Protostack AVR Development Kits
Most of the boards come ready-to-use and include parts such as a programmer which are no longer required when the project is finalised and operational.
Protostack provides prototyping boards for 28- and 40-pins AVR MCUs with plenty of room for extra components and other stackable boards. Protostack offers a wide range of optional items, such as rubber feet, spacers and screws, and of course electronic components. |
Building the Boards
The kits come with all the components carefully packed.
User guides provide step-by-step instructions, profusely illustrated. As all the components are 0.1"-spaced, making soldering very easy. A support is provided for the MCU and allows an easy swap of the MCU, for example from the supplied 28-pin ATmega328-PU to an ATmega328P-PU used in the Arduino Uno board, or a fast replacement of the 40-pin ATmega32A-PU by an ATmega644 used in the Wiring S board or an ATmega1284P-PU. The first P means pico-power while PU stands for plastic DIP package. It took me one hour to complete each kit. |
Programming the Boards
The programmer isn't integrated, so an external one is required.
The Protostack boards include the standard 6- and 10-pin ISP connectors. I used two programmers successfully:
Unfortunately, those programmers only offers upload, not the USB / serial connection most Arduino boards and alike feature. More surprisingly, Protostack provides no software in its website, not even links, although the 28- and 40-pin ATmega MCUs are very popular among the Arduino and Wiring community. |
Three solutions:
Those boards offer great versatility for specific projects. Stackable prototype boards is a real breakthrough. However, on the price and performance perspectives, the 8-bit ATmega architecture can't compete against more modern 16-bit MSP430 or 32-bit ARM-based boards. |
Pros
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Cons
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Wrap-Up
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