Microcontroller question - ATMEGA128-16AI

Goto Digikey.com and enter ATMEGA128-16AI in the parts search box.

I don't know, what do you want to do ??

YES !!

Your welcome.

The Digikey price for these chips is about $15.00 each.

Personally, I kind of like the ATMega 32 because it's available in a 40 pin DIP package. The TQFP packages are a little difficult to use if you don't make your own boards and even then they can be a bit of a pain to solder. But, if you buy a pre-made board like the MAVRIC-IIB, you should be O.K.

You should have an ISP programmer cable. BD Micro has a couple different ones to choose from.

A good site to get information on AVR stuff is at:

Of course, you should get ahold of AVR-GCC which is available at avr freaks. It's an excellent compiler. There are also some IDE's available that are nice (see avr freaks).

I think it's a pretty good looking board. I've never used it but it always seemed like a nice board.

Good luck, Ed L

Thanks for the replies.

I will probably pass on my purchase opportunity... not enough of a savings to justify getting 90 of them, and the difficutly soldering kind of nixes the idea of using them to kick-start a robotics group in my area. I think I will still get one of the MAVRIC boards and use it for my project(s).

I am not 100% positive the direction I am going to go for my first project... I have been slowly collecting pieces and parts for years now, and I have resolved that this is the year I stop gathering and start building. I have two sets of 12v dc motors with gear assemblies usable for a 2 wheeled base. I built legs for a hexapod walker that using small motors and threaded rods. And lastly, I have plans for making an autonomous robot with snake-like locomotion.

Again, thanks for the help.

Tim

Soldering the TQFP64 is not that hard, once you get the hang of it. The key is to use small diameter solder - 0.015" or so works well, and a small soldering tip. What I've found works best with these is position the chip over the pads, apply a little flux, and tack down a couple of pins on adjacent sides by heating with the iron. With the chip now held in place, apply flux all around the chip, solder each pin with a small soldering tip iron. The process goes very quick, and the flux keeps bridges from forming. With a little practice, one can solder the whole chip in just a few minutes.

Oh, my eyes are not the greatest so I use a magnifying visor which helps also :-)

If you were planning a group purchase, let me know. I can give a quantity discount on bare boards if that's the way you want to go. Also, if you think soldering the TQFP64 is going to be a problem, we can work out something - I don't mind mounting the chip for you, depending on how many you are looking for.

Sounds like some fun projects in store ...

-Brian

Hi

I just ordered a kit using the AVR Butterfly ( ATMEGA169 ). It includes a

The Butterfly has an LCD, temperature sensor, light sensor, speaker, RS232, and HEAPS of program storage ( 4Mbit - YES 4 Mbit ) it is only USD $19.99 from Digi-Key, or is included in this kit.

Kit, book, Butterfly, etc. can be bought online from

Maybe this will be somewhere to start.

Cheers

Dale