XMEGA Breakout Board
(Yes, apparently Atmel spells it in all caps.)
Because the AVR Programmer will support SPI-based ISP, PDI for XMEGAs, and TPI for low-end ‘tinys, I need to acquire test targets of each kind. Unfortunately, XMEGA isn’t available as a DIP, which means it’s breakout board time.
I’ve made a half-hearted resolution to design and build rather than buy tools where possible, because, well, because building is fun. That rules out buying the SparkFun board and Atmel’s own XPLAIN series (even though the Atmel boards are pretty reasonably priced for all the bells and whistles they include). But I can still build on others’ work. Current influences for my design:
- David Watson’s Xmega 4 breakout. OSHW, and pretty good-looking for a homemade prototype (Laen’s deep purple boards always help with the aesthetics). But it’s missing USB and a voltage regulator, which I’d really prefer to lower the cable count on my desk.
- Batsocks’ BreadMate XMega. Pretty much perfect; gives you that “ooh I want it” feeling that you also get when you see the Teensy. But like the Teensy, it’s not OSHW, so I can’t really do anything with it. (I’d have been happy to buy at least one if the source were provided.) Update 5/23/2012: Nigel has open-sourced the USB version of the project. As promised I’ve bought one; it’s on its way from Batsocks now!
- brendan0powers’ board. This board mostly confirms that I want to steer clear of QFN. It has a good feature set (USB, vreg, missing a crystal).
I want David’s layout, Brendan’s USB, no FTDI header, and Batsocks’ manufacturing chops. EAGLE, here I come!