just program the bootloader by replacing the supplied atmega-328p with the one you have purchased and just flash the bootloader from the arduino gui. Also after you flash the bootloader and put back your 328p on the bread-board, you can program it using your arduino again. Yet another two methods you can save a bit of money and also not worry if the bootloader is on the MCU or not.
Not to mention the fact that the clone that you showed in the video was an SMD atmega, whereas you were using a dip, which is more versatile for putting in your own projects. And to me that's the key advantage especially for a do-it-yourself Arduino ! :-)
Do not need to use boot loaders or so to program ATMEGA328P chip. Just programm the chip using another Arduino board as ISP. You can also put the bootloader if you need to play with it the above way.
Thanks for this. For me building my own Arduino is great not because the price, but because it alows to have evrything on one PCB (Arduino and controllers), so the project can get much smaler.
remember you could use your homemade clone to programme arduino chips for standalone purposes. most arduinos i've seen ,the chips are soldered onto the board yours are pluggable
In other Arduino videos they say a sure-fire way to detect clone boards is to see the rectangular component beside the USB port. Presumably it would be green on clones and golden on the original since the golden component was "commissioned specially for Arduino". Now one of the the boards presented here as a clone also has the golden component. Guess we'll never know for sure if a given board is an "original" or "clone" (if this even makes sense with an open source project) after all.
as far as I know, you should use also a pull up resistor on the reset pin, to prevent it from accidentally reseting it self through noise, because the pin is technically floating
After a 10 min build turned into nearly three hours of frustration and cold tea I finally decided to pull out the IC from my arduino uno, and put one of the "bootloaded" IC's I bought. Figuring out it wasn't bootloaded, I returned the original IC to it's socket and burned burned the bootloader. Then the problem with the CH304 stick persisted. The dude keep telling me 'nope. not in sync' So I decided to replace the IC once more on my arduino to upload sketches to them that way. They all work fine once I picked them out of the trash, burned the bootloader, and used the arduino board to upload sketches. I'm still perplexed as to what could have gone wrong with the CH304.
It is cheaper because you can buy multiple ATmega328P chips and use this circuit only for programing. You only need to buy the USB to TTL converter once after that you can build infinite Arduinos with it.
It should be mentioned that the USB-UART, wire links and breadboard are a one-off cost and reusable. I bought the ATMEGA328P with UNO bootloader in bulk for around 80p a pop. Crystals and caps are pennies. So less than £1 for a working Arduino UNO. :) Pi Zero is also incredible value at £4 a pop, but cannot replace the Arduino in many projects due to I/O timing constraints (Python is interpreted etc).
This is actually pretty useful because you only need to buy the USB to serial, wires, and LED once, and you can then use those parts to program as many of these as you'd like. If it wasn't for that crystal oscillator, the entire thing could be self-contained!
This was great! I've wanted to learn how to do this. Looking to make a very low power Arduino for projects and this will do the trick. Thank you so much 👍
Julian, Good video. Thank you for sharing. Actually knowing a minimal setup can actually help with other projects. One idea I had is using one of these ATmega328P chips and a few support components to make a retro joystick adapter. Example of this could be to convert a NES, SNES, Wii nunchucks, or Playstation 1/2 controllers to a retro computer. So if you wanted as small of a board as possible then using this layout you used is actually a good way to show how you can build a small customized micro controller setup. :D
Hi Julian. Very good demo. I saw other explanations which were very complicated. But the idea of buying the Atmel with the boot-loader pre-loaded, and buying a pre-made USB to serial board, are the clinchers. I will make my own Arduino circuits from now on. Thanks :-)
That is really amazing. I think since it's harder to beat price (significantly) or space, you can still go creative in terms of looks. At least it might be more environmentally friendly than the full board.
PART LIST:
(like this to keep on top)
1x ATMEGA328P chip with Ardunio bootloader
1x USB to TTL converter*
1x 100nF capacitor (-> USB-TTL converter)
1x 16MHz crystal oscillator
2x 20pF capacitor (-> crystal)
1x LED
1x 220 Ohm resistor (-> LED)
*Pay attention of your choice, it should have the same 6 pins as the one used here. Cheaper 5-pin versions do not have the CTS and required DTR pin.
+Gergely Nagy Can I use 22pF capacitor instead of 20pf?
+Vineeth Penugonda For me it actually worked without any capacitor. AFAIK they only needed for stabilizing tne frequency. Try it, it should not be able to do any harm.
+Gergely Nagy Thanks Gergely.
