The Arduino IDE is great for beginners: It makes it really easy to write simple programs without having to care about compiler options, include paths, language standards or how to actually flash firmware onto the microcontroller. It even comes with a built-in serial monitor which can be a great tool for debugging. Inevitably, as people dive deeper into the world… Read more »
The Arudino IDE Support package also contains different bootloaders for quite a few variations of the Generation 7 Electronics RepRap controller board. The Arudino IDE Support wiki page at the RepRap wiki also contains a paragraph on how to flash the bootloader onto the Gen7 board with avrdude. It suggest to write the fuses first, the flash the hex file… Read more »
Unfortunately, Atmel does not ship a hex file for their STK500 development system that could be used to update the firmware using 3rd party tools like avrdude. Instead, an encrypted ebn-file comes with the latest Atmel Studio. The tools that is used to flash the firmware onto the ATmega8535 is a bit dull, though. Preparing serial connection First, hook up… Read more »