bootloading from an ATMega328 to another ATMega328.

setting up a breadboard to easily bootload ATMega328 chips.

 

The ATMega328 on the right has the ArduinoISPExtClk.ino sketch loaded and you initially need to connect the USB module on the right to the PC. Open up the Arduino IDE and select the bootloader (board) to burn to the ATMega on the left and from the menu select burn bootloader. That's it.

 

I've shown 1k for the resistor values, but you might need to adjust this value depending on what LED you use. The yellow LED is the heartbeat and shows the program is running, the green shows writing in operation (as does the blue) and the red is a fault condition (in other words it didn't go to plan)

 

To test, connect the USB cable to the USB module on the left and try uploading the blink sketch as normal...

 

Of course, the left hand ATMega328 can be replaced by a ZIF socket (as in the picture) if you have such a thing handy, which means that you then just clamp the chip in, bootload, test and that's it. Simples!