Until now, the USBASP windows driver wasn’t signed. On older versions of windows this was’t too much of a problem as you could override the signature error. On Windows Vista x64 and Windows 7, it is almost a show stopper.

Various methods have been suggested including a utility called Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider or Pressing F8 at boot time and selecting Disable Driver Signature Enforcement. These approaches were far from ideal.

With the release of libusb-win32 version 1.2.4.0 this is a thing of the past. A new USBASP driver is now available; is based on the libusb-win32 driver; and supports 32 and 64 bit windows. It is partially signed which means windows still produces a warning during installation, but that warning does not prevent installation of the driver.

OK, now for the installation procedure…

Continue reading “USBASP driver for Windows 7 and Windows Vista x64” »

We released the 28 Pin AVR Development Board back in 2008 and since then it has gone through many iterations. This week we release version 1.6 which adds 4 improvements. These improvements were based on customer feedback and we are very grateful for the feedback. Please keep it coming.

Continue reading “28 Pin AVR Development Board – Version 1.6” »

The ATMEGA168 Development Kit now comes with 10 extra components for the power supply block. Specifically that includes:

• 1 x Resistor – Metal Film 1/4W – 1K
• 1 x LED General Purpose 5mm Yellow
• 1 x DC Jack 2.1 x 5.5mm
• 1 x 1N4004 General purpose 1A Rectifier Diode
• 1 x L7805 +5V Linear Voltage Regulator
• 1 x PPTC Resettable Fuse – 72V, 500ma (RXEF050)
• 1 x Capacitor – Electrolytic 25V 47 uF
• 1 x Capacitor – Electrolytic 25V 100 uF
• 2 x Capacitor – Resin Dipped Ceramic 50V 100nF

When the ATMEGA8 Development Kit becomes available again, it will also have these extra components.

Version 1.5 of the 28 Pin AVR Development Board is now available. As before we have incorporated a number of changes that people had asked for.

The most notable change is a figure-8 shaped hole for mounting the voltage regulator. This configuration allows for both Input/Ground/Output (IGO) and Ground/Output/Input (GOI) style voltage regulators. Other changes to the power supply include the addition of a diode to protect against reverse polarity and a resettable fuse.
Continue reading “Version 1.5 of AVR 28 pin board” »

After much deliberation the winner for the Get your next project sponsored by us contest is Murray Harms from Queensland Australia. His idea was to develop a system to help him manage his fish farm. Continue reading “We have a winner!” »

This contest is pretty simple. Submit your project ideas and the winner will receive the parts require to build their projects (as so far as the parts are things that we stock of course).

To submit your idea, send an email to the address below. Please describe your idea and include a bill of materials.

Each person can enter as many times as they want and entries close July 21 2010.

This month we release version 1.4 of our 28 pin AVR board. As with the previous releases, we’ve incorporated changes our customers recommended. Keep the feedback coming, cause we love it.

The most notable change is the inclusion of a power supply area. In previous versions you could create a power supply by using the generic prototyping area, but this makes it much easier.
Continue reading “Version 1.4 of AVR 28 pin board” »

Breadboards are great and so are protoboards that are based on breadboard layouts. Well most of the time . They both have problems when you need to use IDC connectors, dual row headers or any other component that has 2 rows of connectors on a 0.1″ (2.54mm) grid.

The problem is due to the fact, that you need the connectors on each row to connect to a different terminal strip or protostrip. This cannot be done because each set of terminal strips/protostrips is separated by a 0.3″ (7.62mm) gap.

The Prototyping Board, full size, style 2 with IDC support addresses this problem by having an area on one edge of the board, specifically for IDC connectors and dual row headers.
Continue reading “Return of the Prototyping Board with IDC support” »

This weekend we released the lastest version of our 28 pin avr board. This version includes 7 improvements which we are pretty excited about.

The changes include:

• Updated external crystal block in ground plane for better isolation
• Updated AVCC block with room for bigger inductors
• 6 pin ISP interface in addition to the existing 10 pin interface
• 300mil (7.63mm) gap between I/O port and 5 hole protostrips. A resistor, piece of wire, dip switch
  or other component of choice may be used to bridge this gap
• Power rails are double sided to allow for greater current
• Better pin layout for reset switch
• Clearer labelling of I/O lines

All in all these changes make a big improvement to what was already a great development board.

We now have the new version of our Half Size Prototyping Board in stock.

The key difference between this version and the previous version is addition of power rails on the top layer. This allows for almost twice the current. The rails on the top layer are 50 mil wide to fit within the screen printing whilst the tracks on the bottom layer are 60 mil wide. In all that will allow for 5 amps with only a 10 degree increase in temperature.

The other improvement is the use of Lead Free HAL, using a Tin/Nickel/Copper alloy. Whilst the immersion tin treatment was good, this new treatment greatly improves shelf life due to reduced oxidation.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/protostack/3197034231/
Continue reading “Half Size Prototyping Board – New Version” »