ToyKeeper's flashlight firmware repository
==========================================

This is a collection of firmware for flashlights or torches, mostly 
collected from BLF (http://budgetlightforum.com/).  It's collected 
here mostly for convenience, and to provide bug tracking and revision 
control services for the code.

See the INDEX file to find out which projects might be relevant to 
your needs.


Getting Started
===============

The central firmware thread on BLF is here:

  http://budgetlightforum.com/node/38364

A general overview of what you need to get going is here:

  http://flashlightwiki.com/AVR_Drivers

Some useful hardware for flashing firmware:

  http://www.fasttech.com/product/1002900-atmega-attiny-51-avr-isp-usbasp-usb-programmer
  http://www.fasttech.com/product/1011800-40-pin-splittable-ribbon-cable-20cm
  http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/5250/501-1311-ND/745102

For Windows users, these links may be useful:

  Hoop's guide:

    http://budgetlightforum.com/node/36216

  Comfychair's guide:

    http://budgetlightforum.com/node/29081

  WarHawk-AVG's guide:

    http://budgetlightforum.com/node/29684

  Getting a USBasp to work in Windows:

    http://rayshobby.net/dead-simple-driver-installation-for-usbasp-and-usbtiny-on-windows/
    http://www.protostack.com/accessories/usbasp-avr-programmer

To set up an attiny dev environment on Ubuntu (13.10):

  sudo apt-get install flex byacc bison gcc libusb-dev libc6-dev
  sudo apt-get install gcc-avr avr-libc binutils-avr
  sudo apt-get install avrdude avrdude-doc

  Optional:  (make avrdude usable by non-root users, is a security risk)
  sudo chmod u+s $(which avrdude)

Building/installing attiny dev tools on other UNIX systems (in general):

  http://www.ladyada.net/learn/avr/setup-unix.html

After wiring everything up, this tests the connection to the ATTINY13A chip:

  avrdude -p t13 -c usbasp -n
  (you may need to put 'sudo' in front, on UNIX systems...
  or set the suid bit on the avrdude binary, which is convenient but a
  potential security risk)

To test if you can flash firmware correctly, or to restore a light to something
like a default state, try flashing the NLITE driver from DrJones.  It's similar
to the default nanjg / qlite firmware, but better.

  ./bin/flash.sh DrJones/NLITE/nlite.hex

For a quick test to make sure your tool chain works and your flashing tools
are working, try the 'hello world' program:

  cd hello_world
  make
  make flash

If that works, you should be ready to start making changes to the code, or
flashing any of the pre-built firmwares.