1) Is Voltage Regulator required?
2) www.amazon.in/CH340G-CH340-Serial-Converter-Module/dp/B00W74BTK2?tag=googinhydr18418-21&tag=googinkenshoo-21&ascsubtag=238562e5-130a-4663-912a-7db57129bb8d
www.ebay.in/itm/CH340G-CH340-Serial-Converter-USB-2-0-To-TTL-6PIN-Module-for-PRO-mini-/141653589990?_trksid=p2054897.l5670
Is this the same converter which your provided in the video description? :-)
+Vineeth Penugonda I do not see the pin labels, but the jumper makes me suspicious. There is the one I bought (after I received the wrong one, of course :-p), this is (or at least was a month ago) the cheapest that is the same as on the video:
pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=161835245183&alt=web
Actually the same setup did not worked for me first, probably due to driver problems with Win10: the IDE could not access to the USB serial port. There are fixes on the internet, but it was easier for me to program it by a Raspberry Pi over ISP.
(link if you are interested: learn.adafruit.com/program-an-avr-or-arduino-using-raspberry-pi-gpio-pins/configuration, you simply connect to the appropiate pins of the atmega instead of the ardunio)
I did not use a voltage regulator here, so the USB should work without it too.
+Gergely Nagy Thank you :-)
you can always trust a person that sharpens his pencils by hand/knife. BTW... thanks.
I wouldn't have noticed that if you hadn't pointed it out. Yeah, common practice with awkwardly shaped/art pencils. Probably a habit.
Artist do it to give their tip a beveled Edge. Helps line variation.
My old art teacher in highschool always did this, he had some untrustworthy tendencies.
@@CoryMck Was he a boy scout leader too?
@@englishrupe01 No, not to the best of my knowledge
And you (whomever chooses this path) learned a whole heck of a lot more building one than buying one. Nice job Julian!
I've watched a lot of videos on TH-cam. But this is in the top 5 ever.
Brilliant video, brilliantly explained. I'm new to arduino and this showed me stuff I could easily understand and even more important, it got me more interested in learning more about electronics.
I don't comment much on videos. This deserved one. Love your videos and the way you explain in a logical way. Cheers.
Cheers Graham :)
Graham Southern then your a tard as you cant build it cheaper.
Its the cheapest at 3 bucks. and all any of us will ever need.
dont believe hype.
FindmeKicksUK I think everyone can see from your comment that you have just helpfully highlighted how it is in fact you who are the "tard".
Why be so negative? Julian's videos are excellent.
Concur. More valuable than the exercise was the explanation of the process. Very well done.
it's completely redundant if he is making the video based on price as he stated. the components + usb to ttl is more than the price of the clone + shipping. for learning how to program an atmega328 great job!
I'm Mexican, but you explain very well and speak slow, so I understand. Excellent video at all.
yeah, and i am Brazilian
I'm French Canadian and I understand too! Then again I also spreak that funny English language so I guess it doesn't really count...
full of..
Great explanation video.
It's like making a radio, can buy one for a quid, but making one teaches a whole lot more and removes a lot of mystery.
Thank you for this video, Now i know that Arduino board is nothing but straight up wire from IC to pin headers (with protections). I have been dealing with the size of the Arduino for a long time, robots such as sumobots have very intense space requirements, This video has taught me to just draw a PCB with SMD ATmega chips, saves tonnes of spaces that was taken by headers. Great job!
郭虎承Guo Hucheng
Q
@@melvinknight4965 wat
Yeah
its like art attack 2000s but for big boys.
by observing your profile picture i guess u too are a fan of ANGLE BEATS. am I right?
by observing your comment, I guess you too are a fan of Angel Beats, am I right ?
Oh great!!! Of course, i am!
Lol good response, If you dont mind ,sub my channel as I may upload anime related content pretty soon. : )
great!!! I'll be waiting
This is the kind of videos people need to see on TH-cam, if there where a TH-cam’s Oscar you definitely must win one
You also need to connect AVCC to 5V, or portC might not work properly (according to the data sheet).
I'd also strongly suggest connecting the two GND pins. A decoupling cap between GND and VCC would be advisable too.
You can print stickers that you can stick on the DIP package, that show the pinouts. Very handy, so you don't have to lookup the pinouts.
Great demo of the bare bones Atmega328 Julian. Thanks.
I'd also noticed the two gnds weren't connected - good catch!
beargun42 Good points. I wonder how much current can be passed between those two GND pins before the chip goes pop.
