STK500 is fried. I admit, I teared up a little.

Power surge- fried my STK500. The fuse is smoking any time I plug it in and switch it on. I'm shopping for a new fuse, but the markings were burned out. According to some helpful STK500 owners in the IRC chat #avr on the Freenode Network, the markings on the chip read ST label: C525, with an ST center top, ME in the middle, E at right top, and C525 center bottom. A quick search turns up (surprising, since I expected no hits) that the smoking bandit is a slow blow fuse, rated for 24V (makes sense since the power plug is rated 10-15 V) @ 6 Amps.

6 Amps?! How the hell did I blow this thing!?

Anyway, I'm buying a new fuse - the 6A one and a similar 2A one (smallest I could find that was a slow blow @ 24 V). Let's hope this can resurrect one of the most useful tools in my arsenal.

EDIT: It appears that the broken component might be the chip next to it - a bridge rectifier. Easy fix. I ordered LadyAda's USBtinyISP since the STK500 can still be used as the best target board ever (for every AVR). I should have it next week. I'll still try to repair the board, of course - it's a backup plan.