This guide will help set up a Mac OS computer to program an ATtiny 85 using the USB Tiny AVR Programmer from Sparkfun and the Arduino IDE.
The program belongs to Developer Tools. Our antivirus scan shows that this Mac download is clean. This free software for Mac OS X was originally created by cc.arduino. The most frequent installer filenames for the program include: arduino-1.5.6-r2-macosx.zip, arduino-1.0.5-macosx.zip, arduino-1.0.6-macosx.zip and arduino-0009-mac-ppc.zip etc.
Required Items:
- How To Install Arduino IDE Software on MAC Step 1: First, download the latest version of the software here. This file is in Zip format; If you are using Safari, this file will be automatically decompressed.
- Step 4: Open Arduino IDE. Check to see if you can now see your Chinese Arduino under ports. If you can’t the next step I would take is reinstalling the Arduino IDE from the Arduino website. I found I had to do this as I had messed up the config of the application while trying to get my Arduino working.
- Sparkfun Tiny AVR Programmer (Sparkfun) – This is a handy USB based programmer for ATtiny microcontrollers. It is powered by an ATtiny84 that is set up as a USBtinyISP programmer. The board has an 8 pin socket to hold a ATtiny45/85 microcontroller that you want to program.
- ATtiny 85 Microcontroller (Digikey) – The ATtiny85 is a low-power 8-bit microcontroller based on the AVR enhanced RISC architecture.
- Arduino IDE 1.8.12 (Download)
- Mac computer (e.g. MacBook Pro) with OS 10.14 or later
I used the following steps to get the Sparkfun Tiny AVR Programmer working on my Mac. Hopefully this will be helpful for you as well. Your experience may vary.
Step 1: Install ATtiny85
Arduino 1.0.5
Install the ATtiny 85 into the programmer. Make sure you orient the chip so that pin 1 (usually identified by a dot) is by the notch. Once this is installed, plug the USB into your computer. You will not see a light and Mac OS will not recognize it as a serial port (don’t worry).
Step 2: Set up Arduino IDE
Install the Arduino IDE software (Download) and navigate the menu
Arduino -> Preferences
and in the field for “Additional Board Manager URL” paste this link:Click “OK” to save and restart the Arduino IDE. Navigate the menu
Tools -> Board -> Boards Manger
and type “attiny” into the top search board and there will click on the “Install” button on the attiny board package.You should now see an entry for ATtiny in the
Tools > Board
menu. Select “ATtiny25/45/85”.For “Processor” select the chip you are using, e.g. ATiny85.
For “Programmer” select “USBtinyISP“
For “Programmer” select “USBtinyISP“
Please note: On the Mac, you do NOT select a serial “Port”. The IDE will program the ATtiny through the USBtinyISP that is loaded on the Tiny AVR Programmer board.
Step 3: Program your ATtiny85
You can use the example blink test to make sure you can program your ATtiny85. You can use the built in blink test but you will need to change the LED_BUILTIN to be 0 (zero). You can also copy and past the following code:
Arduino 1.0.6
Click the upload button (right arrow) and the built-in LED should start to flash.
The ATtiny85 has PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) outputs so you can use the analogWrite() function to adjust the brightness of the LED from 0 to 255. Here is an example that fades the LED.
![Arduino mac os Arduino mac os](/uploads/1/1/8/5/118506770/161418992.jpg)
References
Arduino 1.0.1
- High-low tech: Programming an ATtiny w/ Arduino 1.6 (or 1.0) – http://highlowtech.org/?p=1695
- Instructables: Program an ATtiny With Arduino – https://www.instructables.com/id/Program-an-ATtiny-with-Arduino/
- Getting started with Atmel ATtiny85 (AVR Programming) – https://electronut.in/getting-started-with-attiny85-avr-programming/
- Programming with AVRdude – https://learn.adafruit.com/introducing-trinket/programming-with-avrdude
- Crosspack for AVR Development – https://www.obdev.at/products/crosspack/index.html
- How to Program an Attiny85 From an Arduino Uno – https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Program-an-Attiny85-From-an-Arduino-Uno/
- Programming the ‘AtTiny85’ With the ‘Tiny AVR Programmer’ and Supplemented ‘Arduino IDE’ – https://www.instructables.com/id/Programming-an-Atmel-AtTiny85-using-Arduino-IDE-an/