Interesting question Julian Ilett. Looking at the bare die of the ATMega8 (zeptobars.ru/en/read/atmel-atmega8 (top-right is pin 1)), you can see the large yellow square that looks to connected to the ground pads (also note square has a bigger clearance around the VCC/AVCC pads). Seeing that, I think you can probably get pretty close the the maximum rating, with only one pin connected. Though the bond wires may become the weakest factor here. Also noise might be more of an issue with only one pin connected.
Wait. Looking a bit closer I see the yellow square is interrupted at the bottom (left), and partially interrupted at the right (bottom). So probably a bit less maximum current. But since Arduino doesn't really promote using the analog pins as outputs, you can probably get away with it. ADC measurements may be a bit more noisy.
I think we're full circle now (-:
Julian, great video, thank you very much. I'm not a pro, and am using a Surface 4, and def had to connect AVCC (20), AREF (21) w/10kohm in series to 5v on usb to make the arduino IDE recognize the device on the com port. The ide had "port" greyed out until I did this. Now working. Very cool video - thank you.
Great explanation, with a clear and comprehensible language. Very appreciated when you see the tons of videos made by people who do not articulate and talk at the speed of a formula 1.
I always learn something from watching a video. Many good points in this one. Also, like the soldering of a resistor to the LED for prototyping. Never thought of this, but it makes breadboarding so much easier. Thanks,
It's the amount of produced units that reduces the price. It is relatively rare for a custom assembled unit to cost equal or less than a premade one.
Economy of scales
Exactly what I was thinking
I started now to use the Atmel328 directly on PCB and this tutorial was the base for it! Thanks a lot!
Only one remark: I was only able to upload a sketch via USB - TTL converter to the chip adding a 10K resistor between +5V and pin 1 (reset).
+Dirk H Thanks man, been swapping out components for 3 days, didn't realize to add resistor there.
The 10k resister you recommend adding, is it from pin 7 to pin 1 on the atmel chip or from the atmel chip to the USB - TTL converter. Sorry but need a bit more info. Thanks for any help. Like Gerry have had no luck with this for 3/4 days and this suggestion sounds good.
Re: The One Day Ardunio Project: The 10k resister you have added, is it from pin 7 to pin 1 on the Atmel chip or from the Atmel chip to the USB - TTL converter OR just on the USB -TTL converter alone. Sorry but need a bit more info as I have the same problem as you had. Thanks for any help.
Dirk H If this is all it takes to run arduino programs, what is all the extra stuff on the board? in other words, if I make projects using just the microcontroller like this, will I be missing anything important?
What your project requires will dertermine that. Inputs, outputs etc.
Just a note to the fans of Julian watching this build. And to you, too, Julian, but you may already know. OK, I did all this (your build) on my breadboard but my USB to serial interface was different. It worked fine the first time uploading the code but I had to wait to upload again. What I did was put a pulldown resistor between Reset (Pin 1 on the Atmega) and Ground. I had a 22K and that works. I am sure a lower value would work. This is AFTER the ceramic cap. (From the USB to Serial interface pin DTR to the ceramic cap). Before I put the resistor in, I would have to wait about 2+ minutes before I could upload a new sketch. I mounted the resistor on the breadboard so I didn't modify the interface. I hope I explained what I did clearly. CP2102 is the chip on the interface. SI or S1Labs. (Replace the word "interface" in my post with "converter").
Maybe on your country, but here in brazil:
Protoboard: +- 3.50 dollars
Chip: +- 3.50 dollars
usb module: +- 2.50 dollars
wired jumpers: +- 3 dollars.
o/ components: +- 2 dollars
Total: +- 14.50 dollars
Arduino Uno R3: +- 7~13 dollars
Is a LOT more cheap buy a arduino on place of the separated components.
doesn't the chinese ebay sellers ship to brazil?
An authentic arduino or a clone board?
I'm used to clone boards being less than $10.
The biggest advantage in doing this is to get the experience.
yeah, but the fun here, is to learn and build it yourself :
But if you want to make a system on pcb that uses an atmega microcontroller(arduino's microcontroller) you need to know how to do it. If you want to just play with an arduino ok get the board.
That is good for a stand alone project. An alarm, clock, letter display, etc. You are a master tutor!
Great video Julian.
mjlorton Thanks Martin. I'll be looking at burning the bootloader next.
Julian Ilett I made a shield for the UNO to upload the bootloader to a seperate atmega328, it seems to work without any issues. :-)
I've seen this done several times, but nobody has been nearly as clear as you have been. You're a fantastic instructor, so keep it up. Thanks!
