I have a Pololu AVR ISP Programmer. Can I use it without connecting Vcc of the programmer with Vcc of my AVR Project?
Hello.
We have seen that the fuse bits of AVR chips can sometimes become corrupted if they lose power during programming, which is why our programmer is designed to monitor VCC while programming. However, if you want to program AVRs without this protection, and you are using our latest programmer, the Pololu USB AVR Programmer v2.0 or v2.1 (a blue board), then you could configure the “Regulator mode” setting to 3.3 V or 5 V (whatever is closer to the AVR’s logic voltage) and the corresponding VCC minimum setting to 0mV in the programmer’s configuration utility. Those settings are described in more detail in the “Power settings and status” section of the Pololu USB AVR Programmer v2 User’s Guide.
If you are using our older programmer, the Pololu USB AVR Programmer (a green board), you could try adjusting the “Minimum Allowed” setting in the configuration utility. Here is a link to the user’s guide for the older programmer.
- Patrick