OLIMEX AVR-ISP500-TINY User manual

AVR-ISP500-TINY
User Manual
All boards produced by Olimex are ROHS compliant
Rev.C, May 2009
Copyr ght(c) 2008, OLIMEX Ltd, All r ghts reserved

INTRODUCTION:
AVR-ISP500-TINY is USB in-system programmer for AVR microcontrollers,
featuring two distincti e methods for communication with PC programming
software.
It can implement the STK500 2 protocol as defined by Atmel which makes
it compatible with a range of tools, including A rStudio and a rdude. It
is distinguished from other programmers by its support for autonomous
operation. AVR-ISP500-TINY contains a 2Mb FLASH memory where it can
store entire programming sessions, including FUSE, LOCK, EEPROM and
FLASH write and erification, as well as signature checking. Just hold the
button, perform all the necessary steps with A rStudio, and disconnect the
programmer from the PC. Next time button is pressed the programmer will
in oke all pre iously recorded steps without the need for connection to the
PC.
The other supported mode is a USB mass storage FLASH dri e where user
can drag and drop HEX files for downloading to target AVR chip.
We belie e these features make AVR-ISP500-TINY the perfect low-cost tool
for firmware upgrades in remote places.
FEATURES:
- Fully STK500 2 compatible;
- Works with A rStudio, WinAVR, A rdude and e ery other software
compatible with STK500 2;
- Two distincti e modes of operation;
- Modes of operation (STK500 2 and Mass Storage Dri e) are switched
easily by uploading firmware images a ailable from our website;
- USB port for connection to PC;
- Stand alone operation without the need for PC connection, allowing
firmware mass programming on many de ices with single button press;
- One bi-color LED for current operation status;
- Supports both standard ICSP10 and ICSP6 connectors;
- Button for initiating autonomous operations and command logging;
- Powered by USB;
- External clock output on ICSP10 pin 3 for rescuing AVRs with enabled
external clock fuse;
- Supports target oltages ranging from 1.8V to 5.5V.
- ISP clock frequencies ranging from 5kHz to 2MHz.
ELECTROSTATIC WARNING:
The AVR-ISP500-TINY board is shipped in protecti e anti-static packaging.
The board must not be subject to high electrostatic potentials. General
practice for working with static sensiti e de ices should be applied when
working with this board.
REQUIREMENTS:
Cables: 1.8 meter USB A-B cable. Ten- or six-wire ribbon cable for
connection to target AVR chip. USB power supply cable for autonomous
operation.

Software:
Software needed for STK500 2 mode:
- A rStudio, a ailable from Atmel.
- a rdude, included in the WinAVR distribution.
- Any other software with support for the STK500 2 protocol.
Software needed for Mass Storage mode:
- AVR binary chip description files, a ailable from our website.
- Plain text editor for editing the configuration file.
- Operating system with support for Mass Storage USB Class (any
recent one should do fine).

SUPPORTED MICROCONTROLLERS:
The following AVR microcontrollers are supported for programming:
-Classic 8-bit AVRs (see the notes for Mass Storage Mode).
- megaAVR
- tinyAVR
- USB AVR
The following AVR microcontrollers are not supported:
- XMEGA
- AVR32
The following programming methods are not supported:
- JTAG
- debugWire
- Parallel High Voltage Programming
- Serial High Voltage Programming
- PDI
CONNECTOR SCHEMATICS:
POWER SUPPLY:
Normally the programmer is supplied from USB. For autonomous operation
user must power the programmer by pro iding 5V DC stabilized power
supply to the USB connector, as shown on the figure below.
ICSP10
p n Abbrev. descr pt on
1 MOSI Serial Output
2 V_TAR Target VCC
3 CLKO Clock output
4 GN Ground
5 TRST Target RESET
6 GN Ground
7 SCK Serial Clock
8 GN Ground
9 MISO Serial Input
10 GN Ground
ICSP6
p n Abbrev. descr pt on
1 MISO Serial Input
2 V_TAR Target VCC
3 SCK Serial Clock
4 MOSI Serial Output
5 TRST Target RESET
6 GN Ground

POWER SUPPLY CABLE CONNECTIONPinConnect to...1+5V stabilized power
supply.2NC3NC4GND
PC DRIVER INSTALLATION:
Dri ers for the Mass Storage mode are integrated in Windows XP/Vista.
The dri er for STK500 2 mode is a ailable from our website. Windows
installation steps are the following:
1. Download and unzip the file “AVR-STK500-TINY-dri ers.zip” in a
temporary directory.
2. Plug the programmer in the USB port.
3. Point the De ice Wizard to the temporary directory.
4. Windows will complain that dri ers are not signed. Click “Continue”.
5. Click finish.
Screen shots of the steps are shown below:

WARNING: The COM port number assigned by Windows to AVR-ISP500-
TINY must be COM4 or below. Otherwise A rStudio might not be able to
detect the programmer. Here are the steps to change it:
1. Go to De ice Manager.
2. Unfold “Ports (COM&LPT)” and right-click on “Olimex Virtual COM -
AVR-ISP500-TINY (COMxx)” where COMxx can be anything between
COM1 and COM255. Select properties.