So, am I correct to assume that, if a lot of your projects are standalone (no USB data-connection to a computer required), you can:
1. buy a bunch of extra ATmega's with Arduino bootloader, 16Mhz crystals and 20pF capacitors
2. program and test your project on the single genuine Arduino UNO you already own
3. lift the ATmega from it's socket and solder a crystal and 2 capacitors directly to it's pins (or place all on a breadboard)
4. remove the other project components from the UNO pins, and solder them directly to their respective pins (or place them on the breadboard)
5. hook up a 5V power source (smartphone battery / powerbank?) to the ATmega's VCC and GND pins
6. run your project straight from the ATmega, or the single breadboard (eliminating all the extra space for the Arduino UNO)
7. rinse and repeat?
Just test functioning on the Arduino and when you're done, eliminate the excess bulk by making your own device with the ATmega and bare bones.
So yeah you right.
1. Maplin is out of business
2. Maplin overprice everything
It's 2020 and this is the *only* video I've found that strips down what's required t the bare minimum. Thank you.
the good thing about making something like that is that it can be on a smaller board and have only what you need around it. making it more compact
That, and removing unneeded stuff allows you to have a very low power sleeping arduino. Good to have a load of cheap sensors left and right running on batteries.
getting a Nano clone would solve much of the size worries while keeping most of the Uno abilities (and USB connection).
Great video. I just sourced parts to build my own Arduino. $5.94 for the parts. I already had the resister and LED. This is a well documented video with step by step instructions. Thanks for taking the time to post..
Really interesting project, julian. I always hope for a new of yours every day in my subscription list and always watch yours first! :) You are my favorite channel to watch right now.
kekejojo1212 Thank you, very kind
"... issue of understanding how these things work." You are absolutely correct and have my utmost respect. Thank You.
Nice project... just FYI, I used a similar but different USB serial converter, also sourced on Ebay, and I had to use a 22 nF capacitor to couple the DTR line on the USB converter to pin 1 (reset) on the ATmega328, instead of the 100 nF mentioned in the video.
+HighCountryTekRadio What serial converter do you used? I have the same problem. The chip von my converter calls 'Silicon Labs cp2102'.
Thanks.
yes was it cp2102
Great video! To be pure minimalist, no LED/Resistor and the USB to Serial Adapter would be part of your special programming cable (not part of the board).
You can make a simple PCB, the Microcontroller, the Crystal, 3 Capacitors, A 4.5V Battery Clip, a Diode, and a Female Header Connector that you plug the USB to Serial Adapter into to program/comms and then remove it (freeing up 2 more I/O if you need them but no comms). I would suggest a 1uF Capacitor across the VCC and GND pins of the microcontroller for added decoupling of the power pins. To save even more money, you could learn the complicated process to install the Bootloader yourself.
I think I am going to add this project to the Summer STEM class I teach - I try to save my students every penny as they pay for project materials, but I teach the class for free (8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 8 weeks over the Summer).
The Led at digital pin 13 blinks for 1 sec after I start uploading.... but after that it shows : avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 1 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
Hi, just for the records, I tried to do this project today and received the same error when uploading the sketch. The problems was solved putting a 10K resistor between PIN 1 and VCC.
Julio Cesar Fausto sweet! Thank you!
that's not my issue. I have the 10KR in pin 1 to vcc and still no go... I have hours upon hours of searching, setup, re setup, reloading of bootloader numerous times.. i have no idea what i'm doing wrong! I cannot get my CP2102 to work for nothing!
same here, but I'm new with this :)
@@wayneswan3092 hey maybe if you place a 22 nano farad instead of 100nano, it may work
i had watched this video 6 years ago, i was really surprised to see this recommended to me, the god ol days, your channel really helped me getting started with Arduinos
The arduino nano is also increadibly cheap (about $2 on ebay)
None of those cheap versions use the long DIP ic, though, so you cannot re-use/adapt the chip in this way, unfortunately.
Hey Julian. This 1-Day projects is pretty amazing. Not only because it is good to understand how all this works together but also because this makes it possible to create a custom board that fits into different boxes or other housings where a genuine or clone board does not fit into. Thanks a lot!!
Superb.......... Your idea is great for Sri Lanka and electronic lovers who live's in low economical countries.
This is one of the videos that taught me about Arduino when I was starting to learn it early last year. I have been following your videos since.
