Offline Arduino Bootloader Burner!
The bootloader is what distinguishes an Arduino from an ATmega328P development board. It’s the crucial piece that allows software to be easily flashed via the serial port, and if the chip gets blanked or somehow corrupted, you need to re-flash the bootloader. This handy, portable bootloader flasher from DSTIKE is the perfect tool for a quick bootloader burn!
It’s happened to me for various reasons — usually because I use my Arduino boards in combination with an AVRISP and Atmel Studio instead of the Arduino environment — but when you want to use it with Arduino again, you have to flash the bootloader. Now, this isn’t too much of a hassle if you have an AVRISP or other AVR programmer handy, but being able to just quickly clip onto the programming pins and push a button is just faster, a bit more foolproof, and great if you’re somewhere without a laptop. Stick one in your toolbag and you’ll always be able to “factory reset” any ATmega328p-based Arduino!
Another recent product is this ZIF socket programming board for the ATmega328P. The zero-insertion-force (ZIF) socket makes inserting chips painless, with no risk of bent or broken pins. It also has a reset button, and a standard 6-pin AVR programming header. There’s only a couple of these in stock, so grab one and pair it with the DSTIKE bootloader burner for a super-easy, portable offline ZIF Arduino bootloader burner! (Phew, try saying that three times fast!)