Episode 439 - Mechanical Arcade Game with Barebones Arduino

Andy,

Yes, I see it now. That looks about right. Maybe I'll have a go at making one again some time. If only I could find my own circuit diagram!

Dubbie

Dubbie, yes, there is a capacitor on the reset line (see my circuit above) this so you can use the transition of the "Data ready" signal to reset the chip ready for programming.

Clemens,

Yes, this looks like it, although I'm sure there was a capacitor on the reset line somewhere, which I think was to delay the reset on power up to 'trick' (?) the Arduino IDE into thinking it was a proper Uno. Yes, you did have to have a serial to TTL serial converter  but you only need one for all projects and it is only used when programming. I must admit that at the University we did design the PCB so that the USB to serial (MM232R) could be broken off when no longer needed, but in the end we used it to power the boards from a USB port and avoided having to give students batteries.

Dubbie

thanks.

to program mthe Atmega328p i used the ICSP interface of the bare chip and the Arduino IDE. YOur can replace the programmer with an arduino running the ArduinoISP sketch.
but to just Upload in the conventional way there must be at least a Serial to USB converter involved either as Ftdi cable or an interface chip(like it is mounted on the arduino uno).

the configuration you mean should be this one:

https://www.hackster.io/116600/standalone-arduino-applied-in-projects-ed173e

to programm the chip in this config, you still need to acces it either with a USB to Serial converter(FTDI cable) or ICSP

the config with the 16mhz crystal is the same as descibed in the settings for an arduino uno, so no bootloader change is needed(if its already on the chip)

Fully agree! thanks for sharing yout thoughts!

A great and simple game but still with considerable challenge. I  liked the particular mechanism used to move the ball about, quite onnovative - I have never seen anything like it before.

For making a barebones Arduino it is possible to just implement the reset and programming components along with the Arduino chip. I think it is about 2 or 3 capacitors and a resistor, possibly a crystal as well. Saves on all the messing about you did with programmers as you can then programme the Arduino in-situ directly from the Arduino IDE. If I can find a copy of the circuit I'll put it up. I have used it many times in the past to make very low cost Arduino based gizmos to use as give-aways at University Open Days (so they had to be cheap) as well as for laboratory classes.

Dubbie

A barebones Arduino project can be a good entry point into designing your own PCBs. If you get one already with the bootloader pre-installed then you can programme it using a USB to TTL adaptor. That's how I made the one for the UV Monitor. You can also use a Uno as a programmer to put the bootloader onto a blank ATMega (or set the fuses) https://github.com/NicoHood/HoodLoader2/wiki/Burn-the-bootloader-from-another-Arduino

Currently there's no part for that item in Newark, so you'll have to click to 'view it on the farnell store' or similar prompt.

Exactly.

but the link should lead you to your respective vendor site.

Bitteschön.

So you are in Austria? Vielen Dank