Arduino is 3$ in aliexpress
I was wondering, as I looked over the official board, why one couldn't just build an Uno from inexpensive components, and then I happened on your video. I also bought the official version, but wanted to play around with building a variation. Thanks for taking the time to post!
Here in Romania those costs 2x the price! So unfair...
+LightningShock well buy it from china just like the people who sell them...
+LightningShock because you pay tax for both your government and the european union.
Captain Dandal
Romania is in EU.
+LightningShock captain just said that? Anyway I came here to say you could just buy those Atmega328ps off ebay (and some 16mhz crystals and a few ceramic caps) and use them alone. Those get through the customs and free shipping and what not everytime at least to Finland. And youll only need one of those usb thingys, you can program every chip with the same one.
+MrMats0n So after the programming the USB converter can be removed and all that is left to do is power the microcontroller?
To echo what one of the other commenters has said, this is simply the best video on TH-cam. Thank you so much.
hello there!! Can I use cp 2102 converter and as for the capacitor, each is 20 picofarad right??
i can't found 20 pf capacitor, but i can only next to the 22 of capacitor
is it right?
@@321fire9 The capacitors only need to be close, so 22pF should work.
Thank you for this video, Julian. This tutorial truly helped get me started on moving into making barebones Arduinos, and my own embedded devices.
One thing that I learned that might be related to the issue you had with manual reset on the programmer. Putting a 10K pull-up resistor between RESET and VCC seems to let the 328 reset itself automatically after a sketch is uploaded.
Julian, always connect ALL GND and VDD pins, including AVDD!
Especially if you intend to use the Analog pins as analog pins... which means that the analog references (AREF) pin needs to be connected to VCC as well.
Peter Feerick so i connect AVCC and AREF bins to VCC ? i have a lcd display that displays temperatures it all runs of 5v and i am putting VCC to D9 pin as a to act as voltage reference for analog calculations ? is this all sound ok ?
Yes, you attach AVCC to the VCC pin even if you aren't using the Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). And you attach AREF to VCC to set the reference voltage of the ADC. If you are using any of the A0 - A5 pins and analogRead(), you are using the ADC. As long as your supply voltage is below 5.5, then all is good!
Peter Feerick thank you for your reply. i had someone write the code for my little project as im new and still learning. the code was made for a fake learnardo and now im using the code on a ATmega328P-PU (attempting my first pcb layout. and i was unsure about those pins. it works with those pins not connected however i will connect them as you advise :)
Why?
I enjoy watching your postbag series. I also built one of these own Arduino with similar components. It did not work at first. Finally I learnt about the tiny 3.3/ 5 V switch on the Serial adapter in one of your other videos. Switched it to 5V and eveything works fine. Thanks
The main seller on eBay you use for your parts doesn't have 20 picofarad capacitors, but they do have 22 picofarad capacitors. Is this acceptable? Thanks for a great video!
Thanks. Yes, either value will work fine.
Julian Ilett hey, i seen you buy alot of stuff from ebay i wanna buy 830 ties breadboard and jumper wires cheap but dont know how much is shipping, could you explain me how ebay works ?
+Alex Stone Look at sites like banggood.com. They have free shipping and they are most of the time the cheapest.
TotaleOnzin i already got one from ebay for like $3
+TotaleOnzin Great site. Thanks for the tip.
This blew my mind - this demystifies everything about microcomputers. Thank you!
Beautiful! Thank you!
mark plumber shalom teacher
Hi. I don't know if someone else has mentioned this before now, but for my Arduino to work, I needed to put a 10k Ohm pull resistor directly between pin 1 and 5V. This ensures that as soon as the program is loaded, the /reset will immediately be pulled high again. This just helps that the reset pin is not in an unknown state after the DTR is 5V, but the capacitor still needs to be charged
You don't need a breadboard! just dead bug build it! :)
Joseph Florentine until you want to change the circuit. :)
Bad advice for beginners.
the diy one works out better if you need a lot of them in one project. i keep a uno that has the removable chip and use that to flash my chips so no usb to serial. I am making a Quadrino ( 4 hips on one board) This is to run a 4ch Oled Vu meter. it comes up at the same size as one uno and fit in my amplifier nicely. the major benifit of using ready made arduino is the fact that you can run them on 12v .To cut a long story short it depends on your final use for the arduino if you need one to test and practice get a builtr one if you need to put them inside projects build them. GREAT VID
Would this set up work with the attiny85?
You can build ATtiny85 yourself, but by default Arduino IDE doesn't support the ATtiny chips. High-Low Tech Group at MIT Media Lab created their own libraries and shared them publicly, so you can download and use them. I made a video about it some time ago, so you can ask if you have any questions about it.
