Atmel JTAG ICE and STK500

Gopal,

I tell you what :-)

You send me the JTAG ice and I'll send you the STK500.

Phil :-)

The STK500 is great for a "first board" since it

- brings all the ports out to easy to grab 0.1" headers

- has headers for on-board LEDs and momentary contact switches

- has an RS-232 lever shifter and standard 9-pin connector (in addition to the one for the programmer)

- has sockets to support all (AFAIK) DIP form-factor AVR devices and takes care of clock and power

- can parallel program devices that support it, which can save the day if the wrong fuse is blown and the chip won't talk serial programming

- and can also be used as an in-system programmer for devices on other boards

Still, most of the time I find the little AVRISP is easier to use since, even on a breadboard, it's much simpler to leave the chip in-circuit than to keep swapping it to a separate programmer.

Having the JTAG ICE device, you really don't gain much by having the STK500 that you can't do with a breadboard, power supply, and clock.

Thank you for your comments.

Gopal