[Swlug] ATTiny85 etc

[Rhys Sage]

I've just been working with the ATTiny85 chip. Very nice little microcontroller. If you have a chance,give one a go. You have to build your own programmer to program it. I use an Arduino Nano Every. It's just one arduino, one 10uf electrolytic capacitor, some breadboard, a zif socket (for the ATTiny85) and header sockets (for the Arduino). Three 330 ohm resistors and three LEDs too.

It's easy to program. 8 pins of which 5 can be programmed for input or output. 

So far I have programmed two ATTiny85s. One controls a solar-powered demonstration emergency Morse transmitter. The microcontroller uses 2ma which is nothing. The transmitter chip uses 4ma for a total of 6ma. I could put a transistor to raise the power output so it'll use more of the available 100ma on my demo radio but it's not really needed for a demo.

I want to replace the Raspberry Pi Pico that has been running my outdoor 20 foot flashing LED phallus for the past 2-3 years with an ATTiny13. I'll have a batch of ATTiny13s and ATTiny44s arriving soon. I would like to switch the 12v to the main relay with a transistor running from the ATTiny13 but have yet to find a suitable transistor. I might add a light sensor to it so it'll know when it's dark so the entire controller could move out of my concrete battery cupboard.

Anyway, I'm having a blast using these single-chip microcontrollers. If you want to try doing something that's real fun, that's where the action is! 

Rhys Sage