3. Go to the “Port Settings” tab and click the “Ad anced” button.

4. Change the “COM Port Number” to COM3 or COM4.
5. Click OK.
6. If a warning message pops up and complains about COM port being
used by another de ice, click “Yes”.
7. Click OK to close the de ice properties.
USING AVR-ISP500-TINY WITH AVRSTUDIO (STK500v2 mode):
WARNING: The COM port number assigned by Windows to AVR-ISP500-
TINY must be COM4 or below. Otherwise A rStudio might not be able to
detect the programmer. See the section for PC Dri ers Installation for more
information.
Usage under A rStudio is straightforward. First open the Programmer
Connect dialog:
Then select “STK500 or AVRISP option” with automatic port detection:

After pressing “Connect” the programming dialog should appear:
Target AVR now can be erased, flashed with a pro ided HEX file, FUSES
and LOCK bits can be written and/or erified. For more information please
consult the A rStudio documentation.
CAV AT: Although the programmer will happily accept setting VTARGET
and ARef in the “HW SETTINGS” tab, these actions will ha e no effect. The
programmer hardware can only read target VCC and show it
simultaneously in the VTARGET and ARef sliders.
USING AVR-ISP500-TINY WITH AVRDUDE:
AVRDUDE requires the serial port name, assigned by the Operating System
to AVR-ISP500-TINY. It must be gi en with the -P command line option.
For Windows systems please check the De ice Manager. For Linux systems
the following command will list all USB CDC serial ports:
ls /dev/ttyACM*
For MacOS X systems the following command will list all serial ports:
ls /dev/cu.*

An example command line for programming an Atmega88 under MacOS X:
avrdude -p m88 -B 0 -c stk 00v2 -P /dev/cu.usbmodem000010471 -e
-U flash:w:blinkled.hex
AUTONOMOUS OPERATION (STK500v2 mode):
When the button is held pressed for 5 seconds programmer enters
command logging state. In this state it will execute and log all commands
recei ed from the PC software in its internal FLASH memory. When the
button is pressed again, programmer will enter its normal state where
commands will be executed but not logged.
Logged commands can be executed again without the presence of a
connected PC by simply pressing quickly the programmer button while in
normal state. The bi-color LED will glow yellow while operation is in
progress. After operation finishes successfully the GREEN LED will blink
for a while, otherwise on error the RED LED will blink for a while. After that
the programmer will enter normal state where only the GREEN LED is on
constantly.
If programmer button is pressed and held for more than 1 second but less
then 5 seconds, it will show the current log status. A blinking GREEN
indicates a alid log, and blinking RED indicates in alid/erased log.
The formal definition of the programmer states is gi en below.
Button
released
5 seconds passed or
button pressed
Button pressed
Button held
for 1 second
IDLE
LED0=off
LED1=on
ENABLE_LOGGING
LED0=blink_slo
LED1=blink_slo
if(rs232_packet_received)
erase_log();
SHOW_RESULT
if(error)
LED0=on; LED1=off
else if(empty)
LED0=blink_fast; LED1=off
else
LED0=off; LED1=blink_fast
Button pressed
SHOW_LOG_STATUS
if(log_empty)
LED0=blink_fast
LED1=off
else
LED0=off
LED1=blink_fast
Button held
for 5 seconds
STANDALONE_ISP
LED0=on
LED1=on
Finished
NOTE: LED0 is RED, and LED1 is GREEN. If both are on, the result is Yellow glo .
AVR-ISP500 STATES

