MEGA-1284P Xplained Hardware Guide Datasheet by Microchip Technology
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A1—IIIEI.®
 
 
AVR364: MEGA-1284P Xplained Hardware 
User's Guide 
Features 
•  Atmel® megaAVR® ATmega1284P microcontroller 
-  Target controller 
•  Atmel AVR® AT32UC3B1256 32-bit microcontroller 
-  Board controller 
-  Communication gateway 
•   Analog input (to ADC) 
-  Temperature sensor 
-  Light sensor 
-  RC filter 
•  Digital I/O 
-  Three mechanical buttons 
-  Four LEDs 
-  Four expansion headers 
•  Footprints for external memory 
-  Atmel AT45DB series DataFlash® serial flash 
-  Atmel AT25DF series industrial standard serial data flash 
•  Touch 
-  One Atmel QTouch® button 
1 Introduction 
The Atmel MEGA-1284P Xplained evaluation kit is a hardware platform for 
evaluating the ATmega1284P MCU. 
The kit offers a large range of features that enable the megaAVR user to get 
started using megaAVR peripherals right away and to get an understanding of how 
to integrate a megaAVR MCU in their own design. 
Figure 1-1. MEGA-1284P Xplained evaluation kit. 
8-bit Atmel   
Microcontrollers 
Application Note 
Rev. 8377B-AVR-11/11 
 
41m
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id:807&subfami\y id:760
 
mm://alme|.com/dyn/products/tools card.asp7loo\ id:3353&cateqory id:163&fami\y
id:807&subfami\y id:760
 
mm://alme|.com/dyn/products/tools card.asp7loo\ id:4279&cateqory id:163&fami\y
id:807&subfami\y id:760
 
2  AVR364  8377B-AVR-11/11 
2 Related items 
Atmel AVR Studio® 4 (free IDE from Atmel) 
http://atmel.com/dyn/products/tools_card.asp?tool_id=2725&category_id=163&family
_id=607&subfamily_id=760 
Atmel AVR Dragon™ (on-chip programming and debugging tool) 
http://atmel.com/dyn/products/tools_card.asp?tool_id=3891&category_id=163&family
_id=607&subfamily_id=760 
Atmel AVR JTAGICE mkII (on-chip programming and debugging tool) 
http://atmel.com/dyn/products/tools_card.asp?tool_id=3353&category_id=163&family
_id=607&subfamily_id=760 
Atmel AVR ONE! (on-chip programming and debugging tool) 
http://atmel.com/dyn/products/tools_card.asp?tool_id=4279&category_id=163&family
_id=607&subfamily_id=760 
 
Power
measuremenl
  
    
     
   
  
  
   
 
HeaderJ1 ”AG header ”SB HeaderJ3
“5:53,; Connector
Mechamcal Mechamcal
Bunon
(SW1)
  
   
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NTC
Sense!
LIGHT
QTouch ' ‘ - Mechamcal
Buuon —> I Button
(QTBO) ' (5m)
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41m
—c
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8377B-AVR-11/11 
3 General information 
This document targets the Atmel ATmega1284P evaluation kit revision 3, and parts of 
the document may, therefore, be inconsistent with earlier revisions of the product. For 
earlier revisions, please refer to the schematics, which is the only documentation 
available for these revisions. The Atmel MEGA-1284P Xplained kit is intended to 
demonstrate the ATmega1284P, and the hardware that relates to the Atmel 
AT32UC3B1256 (board controller) is, therefore, not covered in detail in this 
document. 
Figure 3-1. Overview of the MEGA-1284P Xplained kit. 
 
 
 
Digital
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
      
 
 
  
  
 
  
 
Status LED
 
 
 
USART1
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
J1 DataFlash
Communication (footprint only)
kMechaniwl
J3
GPIO
J4. . ‘7' 4xLEDs
Communication
 
 
 
 
 
 
IID
     
 
+7
Program and debug
JTAG
 
 
 
