Below is some more specific information about the Micro-Kids device.

We use the Atmel AVR Programmer to download a program into the Micro-Kids device. One end connects to a PC via a USB cable. The other end has a 6-pin connector, which is connects to the Micro-Kids device.

You can order it from Digi-Key (http://www.digikey.com) under the part number ATAVRISP2-ND. It costs about US$36.

More information about the programmer is found on Atmel’s website: Atmel AVR Programmer

The programmer works with Studio 4 software, also from Atmel: Studio 4

You will need to install Studio 4 on a Windows PC that has a USB port. We have tested it on Windows 2000 Pro and Windows XP.

The trickiest part of the installation is dealing with the USB driver. Make sure you select the USB driver when installing Studio 4 and once again if you install the Service Pack (highly recommended). After you have installed Studio 4, try plugging the Programmer into one of the USB ports. Windows XP will pop up a Wizard, which you must follow to properly install the USB driver.

Important note: the Service Pack that came on the CD with the Atmel AVR Programmer was big trouble for us, specifically on Windows XP. We highly recommend that you use the version on Atmel’s website instead.

We use WinAVR to do our programming. It also runs on Windows.

It is freely available and can be downloaded here: WinAVR on sourceforge.

Currently, we use Version 20060125, which works well. Newer versions are probably fine too. The installation is relatively easy, but make sure you reboot your machine after the installation.

WinAVR comes with many things, but it is the Programmer’s Notepad that we use. From there, you can open a file and do a "Make all" to compile it. If there are no errors, it will produce a ".hex" file, which you can download into the device using Studio 4. The actual button to do the download is called "Program".

LightSensor, one of our example programs, can be downloaded here: MK1_LightSensor-070526.zip

Programming is done in the C language. If you think that sounds too advanced for "kids", you might be right. But don’t tell that to the 9 and 10 year olds that took our workshop!

Download the Micro-Kids MK1 schematic here: mk1_v0.9-final.pdf (schematic)

Note: not all of the parts on the schematic are installed on the Micro-Kids device.