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General MicroView Support area - You have questions, find your answers here.

Moderators: marcus@geekammo, Help@GeekAmmo

By tester919
#178717
I got one of these from the kickstarter and am wondering if I can use the programmer for my arudino mini pro.

It seems I could do it easily with a 5v one (just plug it all in?)

Also am I able to do it with a 3.3v one? how would I proceed if I were to do that.
By Help@GeekAmmo
#178772
Hi tester919,

You didn't mention what type of programmer you used for your Arduino Mini Pro. Normally any USB to Serial TTL converter will work properly as a programmer for the MicroView.

In our Getting Started with MicroView, we have a diagram showing how to use a FTDI Basic as a programmer.

Image

Does this answer your question?

On the other hand, I would recommend you to get the official programmer from SparkFun to save you some time messing with the serial to TTL converter. It is designed to fit nicely on the breadboard and MicroView.

Image

Cheers
JP
By scotta
#178787
JP,
I believe tester919 wants to do the opposite; use a MicroView programmer to program a Pro Mini.

tester919,
I've programmed a 5V Pro Mini with the MicroView programmer with no problems. You need to connect 5 sets of pins.
  • Programmer pin 8 GND to Pro Mini GND
  • Programmer pin 15 5V to Pro Mini VCC
  • Programmer pin 1 RST to Pro Mini RST (not GRN, although it might work)
  • Programmer pin 9 TX to Pro Mini RXI
  • Programmer pin 10 RX to Pro Mini TXO
I think it would be a bit more complicated for a 3.3V Pro Mini (I haven't tried it). You probably would need 5V to 3.3V level shifters on the TX, RX and RST lines. You would also connect the programmer's 5V pin to the Pro Mini's RAW pin instead of to VCC.
By Help@GeekAmmo
#178845
Thanks Scott for the clarification.

The FT231X in the MicroView Programmer is 3.3V output, should be able to work with 3.3V Mini Pro. Just make sure the 5V of the Programmer goes to the RAW input of the Mini Pro like Scott said.
By scotta
#178855
JP,
Thanks for pointing out that the MicroView programmer is 3.3V compatible. I should have researched the schematic and datasheets. Good to know if I ever need to program a 3.3V Arduino!