In case of autonomous operation error, the RED LED will blink for a while.
The number of flashes indicates the error that caused the failure. Error
codes are gi en in the table below.
Number of
RED
flashesAct on
that fa led
1Enter
programming
mode.
1Signature
read
mismatch.
2FLASH read
mismatch.
2EEPROM
read
mismatch.
2FUSE read
mismatch
2LOCK read
mismatch
3Corrupted
log
3Empty log
4Other
command/ans
wer error.
Example:
CAV AT: RC calibration in autonomous mode is not supported. The reason
is that the programmer has no way to distinguish RC alue writes to FLASH
from normal data ones.
TIP: Sometimes A rStudio will issue FUSE/LOCK reads when the
corresponding tabs are selected. This, howe er, will be recorded by the
programmer if it is in command logging state. So for best results it is
recommended to issue all commands in a predefined order. This is achie ed
LED1
LED0
idle
Error code: 2 flashes –
mem read mismatch
ISP
End of error code. LED0
lights constantly.
idle
t
t

by the “Auto” feature of A rStudio Programming Dialog. After setting the
FLASH and EEPROM files, FUSE and LOCK settings, and selecting the
target AVR de ice, switch to the “Auto” tab of the programming dialog.
Select the operations that should be performed and hold the programmer
button for 5 seconds to acti ate command logging. Then hit the “Start”
button to initiate a programming operation. After “Auto” operation finishes
successfully, turn off command logging.
TIP: If target signature must be erified during autonomous operation,
READ SIGNATURE command must be issued while in command logging
state.
MASS STORAGE MODE:
In this mode the programmer beha es like a USB mass-storage dri e,
containing FAT12 file system. The dri e root directory must contain an
IHEX file that will be programmed into the target, along with some other
special files. All files are recognized by their extension ONLY! If two or more
files with the same extension exist in the root directory then the firmware
will pick up the first found one (the first in the FAT12 root directory table).
List of needed files for programming the target AVR chip:
-*.INI – mandatory – programming parameters.
This is a plain text file that contains target programming
parameters. The firmware will scan the first 128 characters in
search for option alues. It should look like:
ISPFREQ=0x02
;mandatory
FUSES=0x112233

;optional
LOCK=0xff
;optional
The ISP frequency option is a HEX alue, determining the used
ISP SCK frequency. Firmware will determine the actual ISP
frequency from the gi en alue this way:
0x00
→
2MHz
0x01
→
500KHz
0x02
→
125KHz
X
→
(150/X), Khz for X>=3
The fuses option is a 24bit (three byte) HEX alue that determines
the Extended FUSE alue to be programmed (the MSB byte), the
High FUSE, and the Low FUSE (the LSB byte).
The lock byte option determines the 8bit alue that will be
programmed to the target LOCK byte.
NOTE: There must be no spaces between option names, the equal
sign and the HEX alue. The firmware parser does not strip white
spaces, nor does it understand comments!
NOTE: FUSES alue must be exactly three bytes (six HEX digits),
no more and no less. If target de ice does not ha e Extended or
High fuses the programmer will just ignore these alues.
-*.APD – mandatory – AVR target part description
This file selects the target chip and contains a description of how
to program it. Olimex pro ides these files for the supported
de ices.
-*.HEX – mandatory – FLASH Intel HEX image
This is the FLASH image that will be programmed.
-*.EEP – optional – EEPROM Intel HEX image
This is the EEPROM image that will be programmed.
When idle, the de ice will ha e all LEDs turned off. When the button is
pressed the de ice will disconnect its USB port and will try to program the

target. During programming the LED will be yellow (red+green), either static
or blinking. When programming finishes the LED will become red if
programming failed or green if programming and erification succeeded.
User then must acknowledge the operation by pressing the button, which in
turn will cause the de ice to reattach its USB port.
LIMITATIONS OF THE MASS STORAGE MODE:
The current firmware for Mass Storage mode has the following limitations:
- Fuse and Lock bytes read, write and erification does not work on
most of the classic AVRs (AT90S2313, AT90S4433, AT90S8515)
due to inability of the chips to read back lock and fuse bytes and/
or due to their non-compatible ISP commands for doing that.
Flash writing works, though.
- The IHEX parser that is integrated into the firmware is ery basic.
Sometimes it will choke on perfectly alid IHEX images. In such
cases try to strip the IHEX from extraordinary IHEX records.
- File system must be formatted with FAT12. FAT16 and FAT32 will
not work. In most cases it will not be a problem as Windows
automatically chooses FAT12 for partitions less than 32Mbytes.
- The INI file parser is rather simple. It does not understand
comments and white spaces. It uses a simple substring search to
locate parameter alues. It is not case sensiti e, though.
- The INI parser scans only the first 128 characters, discarding the
rest of the file.
- The USB de ice is disconnected from USB Host while doing an
autonomous ISP operation.
SWITCHING OPERATING MODES:
Switching between STK500 2 and Mass Storage modes of operation is
achie ed by uploading the corresponding firmware image, using the same
process as de ice firmware upgrade.
See the section “Firmware Upgrade” for more information.
CLOCK OUTPUT:
Pin 3 of the ICSP10 connector is normally left unconnected by other ISP
programmers. Not ours. In normal programmer state this pin is tri-stated.
During programming operation, howe er, this pin is made output and a
square-wa e clock is generated. Clock frequency is fixed to 62.5kHz.
After programming operation finishes, this pin is again tri-stated in order
not to interfere with the target circuit.
This clock output can be really helpful when target AVR is accidentally
programmed with External Clock FUSE option. To resurrect it just wire
ICSP10 pin 3 to XTAL1 pin of the target AVR chip and initiate a
programming session to fix the FUSE alues.
CAV AT: If an error occurs in standalone mode, the “Lea e Programming
Mode” command will not be executed, so the external clock output will stay
acti e. Due to the AVR-ISP500 hardware implementation, this can cause
target VCC to be incorrectly read as Vtarget=5V.

