LINKS:
ATMEL BUTTERFLY PROJECTS
LINKS:
The Atmel AVR
Butterfly is a fully assembled demo board for the MEGA169 processor.
About the size of a credit card, the board includes a 6 character LCD
display, 5 way TACT "joystick" switch, piezo speaker, data
flash memory chip and of course, the processor. The board is powered
by a single 3 volt lithium button cell. The Butterfly board is
available from Dig-Key for
$19.99. (part # ATAVBFLY-ND)
The demo board comes
pre-programmed with some neat demo firmware, but new user written
software can be loaded into the Butterfly board by using the built in
boot loader program and a PC with a RS-232 serial port. The Atmel
software development platform, called "Studio 4" is
required to down load new software into the Butterfly. This program
can be downloaded for free from the Atmel
web site. It's a good sized installation file, about 40 megs, so
it would be good if you have, or have access to, a broadband Internet
connection. If your on dial up, it could take all day to down load!
While your at the Atmel site, it would be a good idea to download the
full Butterfly user guide, as it contains useful information. The
complete data sheet for the MEGA169 would also be good to get if you
want to learn more about using the processor.
Here are a few
ham radio projects I've written programs for use with the Butterfly.
Programs are supplied in assembly, so you can modify them if you
like. Use of the Studio 4 program will be required to compile the
assembly source code into a hex file that will be loaded into the
Butterfly. The programming tutorial button will bring up some
instructions on how to use Studio 4 to load the program into the
Butterfly.
Controller for the Analog Devices AD9850 and AD9851 DDS chips. These programs allow using the AMQRP DDS-50 or DDS-60 daughter cards either as a basic signal generator or for use as a VFO in a homebrew transceiver.
Iambic paddle keyer. This keyer takes advantage of the LCD display on the butterfly to display the Morse characters you are sending. This can improve your sending by forcing you to learn proper inter-letter and inter word spacing. Also included are two 100 character message memories, code speed selection and a Morse tutor features which generates random 5 character letter/number groups.
Digital QRP SWR/Power meter. Add a SWR bridge and make a small, low power RF power / SWR meter. Displays up to 10.00 watts.