 
4  AVR364  8377B-AVR-11/11 
Figure 3-2. Functional overview of the Atmel MEGA-1284P Xplained kit. 
3.1 Preprogrammed firmware 
The MEGA-1284P Xplained kit comes with both the Atmel ATmega1284P and the 
Atmel AT32UC3B1256 preprogrammed. 
The preprogrammed firmware in the ATmega1284P is set up with example code that 
allows the user to choose different sleep modes, and provides an example of how to 
use the light sensor to dim the four onboard LEDs. It also includes a boot loader 
(AVROSP) which allows the user to reprogram the ATmega1284P without using an 
external programmer. Please refer to the Atmel application note, AVR370: MEGA-
1284P Xplained Getting Started Guide, for more details regarding the 
preprogrammed firmware. 
The preprogrammed AT32UC3B1256 firmware offers features such as a boot loader 
for self-programming of the board controller itself, and a USART-to-USB gateway, 
which can be used to communicate with the target controller, the ATmega1284P. 
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3.2 Power supply 
The kit is powered via the USB connector, which presents two options for powering it: 
Either connect the kit to a PC through a USB cable or to a 5V USB power supply 
(AC/DC adapter). 
The 5V is regulated to 3.3V with an LDO regulator, which provides power to the entire 
board. The Atmel ATmega1284P is powered by 3.3V, but if 1.8V operation is desired, 
some modifications to the board are needed. This includes replacing the regulator 
with one that delivers a 1.8V output and rerouting the power to the device (see 
schematic for an explanation). As some of the other ICs on the Atmel MEGA-1284P 
Xplained require 3.3V to operate correctly, these devices have to be removed. 
3.3 Measuring the ATmega1284P power consumption 
As part of an ATmega1284Pevaluation, it can be of interest to measure its power 
consumption. The two-pin power measurement header is the only connection 
between the VCC_P3V3 common power plane and the VCC_MCU_P3V3 power 
plane. By replacing the jumper with an ammeter, it is possible to determine the 
ATmega1284P current consumption. To locate the power measurement header, 
please refer to Figure 3-1. 
Do not power the board without having the jumper or an ammeter mounted. If 
this is done the board might be powered through an I/O pin. The result might be 
erratic behavior and the device might get damaged. 
3.4 Communication through the USART-to-USB gateway 
The ATmega1284P USART is connected to a USART on the Atmel AT32UC3B1256. 
The ATmega1284P USART is communicating at 57600 baud using one start bit, eight 
data bits, one stop bit, and no parity. 
When the AT32UC3B1256 device is enumerated (connected to a PC). the data 
transmitted from the ATmega1284P is passed to a (virtual) COM port. This means 
that it is possible to use a terminal program on a PC to receive the transmitted data. 
Similarly data transmitted from the PC COM port is passed to the ATmega1284P 
USART through the gateway. 
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6  AVR364  8377B-AVR-11/11 
4 Connectors 
The Atmel MEGA-1284P Xplained kit has five 10-pin, 100mil headers. Two headers 
have a fixed communication interface (J1 and J4). One header has analog 
functionality (J2), and the last header (J3) has general purpose digital I/O. 
The 90° angled header is the Atmel ATmega1284P JTAG programming and 
debugging header. 
For the location of the respective headers, refer to Figure 3-1. 
4.1 Programming headers 
The ATmega1284P can be programmed and debugged by connecting an external 
programming/debugging tool to the JTAG pin header. The pin header has a standard 
JTAG programmer pin-out (refer to online help in the Atmel AVR Studio), enabling 
tools like the Atmel AVR JTAGICE mkII or the Atmel AVR ONE! to be connected 
directly to the header. 
The grey, female, 10-pin header on the AVR JTAGICE mkII must be used when 
connecting to the kit. A scoring in the board is made to fit the orientation tab on 
the header. 
A standoff adapter (nr. 1) is needed when using the AVR ONE! 
Pin 1 on the JTAG header is at the top right corner. This is rotated 180° 
compared to the other headers (J1, J2, J3, and J4). 
Table 4-1. MEGA-1284P Xplained programming and debugging interface – JTAG. 
Pin JTAG 
(1) 
1 TCK 
2 GND 
3 TDO 
4 VCC 
5 TMS 
6 nSRST 
7 - 
8 - 
9 TDI 
10 GND 
Note:  1. Standard pin-out for the AVR JTAGICE mkII and other Atmel programming tools 
The Atmel AT32UC3B1256 can be programmed through its boot loader. The boot 
loader is evoked by shorting the two holes marked BOOTLOADER BOARD 
CONTROLLER on the bottom side of the board before applying power to the board. 
The two holes have 100mil spacing, enabling the user to solder in a two-pin header 
and use a jumper to easily enter the boot loader. Programming is performed through 
the boot loader programmer target in the Atmel AVR Studio. 
Alternatively, the AT32UC3B1256 can also be programmed by connecting a 
programming tool, such as the AVR JTAGICE mkII, to the 10 holes marked JTAG 
BOARD CONTROLLER on the bottom side of the board. The holes have 100mil 
spacing, letting the user solder in a 10-pin header to program the board controller. 
 
