Stk500

From Wiki

The STK 500 Development Board

The "STK 500" is the standard development board made by Atmel for developing and programming the AVR family of 8-bit microcontrollers. The great things about the STK 500 are:

1. Low Cost. Only $79 ($USD) on Digi-Key.
2. Programs Everything. Almost every supported device can be programmed.
3. Open Source Support. The protocol is open, and there are Open Source tools to program through the STK500.
4. All input & output pins are easily accessible, and none are "devoted" or "hard wired" to anything.
5. Second serial connector onboard for talking serial protocols with your PC.
6. Built in LEDs and Switches that can be easily connected to any port of any device. (Great for debugging!)
7. Built-in AVR ISP 6-pin header for programming your chips once you've built them into other hardware or devices.

If you're thinking of getting into AVR Programming, you should see my page on simple hardware for getting started with AVRs.