I dont know what mpguino you have but it normally expects VSS input to be pulsed 12V.
If yours is 5V max, then you can probably change resistor(s) in VSS input (probably around 50K) to smaller value resistors (5K-10k maybe?)
My point is that instead amplify 5V to 12V you change resistors between VSS input pin and microprocessor (input to atmega can be 0-5V)
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