AVR-Chat

Graham,

> My plan is to try out GCC as a compiler. For a debug interface, I 
> have ordered an Olimex AVR-JTAG from SparkFun. This appears to be a 
> clone of the Atmel JTAGICE with some features like level shifters 
> missing. It seems that you program it with the exact same firmware 
> that goes into the JTAGICE, so it should work the same at a fraction 
> of the cost. If anyone has experience with this it would be good to 
> know otherwise I will report back.

I have two Olimex JTAG ICEs and a true blue Atmel JTAG ICE all working
nicely on STK500, 501, and 502.  I connect up the Olimex kit to my PC
using an USB to RS232 converter.  Works a treat.  There were some issues
with the early Olimex JTAG ICEs but these have now been cleared up I'm
assured (no personal experience, I have the older units)--the firmware
upgrade didn't work on early units.

As for a compiler, I find GCC code to be unsuited to the AVR, hence our
push to get CrossWorks running on the AVR.  You'd be better off with
ImageCraft or CodeVisionAVR, but neither support debugging in the IDE.
CrossWorks, when it ships, will support the JTAG ICE (plus Olimex clone)
and our own USB JTAG solution for the AVR, and debug inside our own IDE
(no need for AVR Studio).

Regards,

--
Paul Curtis, Rowley Associates Ltd http://www.rowley.co.uk
CrossWorks for MSP430, ARM, and (soon) Atmel AVR processors