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Please note that programming the Atmel AT32UC3B1256 using a programming 
tool will erase the boot loader. 
Please refer to the Atmel application note, AVR370: MEGA-1284P Xplained 
Getting Started Guide, for more details regarding how to program the onboard 
microcontrollers. 
4.2 I/O expansion headers 
There are four available I/O expansion headers in the kit. Because of the low pin 
count on the device, the I/O expansion header pins are shared with onboard 
functionality. If “clean” expansion ports are needed, cut-straps are available to 
remove onboard functionality. Table 4-2 through Table 4-5 show what is shared on 
the respective header pins. 
Table 4-2. Atmel MEGA-1284P Xplained I/O expansion header – J1. 
Pin  J1  ATmega1284P pin  Shared with onboard functionality 
1  TWI SDA  PC1  Header J4, board controller 
2  TWI SCL  PC0  Header J4, board controller 
3  USART RXD0  PD0  Header J4 
4 USART TXD0  PD1  Header J4 
5 SPI SS 
(1) PB4  Board controller 
6 SPI MOSI 
(1)  PB5  Header J4, DataFlash, board controller 
7 SPI MISO 
(1)  PB6  Header J4, DataFlash, board controller 
8 SPI SCK 
(1)  PB7  Header J4, DataFlash, board controller 
9 GND  -  - 
10 VCC_P3V3  -  - 
Note:  1. These signals can be disconnected from the board controller by cutting the cut-
straps marked SPI on the bottom side of the board. 
Table 4-3. MEGA-1284P Xplained I/O expansion header – J2. 
Pin  J2  ATmega1284P pin  Shared with onboard functionality 
1 ADC0 
(1)  PA0  Possible to connect to AREF 
2 ADC1  PA1  - 
3 ADC2  PA2  - 
4 ADC3  PA3  - 
5 ADC4  PA4  - 
6 ADC5 
(2) PA5  Filter output 
7 ADC6 
(2) PA6  Light sensor 
8 ADC7 
(2) PA7  NTC sensor 
9 GND  -  - 
10 VCC_ANA_P3V3 -  - 
Notes:  1. AREF with 100nF capacitor to GND can be connected to ADC0 by shorting two 
pads marked EXTERNAL AREF on the bottom side of the board. 
2. These signals can be disconnected from the sensor/filter output by cutting the 
cut-straps marked SENSORS & FILTER on the bottom side of the board. 
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8  AVR364  8377B-AVR-11/11 
Table 4-4. Atmel MEGA-1284P Xplained I/O expansion header – J3. 
Pin  J3  ATmega1284P pin  Shared with onboard functionality 
1 GPIO0  PB0  SW0, LED0 
2 GPIO1  PB1  SW1, LED2 
3 GPIO2  PB2  SW2, LED3 
4 GPIO3  PB3  LED1 
5  GPIO4  PD4  J4 (SPI SS1), DataFlash (SPI SS1) 
6 GPIO5 
(1) PD5  Filter input 
7 GPIO6  PC4  JTAG(TDO) 
8 GPIO7  PC5  JTAG(TDI) 
9 GND  -  - 
10 VCC_P5V0 
(2) -  - 
Notes:  1. This signal can be disconnected from the filter input by cutting the cut-strap 
marked FILTER INPUT in the SENSORS & FILTER section on the bottom side 
of the board. 
2. Pin 10 of header J3 is connected to the USB voltage (VCC_P5V0). 
Table 4-5. MEGA-1284P Xplained I/O expansion header – J4. 
Pin  J4  ATmega1284P pin  Shared with onboard functionality 
1  TWI SDA  PC1  Header J1, board controller 
2  TWI SCL  PC0  Header J1, board controller 
3  USART RXD1  PD2  Board controller 
4 USART TXD1  PD3  Board controller 
5  SPI SS1  PD4  Header J3 (GPIO4), DataFlash 
6 SPI MOSI 
(1)  PB5  Header J1, DataFlash, board controller 
7 SPI MISO 
(1)  PB6  Header J1, DataFlash, board controller 
8 SPI SCK 
(1)  PB7  Header J1, DataFlash, board controller 
9 GND  -  - 
10 VCC_P3V3  -  - 
Note:  1. These signals can be disconnected from the board controller by cutting the cut-
straps marked SPI on the bottom side of the board. 
 