I came to also recommend a video to compare with something like the attiny85.
Jou programe the ATtiny with a SPI programmer and mot via a serial bootloader. There is nu bootloader on the ATtiny. Jou can use the UNO as a SPI programmer for the ATtiny. And for the IDE add the ATtiny hardware library to the IDE. Then you can upload the skets via a (UNO) SPI programmer. I use a USBtiny SPI programmer. There also DIY with a AT chip. But you can buy theme for allmost nothing.
See Adafruit's Trinket for more info.
It's super easy to build but no, it isn't the same as you rely on the internal oscillator.
Tthis was one of the most soothing stimuli for my brain I have ever watched. Your voice, filming and explanation was simply terrific, and have made me want to get me an Arduino Uno (although I now know how to build one from scratch)! Thanks for making this, and please continue making more!
I know you are not a comedy channel, but you missed a great oppertunity to sample
"But shit, it was 99 cents". From thriftshop, when you were talking about the crystal.
Slep Yu Lol,that song is pure gold,as well as "Can't Hold Us"
Very nicely done video. I really liked the extra bit of detail given for side points, such as what the capacitor was for when bridging the USB-to-Serial converted to the input on the Uno. Very excellent incites.
why you can't buy raspberry pi zero what cost $5?
it sold out within 24 hours
Cosmic Taco Cat
but you can still buy it on ebay
+Very Manly Man yeah but those prices are probably high because of people wanting to resell them for a higher price.
I haven't check my self though. So I dunno.
+Very Manly Man arduino it's a microcontroller (made to learn easy way to the microcontrollers with out all the problems handle microcontrollers),raspberry zero it's a computer(made for introduce the computational cience to the people with a minimum cost) those both are good ideas. but with a diferent purpose
mttorresrivera
but you can use raspberry as microcontroller too
Hi Julian,
I'm happy to use a purpose made board, but I've learnt a significant amount by watching your video. You've not only made a interesting and informative video, but it has allowed me to understand much better how the Arduino works.
Many thanks.
1) it is about understanding of how it works 2) you can build your own PCB and put together with another components to make real world application in small packaging
The nice thing about this arrangement is that if you want to embed it in a project, you can just solder the microcontroller and passives down to your board, remove the USB-serial adapter after programming, and the finished product won't look like it has an Arduino in it.
I wonder how many commercial products are now built this way, using the Arduino bootloader and libraries, instead of Atmel Studio?
Really enjoyed this. Whether it is cheaper or not this gives a better understanding of how it works, plus I can make a smaller setup for some circuits.
Julian, thanks for taking the time to post this. Love the male/female headers on the clone.
im going to make a uno,ive just ordered a uno and a mega,for reasons too long for here,but i also make pcbs,im going for a perf board to use for pitch,and use zif sockets,and if i need a permanent micro controller,i can program a chip,and fit it to a board with correct headers etc,but using only the needed components for what ever it is for,socket for crystal timer,surface mount parts too where needed,for a good pcb look for toner transfer technique,easier to do than uv resist ,for beginners,seeing as the parts are super cheap on ebay,one can be made for (much)less than a tenner,and be very versatile,bread board can be disturbed easy.Each to there own,im a technician ,and enjoy being anal about this ,but it can make things easy in the long run,chips etc can be removed safely!.
All the best,enjoy electronics,that's the main thing.
This is an example for other TH-camr's to follow.
I punish myself watching about 5 videos for every one that has this quality.
1) Your voice is clear and the thoughts are well planned (no mistakes, unnecessary pauses, or "I should have mentioned this earlier..."
2) Your camera had good light and focus, and showed everything about the project including pin assignments. The friggin volume was high enough to hear (unlike most TH-cam abortions).
3) You supplied relevant reference material and a BOM.
4) Your train of thought was logical and you verbalized your thinking without dead air.
5) No drama or unrealistic emotions.
6) No boring and useless intro on what a great guy and how smart you are and how important it is to subscribe!
I hope you continue with more advanced topics.
P.S. I soon hope to create a TH-cam series on aviation topics and would appreciate knowing what camera, microphone and lighting you used. Thanks :)
Many thanks Jan. I just use a phone (nexus 4) and natural daylight. Simple really.
What i love the most on your Arduino is that it is really small so i can put it in anything. I just must find out where i can get such programmed chip in Romania. Great explained! Thx!