TIP: If clock output is needed when target is not being programmed then
the following steps must be followed. Make sure that programmer contains
a alid log, no matter its contents. Disconnect the programmer, then press
the button, and wait for RED LED to blink for error. After that the clock
output will stay acti ated.
FIRMWARE UPGRADE:
All AVR-ISP500 de ices contain a built-in boot loader for easy firmware
upgrade. De ice enters boot loader mode if the application FLASH section is
corrupted. To force the de ice to enter boot loader mode for manual
firmware update do the following:
1. Disconnect the programmer from any power source (external
AC/DC, USB).
2. Press and hold the button.
3. Power up the de ice by connecting it to USB.
4. De ice now must be in boot loader mode, indicated by the LED light
sequence:
a. RED on, GREEN off.
b. RED off, GREEN on.
c. RED off, GREEN off.
Button can now be released. The de ice will stay in boot loader mode until
it is power cycled.
All boot loaders implement the standard protocol XMODEM with CRC16 for
firmware update. User is free to use his fa orite terminal client
(HyperTerminal, minicom, etc) to upload the firmware images taken from
our website. The serial port settings for the AVR-ISP500-ISO boot loader
are: 9600 baud/sec, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. The AVR-ISP500-
TINY/MASS/NANO boot loaders implement a USB irtual serial port that is
baudrate agnostic.
As an alternati e we pro ide a simple Windows GUI application for users
who don’t want to or cannot use terminal software.
After the firmware image is uploaded the target will blink the GREEN LED if
update was successful, otherwise it will blink the RED LED if firmware
image was in alid or update was unsuccessful. De ice stays in this state
until it is power cycled.
TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE:
Problem: AVR Studio cannot find my programmer.
Probable causes and solutions:
Look whether the programmer is listed in De ice Manager under the
“Ports (COM & LPT)” section. If it's not there then check your USB
cables and hubs. Reinstall the dri er.
Check that the green LED is constantly on. If not then the
programmer might be in firmware upgrade mode. Go to the firmware
upgrade section for more details.
Your serial port number might be too high. Check the manual
section “Installing dri ers” for more information on assigning serial
port numbers. Also go to AVR Studio menu “Tools->Options” and set
the “Number of COM ports to try” field to at least 20.
Remo e all applications that might be using or scanning your
computer's serial ports, including any serial port monitors. They
might mess up the STK500 2 communication between AVR Studio
and the programmer.

