How to use the Pro Mini XL or Atmega 1284p with the Arduino IDE
Adding a New Board Library
Following the steps below will enable the Arduino IDE to compile and upload code to an Atmega 1284p chip or Pro Mini XL board.
Step 1: Launch the Arduino IDE.
I’m using version 1.8.12 in the screenshots that follow.
Step 2: Navigate to File ⇨ Preferences
Tip: Or just press Ctrl+Comma.
The following window should appear…
Step 3: Open the Additional Boards Manager URLs window.
The following new window should appear…
Note: The textbox in your window may already contain URLs to additional board packages – one on each line.
Step 4: Add the following URL on a new line in the above text box:
https://mcudude.github.io/MightyCore/package_MCUdude_MightyCore_index.json
Step 5: Close and relaunch the Arduino IDE.
Note: Any change to the Additional Boards Manager URLs requires a relaunch for those changes to take effect.
Step 6: Navigate to Tools ⇨ Board: ⇨ Board Manager…
The following window should appear…
Step 7: Search for and install the following Board Support Package…
MightyCore
I’m using version 2.0.5 in the screenshot below.
Step 8: After the Board Support Package has finished installing, close the Board Manager window.
You should now be able to configure your new board.
Configuring Your New Board
Step 1: Navigate to Tools ⇨ Board: ⇨ MightyCore (Section) and select the following:
Atmega1284
Note: This will update the board configuration options to those for the selected board.
Step 2: Navigate to the Tools menu and select the following options for the Pro Mini XL:
Note: If you are using a different Atmega1284-based board, select the options that best match your board.
Clock: "External 20 MHz"
BOD: "BOD 4.3V"
Compiler LTO: "LTO Disabled"
Variant: "1284P"
Pinout: "Standard"
Bootloader: "Yes (UART0)"
Port: "[Your COM Port Here!]
Note: For more information about the available options, please visit the Github repository for MightyCore.
You should now be able to compile and upload code to your board.
Enjoy!
Optional: Creating a Custom Board and Options
Following the steps below will add a new custom board, the Pro Mini XL, and associated options to the Boards menu.
This enables you to:
- Easily switch between the different versions (v1 and v2) of the Pro Mini XL
- Burn different bootloaders to clock your XL at different frequencies (8 MHz and 1MHz) to save power.
Step 1: Navigate to File ⇨ Preferences
Tip: Or just press Ctrl+Comma.
The following window should appear…
Step 2: Click on the direct link to the Arduino IDE preferences file as shown below:
A new window should open showing the contents of the [Your-User-Area-Here]\Arduino15 directory:
Step 3: Navigate to the following directory:
packages\MightyCore\hardware\avr\2.0.5
Note: It should look something like this:
Step 4: Download and extract the ZIP archive from this Github repository into the above directory.
The ZIP archive contains the following files and internal structure:
You should now see two new directories in the variants directory:
You should also now see more bootloaders available in the bootloader directories.
For example, in:
bootloaders\optiboot_flash\bootloaders\atmega1284p\20000000L
You should see the following two new bootloaders available:
Additional bootloaders are added in the following two other directories:
bootloaders\optiboot_flash\bootloaders\atmega1284p\8000000L
bootloaders\optiboot_flash\bootloaders\atmega1284p\1000000L
Step 5: Close and relaunch the Arduino IDE.
Step 6: Navigate to Tools ⇨ Board: ⇨ MightyCore (Section) and select the following:
Pro Mini XL
Step 7: Navigate to the Tools menu and select the following options:
Clock: "External 20 MHz"
BOD: "BOD 4.3V"
Compiler LTO: "LTO Disabled"
Variant: "1284P"
Pinout: "v2" [Or v1, if you have a v1 board.]
Bootloader: "Yes (UART0)"
Port: "[Your COM Port Here!]
You should now be able to compile and upload code to your board.
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