What I'm getting from this is that I should buy a real Uno to support the developer, set it up as a programming rig, and then buy the bare chips to use them in finished projects. You've shown us a good way to build the chip into a circuit without having to put the whole Uno in.
'its not about its about understanding the parts' this is so great.
You speak clearly and choose your words well. Thumbs for that.
Thank you for producing and uploading this video. Its great to understand the components of a micro-controller and really work out how all the components mesh together to make it all function. It may sound naive and I understand that an engine is also just a collection of simple parts it still does baffle me how we can make electricity run in circles and do tricks for us ^^
You can completely understand why the cheaper units are being purchased. I do have to say that the retail outlets are obviously making a few extra bucks on the item or it would not be worth selling them. It does seem that just maybe they add a few too many bucks, hence going for a cheaper unit, which does the same thing practically.
Good job! The advantage from the assembly is able to record the program in several ATMega just changing the microcontroller as well as being easier to mount the later own circuit.
This is really cool, but I think the idea of an arduino is to also save money and space on additional electrical components by allowing you to code the components you have making it save money, time and space. The other big point of an arduino is that it helps to get people of all ages get into coding and electronics as it is a really easy way to start. A year ago I had no idea how electronics worked but use computers everyday and code a few things myself, but with arduino and raspberry pi I was able to easily jump into the unknown and so am grateful for all they have done and best of all as the video shows, it really doesn't cost a lot to get into either. Also, though I find maplin to be very overpiced when it comes to electronics.
I like this. Helps us to understand the behind the scenes of what is going on so we can understand thing better. Yes, please create a How to Program instruction.
If you bought all the parts in bulk I'm sure you'd be saving a lot of money but you would be missing out on all the protection features, the reset button, the pins, the built-in LED. I see the arduino as a protoyping board. Once you're happy with the code and you're sure you got everything right you remove the chip from the board and buy a new one to program.
Arduino it's just a IDE and board to program chips, what you actually have is not an arduino but a ATmega chip.
+Domino SixO Yes, but... this ATmega chip can be used without external chip programmer. An AVR programmer alone costs at least 3 dollars, which is almost as much as the total cost of this Arduino.
brinckau
You bootload and program the chip with arduino. The arduino is the base/platform to use different kid of chips and programing them thru arduino. What is in this video is just the Chip "328p" or any kid of chip without the arduino platform of curse the FTDI works as a arduino programming chip. So even if you program your chips you don't need the arduno ftdi after that, you just take the chip and use if on what you need.
Domino SixO The FTDI works as a programmer *if* your chip is pre-programmed with the bootloader. Or, more precisely, the chip is its own programmer (thanks to the bootloader) via the FTDI interface. If you buy a chip without bootloader, then you have to buy a chip programmer, because you can't use the FTDI interface alone.
So what this video shows is not just a chip + FTDI interface. It is an Arduino, ie a chip + a bootloader + FTDI.
But of course, once the chip is programmed, we can take it off and put it on a PCB to use it.
That said, I kinda agree with you and I think the Arduino is kinda pointless if you want to learn how to use a microcontroller. But I have to admit that its self-programming abilities and its IDE make it very easy to use. You just connect it to your computer via USB, write a program, and click the upload button. Without an Arduino, it is slightly more complicated.
brinckau
Arduino board works only as base to upload bootload and code, the most important is the chip, you can take off the chip of the arduino board and put it on your own pcb without needing arduino board of curse that only if you upload the chip one without needing the usb port..etc
Domino SixO If you buy everything shown in this video *but your chip is not pre-programmed with the bootloader*, then you won't be able to use it. Right?
So, unless you have an external chip programmer (like those "usbasp" that are sold on eBay for a few dollars), the hardware shown in this video is useless.
That's why the guy in this video *does have an Arduino*. He can program his chip as he wants because what he built is actually an Arduino.
The Arduino is not a base to upload the bootloader. As far as I know, an Arduino can not write its own bootloader to its chip (without tricks). You need an external chip programmer.
If you already have the arduino uno board, you can just program the bootloader by replacing the supplied atmega-328p with the one you have purchased and just flash the bootloader from the arduino gui. Also after you flash the bootloader and put back your 328p on the bread-board, you can program it using your arduino again.
Yet another two methods you can save a bit of money and also not worry if the bootloader is on the MCU or not.
Not to mention the fact that the clone that you showed in the video was an SMD atmega, whereas you were using a dip, which is more versatile for putting in your own projects. And to me that's the key advantage especially for a do-it-yourself Arduino ! :-)
I really enjoyed this. Just about to start exploring the world of Arduinos. Bought my first kit online and now patiently waiting for it to arrive.
