Like many makers, I took my first steps in hardware programming using the Arduino platform. And just as Atmel Microchip hoped, I am still pretty faithful to the AVR platform today.
To program AVR microchips, you need some kind of (USB) programmer. I opted for a cheap USBasp clone, because it is cheap but still reliable. However, you still have to wire the 10-pin connector to your chip by yourself. This is of course ideal for in-system-programming, where you just want to plug the programmer into your PCB. Since I prefer to solder chip sockets and programm my chips externally, I needed some kind of adapter.
The Adapter
About a year ago, I started working on a board where you could just plug in the programmer cable, and then push your chip in the fitting socket. It also had an external 16 Mhz oscillator for flashing those chips that required one. A few days ago, I found the abandoned project and decided to finish it.
The Case
To complete it, I 3D-printed a nice box. This also gave the system the much needed rigidity and electrical insulation.
