I have a spare display sitting around and want to make a simple digital clock. I thought about integrating a separate AVR and DS1307, but realized that doing so was WAY overkill. The AVR on the display is more than sufficient to use as a clock driver and battery backup circuits are simple and cheap.
The problem that I am having is in uploading new firmware via the Arduino IDE. I have followed the instructions found [here to the letter. If I open the Serial Monitor, I can send commands to the display, but whenever I upload a sketch, I get a sync error from avrdude. I think part of the problem is that I am using a USB to serial adapter (as per the instructions) and not a dedicated programmer and avrdude is trying to upload the sketch through a programmer. I’m using an old Prop Plug (parallax Propeller MCU programmer) and not the Sparkfun FTDI board, but they function the same, and again, I can send serial commands to the display.
Again, I am following the instructions to the letter. I am using the “Upload” menu command and not the “Upload with Programmer” command, but even then, the selection of a programmer has a definite effect on the error I receive. If I choose the “Parallel Programmer”, I get an error that avrdude cannot find a parallel port. Each listed programmer gives me slightly different errors. The instructions mention nothing about programmers, so I though the IDE would send the sketch over the serial connection, but that does not appear to be the case.
What am I doing wrong and how can I get this to work. I’ve never worked with Arduino before and I am a bit lost. Google has been less than helpful. All results via Google assume that I am using an Arduino board. The Sparkfun instructions are less than clear.
I have checked the Arduino preferences file and it is set to upload via bootloader, which I would suspect is correct. Any ideas?](Customizing the display · sparkfun/Serial7SegmentDisplay Wiki · GitHub)