Programming ATtiny85 with Arduino Uno • Tech Projects

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I am working on a project which requires reading multiple sensor data on different locations. These require only few PWM pins so using multiple Arduino Uno would be expensive and unnecessary. So I decided to use ATtiny85 microcontroller in place of Arduino Uno development boards.

ATtiny85 is a cheap and powerful alternate when u don’t need too many PWM pins. Since ATtiny85 is just a microcontroller we need a Arduino Uno to program it. In this project I will explain how to do it. Below is the pin configuration of ATtiny85 and the datasheet can be found here http://www.atmel.com/images/atmel-2586-avr-8-bit-microcontroller-attiny25-attiny45-attiny85_datasheet.pdf.

Configuring Arduino Uno as a ISP (In-System Programming)

To program the ATtiny85 we need to first set Arduino Uno in ISP mode. Connect your Arduino Uno to the PC. Open Arduino IDE and open the ArduinoISP example file (File -> Examples -> ArduinoISP) and upload it.

Adding ATtiny85 Support to Arduino IDE

By default Arduino IDE doesn’t support ATtiny85 so we should add ATtiny boards to Arduino IDE. Open File -> Preferences and in the Additional Boards Manager URLs give this url https://raw.githubusercontent.com/damellis/attiny/ide-1.6.x-boards-manager/package_damellis_attiny_index.json.

Connecting ATtiny85 with Arduino Uno

Now with all the above things ready we will start programming the attiny85. Connect the arduino uno to attiny85 using breadboard as below.
Arduino Uno – ATtiny85

5V – Vcc

Gnd – Gnd

Pin 13 – Pin 2

Pin 12 – Pin 1

Pin 11 – Pin 0

Pin 10 – Reset

Schematic Programming ATtiny85

Add a 10uF capacitor between RESET and GND in arduino. This is to avoid arduino from being auto reset when we upload the program to attiny85. If you are using a electrolytic capacitor make sure the anode goes in GND of uno.

Uploading program to ATtiny85

Now back to Arduino IDE. Select ATtiny under Tools -> Board. Then select ATtiny85 under Tools -> Processor. And select 8 MHz (internal) under Tools -> Clock.

Testing ATtiny85 Blink

Now its time to test. Remove all connections from Arduino and take a power source. Here I will use a button cell to power ATtiny85.