RE: [avr-chat] Basic Setup for newbie

[Larry Barello]

If you can, get the STK500 for your starter "breadboard".  It has switches,
leds and both the serial (ISP) and parallel mode programmers.  I.e.
everything.    After you get comfortable with wrangling the AVR chips, then
you can roll your own breadboards and simple LPT cable programmers (but,
with the STK500, why bother?).  For years I used 10 conductor cables from
the port headers on the STK500 to my prototype breadboards.  Now I am
comfortable enough I just wrangle code and get proto PCBs and skip the
breadboard stage...

You are right about programmers: it is just bits down the cable.  However,
for parallel mode you need a switched +12v source (but can recover from just
about any programming disaster, like accidentally disabling the serial
interface :) and boot loaders use the internal self programming feature
which does NOT have access to some obscure locations (i.e. you need the ISP
or Parallel mode programmers).  For just about nothing, you can make an ISP
programmer that works off a PC Parallel Port.  I have used those programmers
quite a bit when it wasn't convenient to take my STK500 with me.

Bottom line: the $80 usd for the STK500 is well worth the $$.

I use WinAvr and UltraEdit32 for my IDE, although PN (comes with WinAvr)
looks very nice.

If you want and integrated C/C++ IDE including debugger, then get IAR C, but
be prepared to shell out $2500/usd

Cheers!