Arduino Uno to Program ATTINY84 (Arduino V. 1.8.5)

by tsant

13K1410

Intro: Arduino Uno to Program ATTINY84 (Arduino V. 1.8.5)

Using the Arduino Uno to program ATTINY84-20PU (Digikey item # ATTINY84-20-PU-ND).
This Instructable shows how to use the Arduino platform to work with physically smaller processors, such as the ATtiny84 (84/44/24). This example is specifically for the ATtiny84-20PU processor but can be adapted for the others boards by selecting the appropriate board from the Arduino software (i.e., Arduino IDE) and modifying the pinouts as required.

(Updated for Arduino 1.8.5)

STEP 1: Add ATtiny Core Supprt to Arduino IDE Software

For Arduino 1.8.5:

  1. Open Arduino software (aka Arduino Integrated Development Environment [IDE]).
  2. Open preferences: [FILE] --> [PREFERENCES]
  3. Paste URL into Additional Boards Manager URLs: http://drazzy.com/package_drazzy.com_index.json

STEP 2: Program Arduino for Use As an In-System Programmer (ISP)

  1. Select Arduino board: [TOOLS] --> [BOARD] -->[ARDUINO/GENUINO UNO] . Note: although I have the Arduino UNO I have replaced the processor with a pre-programmed Atmega328P that requires that I select "Arduino Duemilanove or Diecimila."
  2. Select Programmer: [TOOLS] --> [PROGRAMMER] -->[AVR ISP] .
  3. Open ArduinoISP sketch: [FILE] --> [EXAMPLES] --> [11.ArduinoISP] --> [ArduinoISP]
  4. Upload sketch.

STEP 3: Connect ATtiny84 for Programming

Connect the Arduino Pins to the ATtiny84 pins:

  • Arduino 5V to ATtiny84 Pin 1
  • Arduino Pin 10 to ATtiny84 Pin 4
  • Arduino Pin 11 to ATTiny84 Pin 7
  • Arduino Pin 12 to ATtiny84 Pin 8
  • Arduino Pin 13 to ATtiny84 Pin 9
  • Arduino GND to ATtiny84 Pin 14
  • Arduino RESET to 10uF capacitor (+ side / long leg)
  • GND to 10uF capacitor (- side / short leg)

STEP 4: Set Arduino to Program ATtiny84

  1. Select Arduino board: [TOOLS] --> [BOARD]
    -->[ATtiny24/44/84]. Now additional board options will appear in the Tools menu next time Tools is opened.
  2. Select B.O.D. disabled: [TOOLS] --> [B.O.D.] -->[B.O.D. Disabled]
  3. Select LTO disabled: [TOOLS] --> [LTO 1.6.11+ only] -->[Disabled]
  4. Select Pin Mapping counterclockwise: [TOOLS] --> [Pin Mapping] -->[Counterclockwise]
  5. Select Chip Attiny84: [TOOLS] --> [Chip] -->[Attiny84]
  6. Select Clock 8MHz: [TOOLS] --> [Clock] -->[8 MHz internal]
  7. Burn bootloader: [TOOLS] --> [Burn Bootloader]

STEP 5: Program ATtiny84

  1. Open Blink sketch: [FILE] --> [EXAMPLES] -->[01.Basics]-->[Blink]
  2. Edit sketch:
    1. Prior to void setup(), define pin name (led) and location (pin 0): int led =0;
    2. place “LED_BUILTIN” with “led” in void stetup() and in void loop()
  3. Upload sketch.
  4. Power off and disconnect from Arduino.

STEP 6: Connect ATtiny84 to Run As Stand-Alone

  • ATtiny Pin 1 to 5V source (don't actually turn on power yet)
  • ATtiny Pin 2 to LED (long leg)
  • ATtiny Pin 14 to Ground
  • LED (short leg) to Resistor (end 1) between 100 and 1k Ohm
  • Resistor (end 2) to Ground
  • Turn on power to ATtiny84

7 Comments

PrashantM38 4 years ago

While programming/learning, I found led=0 to be physical pin 13 rather than pin 2. Checked it twice.

Philip11111111 5 years ago

When I burn bootloader, I get an error. I am using arduino 1.8.7, could that be a problem?
Here is the copy of the error message from the arduino IDE:

Arduino: 1.8.7 (Windows 10), Board: "ATtiny24/44/84, Disabled, ATtiny84, 8 MHz (internal), EEPROM retained, B.O.D. Disabled, Counterclockwise (like old ATTinyCore and x41-series)"
C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\hardware\tools\avr/bin/avrdude -CC:\Users\Philip\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\ATTinyCore\hardware\avr\1.2.1/avrdude.conf -v -pattiny84 -cstk500v1 -PCOM3 -e -Uefuse:w:0xFF:m -Uhfuse:w:0b11010111:m -Ulfuse:w:0xE2:m
avrdude: Version 6.3-20171130
Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Brian Dean, http://www.bdmicro.com/
Copyright (c) 2007-2014 Joerg Wunsch
System wide configuration file is "C:\Users\Philip\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\ATTinyCore\hardware\avr\1.2.1/avrdude.conf"
Using Port : COM3
Using Programmer : stk500v1
Setting bit clk period : 5.0
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 1 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xe0
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 2 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xe0
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 3 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xe0
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 4 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 5 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xe0
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 6 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xe0
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 7 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xe0
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 8 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 9 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xe0
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 10 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xe0
avrdude done. Thank you.
Error while burning bootloader.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Philip11111111 5 years ago

The solution was to set the programmer to "Arduino as ISP", instead of AVR ISP, or anything else that looks similar in the list. This is in the instructions.

HankD7 6 years ago

Thanks for this Instructable. When I get to step 4, I do not get the additional board options. I am using Duemilanove and Arduino 1.8.5. Do you have any suggestions?

Philip11111111 5 years ago

I had that problem too. I had to click on <Tools> <Board> <Board Manager>
and then select a file to install based on the chip I was targeting.