Depending on your setup, flashing an AVR chip in DIP format can mean hooking up a number of wires to a breadboard to make the proper connections. This can be quite cumbersome, especially if you need to work with multiple chip formats, and once everything is set up, inserting and extracting the chip can still be precarious. As a solution to both problems, the ATtiny / ATmega Programming Jig from Four Bit Industries breaks out the ICSP pins from a programming cable onto a ZIF connector.
This ZIF–i.e. zero insertion force–connector opens and closes via the manipulation of a small lever, allowing you to position connect chip pins with minimal risk of damage. Even better, the ZIF connections are made using one of four individual ICSP header sockets. Depending on which socket is connected, the ZIF pins are connected properly in order to program one of the following sets of microcontrollers:
- ATtiny 12, 13, 25, 45, 85
- ATtiny 24, 44, 84
- ATtiny 2313, 4313
- ATtiny 48, 88; ATmega 48, 88, 168, 328
The device would certainly save significant time and hassle, especially i you need to program a variety of devices. As a bit of a bonus, ZIF pins are broken out via a pair of female headers, and it has an isolated ICSP breakout, plus a prototyping area. These elements would allow for a variety of customization and/or prototyping options beyond simple AVR programming.
