Every project has to start somewhere. So here, the start is rolling a atmega on breadboard. I am using an ATmega328p, with optiboot. It is set to run an 8Mhz, using the internal crystal, because i don't need more power, and i want to reduce the parts count.

So for this, i have an Atmega328p, 3x 100nF capacitors, a 4.7KOhm resistor, a breadboard, and some wire. I program it with an USB to serial bridge, using Arduino sowftware.

The main chip unit is not really important here, i used an Atmega because i had a few available, but later on it could be replaced with an ATtiny. I will stay with Atmel chips, because i know how to program those, it is easy to use and powerful, and also the fact that the code can be used easily by other people, be it with a small Attiny, or a full Arduino Uno, Mega or whatever.