A2P2 AVR PIC Programmer

Program both AVR and PIC microcontrollers with this programmer that emulates both the AVR ISP Mark2 and the PICkit2 programmers. Simply select AVRispMk2 or PICkit2 as the programmer, when using the A2P2 with programmer software that is running on your computer. The hardware itself is the same as that found on the PICkit2 but we have removed the rarely used EEPROM to keep the cost down. You can add the eeprom back if you like, see the documentation from our download link for details. The A2P2 Jumper supports both the standard 3x2 AVR programming header and the standard 6x1 PIC programming header. We have written firmware for the A2P2 and PICkit2 platforms that emulates the AVRispMk2 programmer. In fact, if you already have a PICkit2, you can start programming AVRs with it right now, just download the software/firmware zip file which works with both A2P2 and PICkit2. We are big fans of the PICkit2 platform that Microchip has made openly available with both the complete schematics and the firmware source code. It is a great learning platform. Study our documented schematic along with Microchip's firmware and learn how to create a software controlled voltage regulator and how to boost a 5Volt source to a higher voltage. The hardware platform itself is quite universal and can be repurposed for other uses. Because of this, our switcher software has been designed to support multiple firmware emulation personalities. Named with a nod towards our favourite Star Wars robot.