Unknown pin header

Thread Starter

c0d3Man

Joined Nov 8, 2011
14
Well for Christmas I got a nice Arduino Mega 2560 R3, and I've been getting acquainted with it fairly well, but there's a pin header on it that I've no clue as to what it's for and I can't seem to find any info on it. Can anyone shed some light? Thanx in advance.
 

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hgmjr

Joined Jan 28, 2005
9,027
That header is the standard ATMEL ISP6PIN header used to program the AVR on the board. You will only need to use it if you need to reload the boot loader into the AVR microcontroller.


hgmjr
 

hgmjr

Joined Jan 28, 2005
9,027
Here is a link to the schematic for the Arduino Mega 2560. You can see the 6-pin header in the upper-middle area of the schematic.

hgmjr
 

Thread Starter

c0d3Man

Joined Nov 8, 2011
14
thanx, so if I'm understanding this right, there's two ICSP headers for the ATMega2560? or is the AVR a different chip?
 

hgmjr

Joined Jan 28, 2005
9,027
Nope. There is only one ISP6PIN connector. The Arduino is normally programmed via the USB port using the ARDUINO IDE that you download free from www.arduino.cc website.

It can do this because the AVR microcontroller on the board has been pre-programmed with a boot-loader.


hgmjr
 

Thread Starter

c0d3Man

Joined Nov 8, 2011
14
OK, I understand now, its the micro-controller acting as a USB to serial converter, thanks for clearing things up for me, btw do you know any sites that can teach me how to perform different types of communication between my Arduino and anything I want to use? like Wii nunchucks and n64 controllers or any other electronic device that I might be able to find some use of?
 
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