Cool. The reason it failed to load the sketch might be because you need a pullup resistor to VCC on the reset pin.
Do not need to use boot loaders or so to program ATMEGA328P chip. Just programm the chip using another Arduino board as ISP. You can also put the bootloader if you need to play with it the above way.
Thanks for this. For me building my own Arduino is great not because the price, but because it alows to have evrything on one PCB (Arduino and controllers), so the project can get much smaler.
first time i've heard a british man say cheerio. you made my day.
remember you could use your homemade clone to programme arduino chips for standalone purposes. most arduinos i've seen ,the chips are soldered onto the board yours are pluggable
In other Arduino videos they say a sure-fire way to detect clone boards is to see the rectangular component beside the USB port. Presumably it would be green on clones and golden on the original since the golden component was "commissioned specially for Arduino". Now one of the the boards presented here as a clone also has the golden component. Guess we'll never know for sure if a given board is an "original" or "clone" (if this even makes sense with an open source project) after all.
that £3 one actually looks really good, with its male/female pins, and its load of power/ground pins
as far as I know, you should use also a pull up resistor on the reset pin, to prevent it from accidentally reseting it self through noise, because the pin is technically floating
An excellent video. It would be hard to imagine how it could be more clearly and concisely expressed. Bravo! Subscribed. Will donate
It's not about the price, but it's awesome because it helps to have project specialized designs for whatever necessary. Thanks
a good place to buy these parts is DigiKey. It's about the same prices, sometimes slightly more, but they are in the USA and it's a very good company.
After a 10 min build turned into nearly three hours of frustration and cold tea I finally decided to pull out the IC from my arduino uno, and put one of the "bootloaded" IC's I bought. Figuring out it wasn't bootloaded, I returned the original IC to it's socket and burned burned the bootloader. Then the problem with the CH304 stick persisted. The dude keep telling me 'nope. not in sync' So I decided to replace the IC once more on my arduino to upload sketches to them that way. They all work fine once I picked them out of the trash, burned the bootloader, and used the arduino board to upload sketches. I'm still perplexed as to what could have gone wrong with the CH304.
Very good tutorial!! I'm a beginner when it comes to electronics but this really shows the basics of the board. Thanks for posting.
It is cheaper because you can buy multiple ATmega328P chips and use this circuit only for programing. You only need to buy the USB to TTL converter once after that you can build infinite Arduinos with it.
I did both. Built this breadboard version AND I bought an original.
Exactly! Huge thanks for helping understand how arduino works!
It should be mentioned that the USB-UART, wire links and breadboard are a one-off cost and reusable. I bought the ATMEGA328P with UNO bootloader in bulk for around 80p a pop. Crystals and caps are pennies. So less than £1 for a working Arduino UNO. :) Pi Zero is also incredible value at £4 a pop, but cannot replace the Arduino in many projects due to I/O timing constraints (Python is interpreted etc).
This is actually pretty useful because you only need to buy the USB to serial, wires, and LED once, and you can then use those parts to program as many of these as you'd like. If it wasn't for that crystal oscillator, the entire thing could be self-contained!
Forgive me if this sounds like a completely noob question, but what makes the crystal oscillator a problem in this being self-contained?
This was great! I've wanted to learn how to do this. Looking to make a very low power Arduino for projects and this will do the trick. Thank you so much 👍
Briliant video, best made how-to I have ever seen
Julian,
Good video. Thank you for sharing.
Actually knowing a minimal setup can actually help with other projects. One idea I had is using one of these ATmega328P chips and a few support components to make a retro joystick adapter.
Example of this could be to convert a NES, SNES, Wii nunchucks, or Playstation 1/2 controllers to a retro computer.
So if you wanted as small of a board as possible then using this layout you used is actually a good way to show how you can build a small customized micro controller setup. :D
Time and money for buying a new arduino for every different project saved!!! Thank you!!!
Hi Julian. Very good demo. I saw other explanations which were very complicated. But the idea of buying the Atmel with the boot-loader pre-loaded, and buying a pre-made USB to serial board, are the clinchers. I will make my own Arduino circuits from now on. Thanks :-)
I like the way you patiently explain things. Thank you very much!
Telmo Monteiro Thank you.
That is really amazing. I think since it's harder to beat price (significantly) or space, you can still go creative in terms of looks. At least it might be more environmentally friendly than the full board.
actually learned a little bit more than thought would for this. thank you.