Summary of AVRJazz Mega168/328 Learning and Development Board
The AVRJazz Mega168 is a standalone microcontroller development board by ermicro, featuring the Atmel ATMega168/328 chip. It supports embedded systems, robotics, and data logging with peripherals like PWM, ADC, SPI, and I2C. The board includes LEDs, switches, sensors, and RS232 communication, compatible with Arduino IDE and Atmel tools.
Parts used in the AVRJazz Mega168 Board:
- Atmel ATMega168 or ATMega328 microcontroller
- Six-channels 10 bit ADC
- Eight 3mm blue LED
- 74HCT240 buffer
- Reset Button
- Digital user switch
- User potentiometer
- Buzzer
- 11 Mhz Crystal
- RS232 Level converter
- LM35DZ Precision Centigrade Temperature Sensor
- Microchip 24AA128 I2C EEPROM
- STK500 v2.0 compatible boot loader
- ISP Port
The AVRJazz Mega168 board from ermicro is designed to be used both as the AVR microcontroller learning and development board. The AVR Jazz Mega168 board is stand alone microcontroller module equipped with the latest Atmel high performance low power technology AVR ATMega168 or ATMega328 microcontroller that can be used for wide range of applications including embedded controller, remote data logger, robotics and much more.
The AVRJazz Mega168 board features
- High performance low power Atmel ATMega168 microcontroller with 16 Kbytes Self-Programmable Flash (2 Kbytes used for bootloader program), 512 Kbytes EEPROM and 1Kbytes Internal SRAM. Peripherals include: two 8 bit and one 16 Bit Timers/Counter, six PWM channels, six-channels 10 bit ADC, Analog Comparator, USART, Master/Slave SPI and I2C
- Eight 3mm blue LED attached to the Port D through 74HCT240 buffer
- Reset Button
- One digital user switch
- One user potentiometer for analog input
- Adjustable ADC Voltage reference
- Buzzer for playing sound connected to one of the AVR 16bit PWM channel
- High speed instruction throughput using 11 Mhz Crystal
- RS232 Level converter for communicating with other equipment such as PC
- LM35DZ Precision Centigrade Temperature Sensor for measuring temperature
- Microchip 16 Kbytes I2C EEPROM using 24AA128 for data storage
- Fully supported by Atmel AVR Studio 4 and AVR-GCC
- Compatible with Arduino Integrated Development Environment which give you more flexible programming environment (Windows or Linux) and lots of program examples from the Arduino forum
- STK500 v2.0 compatible preprogrammed boot loader, no external hardware is required to re programmed the AVRJazz Mega168 board
- ISP Port to re programmed the AVRJazz Mega168 board with Atmel AVR ISP programmer such as Atmel AVRISP mkII
- The AVRJazz Mega168 board microcontroller socket is pin compatible with Atmel 8-bit 28 pins microcontrollers such as ATMega44 (4K), ATMega8 (8K), ATMega88 (8K), ATMega168 (16K) and ATMega328 (32K).
- Example project using AVRJazz Mega168 board could be found on ermicroblog
The AVRJazz Mega168 board demo program source code is include in the CDROM; this program demonstrate the capability of the AVRJazz Mega168 board such as accessing the I2C 24AA128 EEPROM, reading the LM35DZ centigrade temperature sensor, using the RS232 port, using the user switch, using the user analog input (trimport) and running the eight 3mm blue LED.
Running the AVRJazz Mega168 demonstration program
The AVRJazz Mega168 Board comes preprogrammed with a demonstration program. To use this program, connect the AVRJazz to the battery power that come with the board. The demo program will display the chasing light on the eight blue LED (mode 0). Rotate the user trimport, labeled R12, and the chasing led speed will change in different rate. Press the user switch, labeled S2, and now the board will display the room temperature through the RS232 port (mode 1), press the S2 switch again, the board will play a sound (mode 2) and automatically back to mode 0.
For more detail: AVRJazz Mega168/328 Learning and Development Board
- What microcontrollers are supported by the AVRJazz Mega168 board?
The board supports Atmel 8-bit 28 pins microcontrollers such as ATMega44, ATMega8, ATMega88, ATMega168, and ATMega328. - How can I reprogram the AVRJazz Mega168 board without external hardware?
You can use the STK500 v2.0 compatible preprogrammed boot loader which requires no external hardware for reprogramming. - Does the board support the Arduino Integrated Development Environment?
Yes, the board is compatible with the Arduino Integrated Development Environment on Windows or Linux. - What sensors are included on the AVRJazz Mega168 board?
The board includes an LM35DZ Precision Centigrade Temperature Sensor and a Microchip 24AA128 I2C EEPROM for data storage. - How many PWM channels does the board have?
The board features six PWM channels connected to peripherals like the buzzer and timer counters. - Can I connect the board to a PC for communication?
Yes, the board has an RS232 Level converter for communicating with other equipment such as a PC. - What happens when I press the user switch labeled S2 during the demo program?
Pressing S2 displays room temperature via RS232 in mode 1, and pressing it again plays a sound in mode 2 before returning to mode 0. - Is the board suitable for robotics applications?
Yes, the board is designed for wide range of applications including embedded controller, remote data logger, and robotics.
