Idea Wanted - fun things to do to put some ATTINY13a to use.

[Rick Law]

I have a few ATTiny13a that has been sitting in my parts drawer for a while.  I have been wanting to do something with them, but I have been unsuccessful in coming up with some hobbyist/fun stuff that could fit into this smallish MCU..

Anyone with some idea for something fun with this MCU?  Just 1K flash, 64 bytes ram and 64 bytes eeprom.  No serial, no I2C...

Datasheet here:http://www.atmel.com/images/doc8126.pdf

Thanks
Rick

[Messtechniker]

Have a look here:
http://www.elektronik-labor.de/AVR/T13Elektor12.html
Sorry that it is in German. Maybe there is an English version
on the English Elektor homepage

Yours Messtechniker

[sleemanj]

You can fit plenty of stuff in an ATTiny13, even using the Arduino IDE using my ATTinyCore fork distribution

Idea off the top of my head - minimal line-follower, or light-follower robot could be an interesting project, how much sensory input can be made to fit in the constraints.

My distro, above, also includes a tone() implementation for the 13, of course there's not a great deal of flash space for note data, but you could make a musical instrument of sorts, a DIY Otamatone.

[obiwanjacobi]

Class D amp? 

[Rick Law]

Thanks everyone! 

I didn't even know ATTinyCore fork distribution exists.  I will indeed check it out and thanks sleemanj!

[amyk]

This is what some guy did with half the RAM... http://www.linusakesson.net/scene/bitbanger/

[bingo600]

Pushing it to the limit ....

http://www.ullasmann.eu/Tiny13.htm

[Rick Law]

Awesome ideas and examples.

I think I had been corrupted (by bloated codes) and forgot how much one could do with 1K.  These examples encouraged me.

Thanks to all!
Rick

[westfw]

A "typical" application for tiny CPUs like this is to take some "must be bit-banged" (and perhaps repetitive) function and translate it into a more "larger system friendly" device.
Examples:
1) Async Serial to 4x5 LED array (charlieplexed)
2) Async Serial to several servos
3) IR RC to Async Serial (or servos/actuators.  One place such small controllers have appeared is in micro-RC aircraft.  IR receiver, PWM-controller with MOSFET for propeller, a couple other outputs for actuators...  Very cool stuff, especially when they start shaving away the packaging to save weight!  http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~toko0131/pic/0066/irxa302bm2.jpg )
4) Ascii/Serial to semi-smart LED display (hcms2904/etc)
5) PS/2 keyboard to ascii/async serial

[Jeroen3]

You can make annoy-a-trons or tv-b-gones?

[Psi]

see if you can shrink this down from attiny85 to attiny13. I dont think you have enough flash, but maybe you could overclock the attiny and optimise the raw bitbanging a little

BitBanging Ethernet!!
http://hackaday.com/2014/08/29/bit-banging-ethernet-on-an-attiny85/

[Rick Law]

Thanks to all your input!  Very enlightening.

I have decided on my next project.  5-keys keypad using I2C.  Right now, when needed, I plug in a 5-digital-pins keypad into the key-less Arduino(s) - I have two such 5-key keypads, but not all my keyless Arduinos have 5 free digital-pins.  I can convert all of these to use I2C-based keypad.

But first, since the tiny13a is USI-less, getting a pure-bit-bang I2C to work inside the tiny13a may not be feasible.

I will start with a Tiny85.  After I get it working on a Tiny85, I will attempt to shrink it to fit into the tiny13a.

Thanks folks!  I appreciate the ideas.

[sleemanj]

Excuse the horrendous ghostly clown face paint job which is what my artistic ability is, but this is a just completed ATTiny13 Arduino powered... thing. 

( Gran is turning 91 )

https://youtu.be/3lPSeLBODgY

There is about 50 bytes to spare in flash (the tune is in eeprom), using my ATTinyCore distribution with a couple extra mods to carve out a little more flash space.

[Rick Law]

Excuse the horrendous ghostly clown face paint job which is what my artistic ability is, but this is a just completed ATTiny13 Arduino powered... thing. 

( Gran is turning 91 )

https://youtu.be/3lPSeLBODgY

There is about 50 bytes to spare in flash (the tune is in eeprom), using my ATTinyCore distribution with a couple extra mods to carve out a little more flash space.

Hey, great job!  And congrats to your Granny @ 91.

I am encouraged from all these examples in the replies here.  I now am eager to get started with my I2C keypad, of course I have to get I2C (slave) running on the Tiny13a first.  Once I tidy up my last project (changing my library to support non digitally hardwired keypad, and then changing other "deployed codes" to use the new library)...  Once I tidy up, those Tiny13a will come out of the draw.