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Can I take out the Atmage328 and replace with a Atega8 for programing instead of trying to program using a breadboard?

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Atmega8 has a smaller memory but should be a pin-compatible replacement to the Atmega328 for most purposes. Note, however, that the Atmega8 does have a smaller memory, and also a few registers are different, so some might not work, but most common ones should work just fine.

In terms of the Arduino environment, you'll need to do two things:

  • First burn the corresponding Arduino bootloader (the one named "Arduino NG or older w/ ATmega8" in the Arduino IDE) onto your Atmega8 chip. To burn the bootloader onto the Atmega8 chip, you'll have to either use an AVR/ICSP programmer or use another Arduino board as the ISP.
  • And when you are uploading sketches, be sure to select the correct board (again, the one named "Arduino NG or older w/ ATmega8") from the menu in the Arduino IDE.

EDIT: Read these documents to understand how to use a second Arduino as an ISP (In-circuit Serial Programmer) in order to burn the bootloader onto a new chip: First, and Second, and Third

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Yes so Im using 2 Uno's I repalced one with the atmega8 and just trying to sort out the cables. Do you know what ones to link from and to? Thanks –  Mr Men Sep 19 '12 at 12:28
    
@MrMen: Added that info at the end of my Answer. –  boardbite Sep 19 '12 at 14:08

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