Draft:Using Arduino as ISP to program an ATMega microcontroller

An Arduino can be used as a programmer for AVR microcontrollers. This guide will explain how to program microcontrollers in the ATMega family.

Requirements

 * ATMega microcontroller (MCU)
 * Arduino Uno or Mega (Other Arduinos will work, but the pins may be slightly different.)
 * USB cable to connect Arduino to computer
 * Arduino IDE installed on computer

Electrical Components

 * Breadboard
 * Jumper wires
 * Two 0.1uF capacitors
 * 10 uF capacitor

The microcontroller should be set to use the internal clock if it is factory new. If it has been set to external clock, you will also need:
 * 16Mhz crystal
 * Two 18-22 pF capacitors (Anything between 18 and 22 will work)

Upload Arduino ISP sketch
1. Connect the Arduino to the computer.

2. Open the ArduinoISP sketch, which can be found in File > Examples.

3. Upload the sketch.

4. Disconnect the Arduino from the computer for the following steps so that everything is unpowered while you make connections.

Connect components
1. Place the MCU on the breadboard, straddling the center line, so that half the pins are on one side and half on the other.

2. Pin 1 will be the left pin on the side nearest the U-shaped groove of the MCU. They increase down the left side 1-14, then increase back up the right side, 15-28. Pin 28 will be directly opposite pin 1.

3. Place a 0.1uF capacitor between pins 7 and 8. Place a second 0.1uF capacitor between pins 20 and 22. Try to keep the capacitor as close as possible to the MCU pins.

4. Connect the Arduino to the MCU using jumper wires. The Arduino pins differ depending on if you are using an Uno or a Mega.

5. Place a 10uF capacitor between the Reset and GND pins of the Arduino. If it's an electrolytic capacitor, make sure the long lead, or positive side, is connected to Reset and the short lead is connected to GND.

External Crystal
If your MCU is set to use an external crystal, you will need to follow these steps:

1. Place a 16Mhz crystal on the breadboard and connect one lead to pin 9 of the MCU and the other to pin 10.

2. Place two 18-22pF capacitors onto the breadboard, each one going between one of the crystal leads and ground.

Install configuration file
1. Follow the How to Install instructions on the MiniCore Github page.