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5 Memories 
The Atmel MEGA-1284P Xplained kit does not have any external memories mounted 
on the board. Footprints are available for adding either an industrial standard flash 
device or an Atmel proprietary serial DataFlash device. 
The footprints share the same SPI lines, including the chip select, and it is, 
therefore, not possible to mount devices on both footprints at the same time. 
Table 5-1. Compatible devices for the footprints. 
Atmel AT45DB  Atmel AT25DF 
AT45DB64D2-CNU  AT25DF641A-SH 
AT45DB321D-MWU  AT25DF321A-SH 
AT45DB161D-SS  AT25DF161-SH 
AT45DB081D-SS  AT25DF081-SSH 
AT45DB041D-SS  AT25DF021-SSH 
AT45DB021D-SS  
AT45DB011D-SS  
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10  AVR364  8377B-AVR-11/11 
6 Miscellaneous I/O 
6.1 Mechanical buttons 
The board is equipped with three mechanical buttons. The buttons (SW0:2) are 
shared with LED0, LED2, and LED3. Onboard protection circuitry is added to avoid a 
short when driving the port high at the same time as pushing the button, which will 
short it to the ground. To be able to use both button and LED, time multiplexing has to 
be used. 
To be able to detect a button press, the firmware has to periodically set the I/O pin to 
input with pull-up and check if it is low. When doing this fast enough, the human eye 
will not see any change in the LED. 
6.2 LEDs 
The Atmel MEGA-1284P Xplained has four standard yellow LEDs mounted onboard, 
which are connected to the Atmel ATmega1284P. The four LEDs are active low. 
LED0, LED2, and LED3 are shared with the three mechanical buttons (SW0:2). When 
turning an LED on, set the I/O pin to output low. When turning an LED off, set the I/O 
pin as input with pull-up. The protection circuitry added to the button will make the 
LED shine brighter when the button is pressed and the LED is turned on. When the 
LED is off, any button press will light up the LED. 
The Atmel MEGA-1284P Xplained also has one dual LED mounted near the USB 
connector. This is the power and status LED, which is connected to the board 
controller. This LED will be green when power is applied, and will toggle between 
green and orange when communication over USB is ongoing. 
6.3 Analog I/O 
An RC filter, a light sensor, and an NTC are connected to ADC5, ADC6, and ADC7, 
respectively. These analog sources can be used as input to the ADC. All of the 
analog signals can be disconnected by cutting the cut-straps on the bottom side of 
the board. 
The RC filter (first-order low-pass) has an approximate 3dB cut-off frequency of 
159Hz. The input to the RC filter is GPIO5 (PD5) on the ATmega1284P, which can be 
configured to output a PWM signal to the RC filter. This can be used to generate a 
DC voltage on the output of the RC filter, which can be measured on the ADC5 pin. 
As this is a first-order filter, the ripple on the DC voltage is inversely proportional to 
the input frequency. A higher input frequency will result in lower ripple on the output. 
6.4 Touch 
The MEGA-1284P XPLAINED kit has one Atmel QTouch button, QTB0. 
Table 6-1. MEGA-1284P Xplained touch connections. 
Touch sensor onboard 
reference  QTouch method pin name  ATmega1284P pin 
QTB0 SNSK0 PD7 
QTB0 SNS0 PD6 
 
