Clip to chip to ICSP connector

Development Boards MicroMod
1

I have been programming with the Pocket AVR Programmer ( http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … ts_id=9231 ) and was wondering if anyone had a source for a clip that would function like those IC test clips that piggyback connect onto a DIP but would terminate in an ICSP AVR’ish style socket?

My other option is to roll my own, by buying a test clip and the cable and connectors and mash something together.

Or should I abandon this line of thinking altogether and just get an AVR Dragon, and if the ICSP is not convenient, pull the chip and drop it into the programmer for out of circuit programming?

Since I am used to the old days of programming EPROM’s, the out of circuit option has a certain appeal due to the familiarity, and also if you are working on a breadboard, the ICSP connector seems more of a pain than a blessing…

Once something is developed, has a PC board, or is a bit further along in development, I can see the usefulness of ICSP.

Right now, it seems kludgy compared to my friendly ZIF socket…

Thanks.

-DogNo7

2

The Dragon also has a debug facility, which is very useful. The current model is a lot more reliable than the older version.

Leon

3

3M sells IC Test Clips. Just google it. I use one for a 20 pin avr attiny2313 pdip package.

The clip I have is an 8 pin clip which connects to VCC, SCK, MISO, MOSI on pins 8 - 5 and RST on pin 1. I just use an aligator clip for ground and clip it to the pcb. It works good when I want to reprogram a pdip 2313 that was not socketed. I also purchased an adapter for the SMD version.

4

I think I am going to go the Dragon route.

I will also make a custom cable with a clip on one end and an ICSP header on the other end. I want something that I can just connect and go, and not poke around with figuring out the wiring each time.

Thanks for your help.

-DogNo7