For a microcontroller to operate, it needs some kind of clock, or way of keeping time. This can be provided by something called an oscillator.
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An oscillator
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is an electronic circuit that produces a periodic signal, often a sine or square wave.
The chip has an internal oscillator, but it is comparatively slow - achieving speeds only up to 12MHz on average (8-20MHz) - and less accurate than a crystal oscillator. With an external oscillator, it can go all the way to 80MHz. This is important because of how a computer works. You see, a computer operates only as fast as the clock it is attached to. The faster the clock, the more code the computer can process in a second. We want the computer to run as fast as possible so that we can do more stuff with it!
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Drawing Sprites With A Fast Clock
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With A Faster Clock
This is why we will install a crystal oscillator into X1. This is a tiny, metal, helmet-shaped component that looks something like a jelly bean jabbed with wires.
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Tools Needed
- Soldering iron
- Cutter
Parts Needed
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- 1 x Crystal oscillator
Instructions
- Seat the crystal in the X1 footprint on the board. The direction that you install this component does not matter.
- Bend the lead wires outward to hold the crystal to the board.
- Solder into place and trim the lead wires.