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6.5 Board controller 
The Atmel AT32UC3B1256 board controller and the Atmel ATmega1284P are 
connected through TWI, SPI, and USART interfaces. All interfaces can be used to 
communicate between the devices, but only the USART is implemented by default on 
the board controller. 
Table 6-2. ATmega1284P and board controller communication interface. 
Interface  ATmega1284P pin  Atmel AT32UC3B1256 pin 
UART RX (1) PD2  PA24 
UART TX (1) PD3  PA23 
TWI SCL  PC0  PA09 
TWI SDA  PC1  PA10 
SPI SS (2) PB4  PA16 
SPI MOSI (2) PB5  PA14 
SPI MISO (2) PB6  PA25 
SPI SCK (2) PB7  PA17 
Notes:  1. This represents the RX and TX on the ATmega1284P. The RX is connected to 
TX on the other device, and vice versa. 
2. These signals can be disconnected from the board controller by cutting the cut-
straps marked SPI on the bottom side of the board. 
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12  AVR364  8377B-AVR-11/11 
7 Included code example 
For documentation, help, and examples on the drivers used, please refer to the Atmel 
application note, AVR370: MEGA-1284P Xplained Getting Started Guide. 
8 Revision history 
The kit revision can be identified by a barcode sticker on the bottom side of the kit. 
For example, A09-1164/4 indicates that the product number for this kit is A09-1164 
and the revision is 4. 
8.1 Revision 4 
Revision 4 of the MEGA-1284P Xplained kit is the first revision released. 
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9 EVALUATION BOARD/KIT IMPORTANT NOTICE 
This evaluation board/kit is intended for use for FURTHER ENGINEERING, 
DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, OR EVALUATION PURPOSES ONLY. It is 
not a finished product, and may not (yet) comply with some or any technical or legal 
requirements that are applicable to finished products, including, without limitation, 
directives regarding electromagnetic compatibility, recycling (WEEE), FCC, CE, or UL 
(except as may be otherwise noted on the board/kit). Atmel supplied this board/kit 
“AS IS,” without any warranties, with all faults, at the buyer’s and further users’ sole 
risk. The user assumes all responsibility and liability for proper and safe handling of 
the goods. Further, the user indemnifies Atmel from all claims arising from the 
handling or use of the goods. Due to the open construction of the product, it is the 
user’s responsibility to take any and all appropriate precautions with regard to 
electrostatic discharge and any other technical or legal concerns. 
EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT OF THE INDEMNITY SET FORTH ABOVE, NEITHER 
USER NOR ATMEL SHALL BE LIABLE TO EACH OTHER FOR ANY INDIRECT, 
SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. 
No license is granted under any patent right or other intellectual property right of 
Atmel covering or relating to any machine, process, or combination in which such 
Atmel products or services might be or are used. 
Mailing Address: Atmel Corporation, 2325 Orchard Parkway, San Jose, CA 95131 
Copyright © 2011, Atmel Corporation 
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14  AVR364  8377B-AVR-11/11 
10 Table of contents 
Features...............................................................................................1 
1 Introduction...................................................................................... 1 
2 Related items.................................................................................... 2 
3 General information......................................................................... 3 
3.1 Preprogrammed firmware....................................................................................4 
3.2 Power supply....................................................................................................... 5 
3.3 Measuring the ATmega1284P power consumption............................................5 
3.4 Communication through the USART-to-USB gateway........................................5 
4 Connectors....................................................................................... 6 
4.1 Programming headers......................................................................................... 6 
4.2 I/O expansion headers ........................................................................................7 
5 Memories..........................................................................................9 
6 Miscellaneous I/O........................................................................... 10 
6.1 Mechanical buttons ...........................................................................................10 
6.2 LEDs..................................................................................................................10 
6.3 Analog I/O..........................................................................................................10 
6.4 Touch.................................................................................................................10 
6.5 Board controller................................................................................................. 11 
7 Included code example .................................................................12 
8 Revision history.............................................................................12 
8.1 Revision 3..........................................................................................................12 
9 EVALUATION BOARD/KIT IMPORTANT NOTICE........................ 13 
10 Table of contents ......................................................................... 14 
.1 IllEl.®
 
 
 
8377B-AVR-11/11 
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 © 2011 Atmel Corporation. All rights reserved. 
Atmel®, Atmel logo and combinations thereof, AVR®, AVR® logo, AVR Studio®, megaAVR®, QTouch®, DataFlash®, and others are 
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