Atmega Chip Programmer

[LastSamurai]

Hey everyone!
I am "always" working on some small projects using mostly atmega chips (attiny85, atmega 328p, atmega 8, ...) and sometimes stuff like ESP8266.
To program them I am using an arduino uno as ISP and a small an cheap serial to usb converter. Its getting annoying to always repgrogramm and rewire the arduino though, so I am looking for a better solution. I hope you can help.

First of all I am a little confused about the kind of programmer needed: e.g. the arduino nano can be programmed via the small serial programming "line" or via the 10-13.... arduino isp method. What are the different possibilities here and what are their differences?

Is there a not too costly programmer thats really reliable and works with windows 10? Then this will be my christmas gift to myselft :P

[Oitzu]

@LastSamurai said:

First of all I am a little confused about the kind of programmer needed: e.g. the arduino nano can be programmed via the small serial programming "line" or via the 10-13.... arduino isp method. What are the different possibilities here and what are their differences?

The serial programming is a feature provided by the burned bootloader. The ISP is the native and more low-level function provided by the atmel chips and allows also to set fuses and burn a new bootloader.

Is there a not too costly programmer thats really reliable and works with windows 10? Then this will be my christmas gift to myselft :P

Search for avrisp MKII. But you could also simply buy an arduino nano and hardwire it as isp device.

[LastSamurai]

Ah that makes sense! Sometimes you forget the easiest parts^^
I guess I will try the nano first, the other one is quite expensive (>= 30€)