FLORA - Cannot upload sketch (broken programmer)

[dotbear]

Hey guys,
I've just set up my FLORA and unfortunately it seems I have a problem that a few others on the forums have had as well.

When i first intended to upload the blink sketch I heard the little 'disconnected' sound and the verbose logging would switch from COM { 1, 3} to COM { 1 } indicating the FLORA board had disconnected.

After searching I found that one could try and reset the board while programming to kick it into the bootloader, so I tried that and then got as far as to this:

Code: Select all

PORTS {COM1, } / {COM1, } => {}
PORTS {COM1, } / {COM1, } => {}
PORTS {COM1, } / {COM1, COM3, } => {COM3, }
Found upload port: COM3
E:\Programs\Arduino\hardware\tools\avr/bin/avrdude -CE:\Programs\Arduino\hardware\tools\avr/etc/avrdude.conf -v -patmega32u4 -cavr109 -PCOM3 -b57600 -D -Uflash:w:C:\Users\BJRNZE~1\AppData\Local\Temp\arduino_build_518425/sketch_jan13a.ino.hex:i 

avrdude: Version 6.3, compiled on Sep 12 2016 at 17:24:16
         Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Brian Dean, http://www.bdmicro.com/
         Copyright (c) 2007-2014 Joerg Wunsch

         System wide configuration file is "E:\Programs\Arduino\hardware\tools\avr/etc/avrdude.conf"

         Using Port                    : COM3
         Using Programmer              : avr109
         Overriding Baud Rate          : 57600
         AVR Part                      : ATmega32U4
         Chip Erase delay              : 9000 us
         PAGEL                         : PD7
         BS2                           : PA0
         RESET disposition             : dedicated
         RETRY pulse                   : SCK
         serial program mode           : yes
         parallel program mode         : yes
         Timeout                       : 200
         StabDelay                     : 100
         CmdexeDelay                   : 25
         SyncLoops                     : 32
         ByteDelay                     : 0
         PollIndex                     : 3
         PollValue                     : 0x53
         Memory Detail                 :

                                  Block Poll               Page                       Polled
           Memory Type Mode Delay Size  Indx Paged  Size   Size #Pages MinW  MaxW   ReadBack
           ----------- ---- ----- ----- ---- ------ ------ ---- ------ ----- ----- ---------
           eeprom        65    20     4    0 no       1024    4      0  9000  9000 0x00 0x00
           flash         65     6   128    0 yes     32768  128    256  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           lfuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  9000  9000 0x00 0x00
           hfuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  9000  9000 0x00 0x00
           efuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  9000  9000 0x00 0x00
           lock           0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  9000  9000 0x00 0x00
           calibration    0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0     0     0 0x00 0x00
           signature      0     0     0    0 no          3    0      0     0     0 0x00 0x00

         Programmer Type : butterfly
         Description     : Atmel AppNote AVR109 Boot Loader

Connecting to programmer: .avrdude: butterfly_recv(): programmer is not responding

avrdude: butterfly_recv(): programmer is not responding
Problem uploading to board.  See http://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Troubleshooting#upload for suggestions.

I've tried downgrading from IDE 1.8.1 to IDE 1.6.12 (as was suggested in another place on the forums).
I've also tried numerous different timings with connecting and disconnecting the board.

Additionally I've tried a few different USB cables.

At one point, the LED was suddenly showing bright blue (which is strange as the sketch we're trying to upload should show a blinking LED), but this disappeared after I disconnected and connected it again.

I have a feeling I'll need a replacement FLORA.

-- dotbear

[adafruit_support_mike]

Just to check, which LED was lit in blue.. the NeoPixel or the LED next to the USB jack (which should be red)?

[dotbear]

The neopixel on the board.

[adafruit_support_mike]

Thank you.. that would be relatively normal signal noise being interpreted by the NeoPixel as input data. Having a fixed-color LED light outside its color range usually means it's been connected to a power supply whose voltage is much too high. I've seen red LEDs go into the green spectrum (briefly), but not as far as blue.

From the output posted above, the ATmega32u4 seems to be responding to the basic hardware probe, but not to the firmware upload. That could be a bad write of the bootloader.

How does the Flora appear in the Device Manager?

[dotbear]

It appears just fine. Says 'FLORA' and pops up as expected.

[adafruit_support_mike]

That means the chip is registering properly at the hardware level.

Your trick of pressing the reset button during an upload is one we also use. You might be seeing some timing issues though.. hit the reset button as soon as the lines beginning with 'PORTS' start scrolling past.

[dotbear]

Hello again Mike, no matter the timing I used I got the same issue.
I contacted my retailer (Makersify) and they have finally (after 2 weeks) shipped me a replacement.

To my dismay it is showing the exact same symptoms as my previous unit! :(

This time I have tried it on 2 different PCs and 1 Mac.

On the Mac it goes into:

Code: Select all

PORTS {/dev/cu.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port, /dev/tty.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port, } / {/dev/cu.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port, /dev/cu.usbmodem1421, /dev/tty.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port, /dev/tty.usbmodem1421, } => {/dev/cu.usbmodem1421, /dev/tty.usbmodem1421, }
Found upload port: /dev/cu.usbmodem1421
/private/var/folders/3b/_bm0qkh110xb8nh6vmxfv_c40000gn/T/AppTranslocation/8D9930AF-BB6F-4A1E-9112-78395D63CF1A/d/Arduino.app/Contents/Java/hardware/tools/avr/bin/avrdude -C/private/var/folders/3b/_bm0qkh110xb8nh6vmxfv_c40000gn/T/AppTranslocation/8D9930AF-BB6F-4A1E-9112-78395D63CF1A/d/Arduino.app/Contents/Java/hardware/tools/avr/etc/avrdude.conf -v -patmega32u4 -cavr109 -P/dev/cu.usbmodem1421 -b57600 -D -Uflash:w:/var/folders/3b/_bm0qkh110xb8nh6vmxfv_c40000gn/T/arduino_build_804545/blink_onboard_led.ino.hex:i 

avrdude: Version 6.3, compiled on Dec 16 2016 at 13:32:25
         Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Brian Dean, http://www.bdmicro.com/
         Copyright (c) 2007-2014 Joerg Wunsch

         System wide configuration file is "/private/var/folders/3b/_bm0qkh110xb8nh6vmxfv_c40000gn/T/AppTranslocation/8D9930AF-BB6F-4A1E-9112-78395D63CF1A/d/Arduino.app/Contents/Java/hardware/tools/avr/etc/avrdude.conf"
         User configuration file is "/Users/bzeiler/.avrduderc"
         User configuration file does not exist or is not a regular file, skipping

         Using Port                    : /dev/cu.usbmodem1421
         Using Programmer              : avr109
         Overriding Baud Rate          : 57600

Which made me very hopeful, but it stays there and hangs for about 5 minutes before saying 'Done uploading' (and I am seeing no blinking LED).

I've read that the red TX light is supposed to blink for 10 seconds upon restart to indicate a bootloader being present? Mine doesn't do that. Whenver I press RESET it simply blinks once and then that is it.

It registers fine on both my PC and my MAC as a FLORA, however it doesn't seem to be accepting programming instructions.

Any ideas?

[adafruit_support_mike]

Try putting a cheap/old USB-2 hub between the computer and the Feather.

USB-3 ports generate signals that cause problems for mirocontroller bootloaders. A USB-2 hub will block those, and work as a protocol translator.