I have this old ATMEL programmer and I'm hoping to start learning about micro controllers on a lower level before I move to Arduino.
Unfortunately the floppy disk that came with it is lost, and the chip (red arrow in the picture) is sanded off. and it's not possible to contact the person who made it.
What software do i have to use? I'm fairly capable in ASM but i dont know how to transfer the program to the microcontroller.
Can i use USB-to-LPT converter? or i have to find an old pc with a LPT port to use this prehistoric relic?
Best Answer
I don't think that this chip (with erased markings) does anything clever. In fact, it looks pretty much like 74HC244.
Parallel to USB converters do exist, but I don't think they are worth the trouble. You can buy an ISP programmer, which are extremely cheap these days, and wire it directly to the microcontroller pins.
Another alternative would be to use a bit-bang programmer. They are typically based on FTDI FT232RL USB to serial converter. They are quite easy to build and can also be used for UART communications between your PC and the microcontroller.
edit: You can use ProgISP software to see if it works with your board, which supports parallel port programming (if you can find a motherboard with LPT port of course). However you might need to reconfigure the parallel port pins corresponding to the data lines (MISO, MOSI, SCK and RST). If you are lucky, it will work with default settings.
I haven't worked with the classic series of Atmel MCUs, but I believe that any programmer that supports 8051 will work with your chip. Search for '8051 USB programmer' - I'm pretty sure you'll be able to buy one locally.