AVR-Chat

For sources there is also SparkFun
www.sparkfun.com

From the way you talk I don't thank you could go wrong with the 
STK500, about $80.

For programming software, in Windows, there is:
AVRStudio free from Atmel
WinAVR (pronounced winever) free from winavr.sourceforge.net
CodeVisionAVR from www.hpinfotech.ro, the demo version is free

After you get familiar programming the AVRs and the STK500 you can 
get some robotic parts and use the STK500 and the controller. Later 
on you can go to a dedicated robotic PC board.

Many folks, including myself, use the STK500 as our backbone 
development system. Oh, we use other things too but that is the 
mainstay. It can do so much, with its 8 Input Switches and 8 Output 
LEDs, a separate RS232 port and it accommodate many different AVR 
chips.

Mike


--- In AVR-Chat@yahoogroups.com, "Graham Davies" <Yahoo37849@...> 
wrote:
>
> --- In AVR-Chat@yahoogroups.com, "Philip Hahn" <everphilski@> 
> wrote:
> 
> > What would you guys recommend
> > as a "starter kit" ...
> 
> I think you should look in the tools section of AVRFreaks, where 
you 
> will find a wide variety of programmers, debuggers and development 
> boards.  Many of them work as well or better than the Atmel tools.
> 
> You should make two decisions soon.  Maybe three.  Will you want 
to 
> perform on-chip debugging, or will just a programming interface be 
> enough?  Do you think your projects will fit in devices with 32 
KiB 
> of program memory or will you need the larger devices?  Also, how 
> much money are you willing to spend.
> 
> If you won't need debugging, you have a very wide choice of 
> programmers available to you.
> 
> If you will need debugging and you wont need devices over 32 KiB, 
the 
> AVR Dragon gives you a lot of bang for the buck.
> 
> If you need debugging and you will need devices over 32 KiB but 
you 
> can't spend a lot of money, consider a clone of the Atmel JTAGICE 
Mk 
> I.
> 
> If you can spend a bunch of money, you might as well get an Atmel 
> JTAGICE Mk II.
> 
> Graham.
>