HELP: USBTinyISP Not Working

USB AVR Programmer and SPI interface. Adafruit's USBtinyISP.

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GeekQuixotic
 
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HELP: USBTinyISP Not Working

Post by GeekQuixotic »

Hello,

I bought the USBTinyISP some time ago and assembled it but have never been able to get it to work. I've tried two Macs, a Raspberry Pi, and a Windows machine. All with the same result of the famous "rc=-1" error. I've tried two AT328ps and two AT168s as well as the known good chips straight from working (before and after) Uno and Boarduinos.

Last night I enrolled in my local Makerspace and the person at the desk was a micro controller junkie who had the exact same device and software. We proceeded to troubleshoot my setup from the computer to the software to the wiring and target chip. Personally I was assuming I hadn't assembled the USBTinyISP correctly, but all of our tests with a meter showed it to be working as his was.

Finally, he hooked up a (very impressive) logic probe to the ATTtiny12313 on the board and received no signals from the chip except for the points where I hit execute on avrdude and the red light blinked.

What would be the next steps you would recommend for testing/resolving at this time?

Thanks in advance,

Chad Lawson

FIRST: This is the kit that I bought from adafruit on June 4th.
SECOND: My primary machine is a Mac running BANNED, but I have also tried on another Mac, a RasPi, and an XP box.
THIRD: avrdude via CrossPack-AVR
FOURTH: Nope.
FIFTH: Available on this post [viewtopic.php?f=20&t=55504] and posted below.
SIXTH: Available on this post [viewtopic.php?f=20&t=55504] and posted below.
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Franklin97355
 
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Re: HELP: USBTinyISP Not Working

Post by Franklin97355 »

Could we see a picture of how you are connecting to the chip and how you are powering the chip? There is one connection on the right of the smaller chip in the photo that looks a bit weak but that might just be the photo.

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GeekQuixotic
 
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Re: HELP: USBTinyISP Not Working

Post by GeekQuixotic »

Hi,

Please find below a series of pictures that should help. I have gone over and over pictures from adafruit, my copy of AVR Programming, and Google checking my connections prior to today.

If if isn't clear in the pictures, I am powering off the device with the jumper in place. I have verified voltage.

Thanks,

Chad
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Franklin97355
 
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Re: HELP: USBTinyISP Not Working

Post by Franklin97355 »

It looks like you are plugged into RX instead of RST.

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GeekQuixotic
 
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Re: HELP: USBTinyISP Not Working

Post by GeekQuixotic »

I think that's just an illusion from the sticker and the camera angle, but like I said: I've been working on this since June on and off and that connection is just what I put together to take the picture.

The point of the picture was to show which pins on the ribbon cable are going to which pins on the chip. Clearly I have the pins marked. If I did make a mistake in taking the picture, I apologize.

But as per my original post, I've moved beyond blaming myself as I have since June. Someone with far more experience than I looked at my setup with an array of tools and is convinced the issue is with the programmer.

Aside from a possible misplacement of that pin for the purpose of picture taking, what is the next step?

Thanks again,

Chad

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: HELP: USBTinyISP Not Working

Post by Franklin97355 »

Please email [email protected] with a link to this thread for a replacement

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phild13
 
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Re: HELP: USBTinyISP Not Working

Post by phild13 »

While it is basically moot at this point as they are likely going to assist (contact support) with the kit in another way.

It is possible it is just the camera angle, but it does look like your plugged into RX (column d row 10) instead of RST (column d row 9) with the black wire. It appears from both photos of the breadboard that the chip starts at column e - f at row 9 which would mean the black wire would need to move up to row 9 column d to connect to the RST pin..

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