Problem: Programming fails. Target AVR chip cannot enter programming
mode.
Probable causes and solutions:
ISP frequency might be too high. Set the ISP frequency to well below
¼ of target MCU clock. Please note that the AVR MCU clock depends
on its fuses configuration.
Target power might not be stable enough or supply oltage might be
too low. Check your target board circuit. Ensure that the used AVR
chip specifications match your supply oltage.
Target power supply VCC might not be connected to pin 2 of
ICSP6/10. Check your target board circuit.
The target AVR MCU might ha e fuses programmed for disabling SPI
ISP or selecting another programming method. In such case you'll
need a High Voltage Parallel programmer to unlock the chip.
The reset line cannot be pulled low by the programmer. Check your
schematic and ensure that only a weak pull-up (and possibly a
small capacitor) are connected to RESET. Otherwise, if the pull-up
is too small or there is another output dri ing RESET, the
programmer won't be able to pull it down.
Another circuit is dri ing the ISP lines (MISO, MOSI, SCK or RESET)
resulting in a contention with the programmer. The solution is to
remo e all such circuits (LEDs, RS232 dri ers, resistors below 2k,
etc) from the four ISP lines during programming. AVR-ISP500 is
more susceptible to this kind of fault than other programmers on
the market because it has 560 ohm resistors in series with all its
outputs. This protects both the target MCU and the target board
circuit.
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Symb
ol
Description Condition Min Typ Max Uni
ts
VTARG Target Supply Voltage. 1.8 5.5 V
FISP ISP Frequency on SCK
SPI pin.
5 2000 kHz
VCC Programmer Power
Supply Voltage.
4.6 5.4 V
ICC Programmer Power
Supply Current.
Idle 25 mA
Autonomous operation,
VTARG=1.8V, FISP=2MHz
35 mA
Programming with A rStudio,
logging enabled, VTARG=1.8V,
FISP=2MHz
35 mA
Time for a full
programming and
erification of
ATmega128 (128k
FLASH + 4k EEPROM +
FUSES + LOCK +
Signature check)
Autonomous operation,
VTARG=5V, FISP=2MHz
50 s
Programming with A rStudio,
logging enabled, VTARG=5V,
FISP=2MHz
68 s
Programming with A rStudio,
logging disabled, VTARG=5V,
FISP=2MHz
58 s

Symb
ol
Description Condition Min Typ Max Uni
ts
Time for a FLASH
programming and
erification of
ATmega128 (128k
FLASH)
Autonomous operation,
VTARG=5V, FISP=2MHz
15 s
Programming with A rStudio,
logging enabled, VTARG=5V,
FISP=2MHz
32 s
Programming with A rStudio,
logging disabled, VTARG=5V,
FISP=2MHz
22 s

ORDER CODE:
AVR-ISP500-TINY – assembled and tested (no k t, no solder ng requ red)
How to order?
You can order to us d rectly or by any of our d str butors.
Check our web www.olimex.com/dev for more nfo.
Revision history:
REV.A - create April 2008
REV.B - modify January 2009
Added a troubleshootin uide
REV.C - modify May 2009
Added instructions for avrdude

Disclaimer:
© 2008 Olimex Ltd. All ri hts reserved. Olimex®, lo o and combinations thereof, are re istered trademarks of
Olimex Ltd. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.
The information in this document is provided in connection with Olimex products. No license, express or implied
or otherwise, to any intellectual property ri ht is ranted by this document or in connection with the sale of Olimex
products.
Neither the whole nor any part of the information contained in or the product described in this document may be
adapted or reproduced in any material from except with the prior written permission of the copyri ht holder.
The product described in this document is subject to continuous development and improvements. All particulars of
the product and its use contained in this document are iven by OLIMEX in ood faith. However all warranties
implied or expressed includin but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for purpose are
excluded.
This document is intended only to assist the reader in the use of the product. OLIMEX Ltd. shall not be liable for
any loss or dama e arisin from the use of any information in this document or any error or omission in such
information or any incorrect use of the product.

X-ON Electronics
Largest Supplier of Electrical and Electronic Components
Click to view similar products for Programmers - Processor Based category:
Click to view products by Olimex manufacturer:
Other Similar products are found below :
TPG100004 TPG100017 X2S-FP-X CY8CKIT-005 APM32PROG ASBK-014 CMT WRITER ATB-USBASP MIKROPROG FOR 8051
MIKROPROG FOR PSOC5LP JTAG HS2 PROGRAMMING CABLE JTAG-SMT2-NC SM PROGRAMMING MODULE ZL30PRGV2-1
MIKROE-1505 MIKROPROG FOR AVR MIKROPROG FOR CEC MIKROPROG FOR PIC,DSPIC AND PIC32 MIKROPROG FOR
STM32 MIKROPROG FOR TIVA ZL31PRG ZL20PRG AVR-ISP500-TINY MIKROE-2511 CYBLE-012011-PROG CT210A-S 5.16.02
DC9010B TPG100016-G3 FP-ARM-1V FP-MSP TPG100001-G3 XS-FP-X CYBLE-212006-PROG XS-FP-ARM-1V GP-ARM-1V
TPG100017-G3 TPG100012-G3 ACNPROG PGM-07834 XUP USB-JTAG PROGRAMMING CABLE CK-USB-04A REVELPROG-IS
GANGPRO-ARM-1V CODEGRIP FOR ARM CODEGRIP FOR STM32 CODEGRIP FOR KINETIS CODEGRIP FOR TIVA FLASHPRO-
430-CC FLASHPRO-430-STD FLASHPRO-ARM(X2S)