NEW PRODUCT – Atmega32u4 Breakout Board+ Toss out those FTDI cables and go USB-native with the ATmega32u4. After many months of back-orders, we finally received a shipment of these little guys and are excited to offer our breakout board. The little dev board keeps it simple, with just the bare essentials:
Atmega32u4 – AVR core with USB capability. 32K flash, 2.5K RAM running at 16MHz
We put a avrdude compatible bootloader on there, which takes 4K. You can always remove it
Standard AVR 6-pin ISP connector for direct programming (when you need the extra space)
Big Bootload/Reset button
500mA fuse on the USB power line
Power LED and ‘user’ LED (also indicates when the bootloader is active)
Fits nicely in any breadboard
4 mounting holes
This breakout board is best for those who have familiarity with some microcontrollers and are comfortable with writing code in C. This board doesn’t come with any ‘learn to program’ tutorials! If this is your first time with a microcontroller, we suggest going with an Arduino which is easier. Then when you want to upgrade, check this out.
Plug it in, connect a mini-B USB cable and you can start writing code immediately. With the built-in bootloader you don’t even need an AVR programmer. We suggest checking out the LUFA library to get started with the USB core as nearly every kind of device has an example already.
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Can you explain what features on this board you designed are better for you compared to the Teensy? Is it mainly the increased breadboard friendliness and mounting holes?
I was expecting the Arduino Uno to be based on the atmega32u4, I think this board really gets near to that as it can be.
Would it be so far fetched to say that by modifying the pin definitions on the arduino core and maybe little else this could turn into an arduino-compatible board?
karonth, you can use PJRC’s Teensyduino with this which is basically Arduino for the ’32u4. If you’re going to be using just Teensyduino you may also want to check out the Teensy (its in the AVR dev section) – it has ‘autoreset’ so it is very fast and easy to use. This board does not, so you have to press the button to start bootloading
Can you explain what features on this board you designed are better for you compared to the Teensy? Is it mainly the increased breadboard friendliness and mounting holes?
@rgm – yes, on saturday night’s show we can do that. if you cannot make it a video will be posted monday (or sooner).
Ah, now we know what the pick-and-place was doing last night.
And we know what happened to all the ATmega32u4s! 🙂
I was expecting the Arduino Uno to be based on the atmega32u4, I think this board really gets near to that as it can be.
Would it be so far fetched to say that by modifying the pin definitions on the arduino core and maybe little else this could turn into an arduino-compatible board?
Stupid question, i should apply to myself the RTFM first rule…
You’ve done a gread job, can we expect an arduino shield compatible version soon?
karonth, you can use PJRC’s Teensyduino with this which is basically Arduino for the ’32u4. If you’re going to be using just Teensyduino you may also want to check out the Teensy (its in the AVR dev section) – it has ‘autoreset’ so it is very fast and easy to use. This board does not, so you have to press the button to start bootloading
How about a custom case, to make it look like a thumb drive?