Unprogrammed Chip?

MiniPOV4 and previous versions

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bananabarrow
 
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Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by bananabarrow »

Hello,

I just finished assembling my MiniPOV4, but unfortunately nothing happens when I switch it on. I checked connections, verified I got the expected voltage out of the battery pack and also on pin 7.

Does it look like anything is wrong in the pictures? Is there anything else I can check?
99B640E3-C144-464D-BA43-F33E3BF6819F.jpeg
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08F7544D-973D-444F-B68E-B5B28E04FF18.jpeg (431.46 KiB) Viewed 1317 times
Thanks!

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dastels
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by dastels »

Overall the soldering looks pretty good, though there are a few on the IC that look questionable from this angle.

My general rule if something doesn't work with no obvious reason why is to check/redo the soldering. See https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-gui ... -soldering for tips/refresher on soldering.

Dave

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bananabarrow
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by bananabarrow »

dastels wrote:there are a few on the IC that look questionable from this angle.
Apologies for the stupid question, but which component is the “IC”?

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dastels
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by dastels »

"Integrated Circuit" - the long one with a row of pins along each long side.

Dave

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bananabarrow
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by bananabarrow »

Ah thanks. I did bend the corner pins outward to keep that component in place, so those 4 may look a little different for that reason. Is that what you spotted, or was there something else that looked off?

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dastels
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by dastels »

Some of the more central ones looked like the solder didn't "take" on the pins. They should look like shiny tents.

Dave

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bananabarrow
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by bananabarrow »

I looked over the middle pins and none stand out to me. Here are some more pictures; if you don’t mind, could you point to the ones that don’t look right?
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Thanks!

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dastels
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by dastels »

OK, they look good from that angle.

It might still be worth going over them again. That often fixes things in my experience.

Dave

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bananabarrow
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by bananabarrow »

I looked at the connections on the board and went over all the ones that looked weird, but there was no change (nothing lights up at all when I power the board). What should I do or check next?

Thanks!

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dastels
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by dastels »

Have you tried reseating the chip in its socket? Sometimes a pin/leg will catch and get bent; It's worth checking for.

Verify that polarized components are the right way around: diodes and capacitors.

Dave

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bananabarrow
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by bananabarrow »

I removed, checked, and re-placed the chip as you recommended, but no change. I also looked over the diodes and capacitors again and they match the orientation from the tutorial and the silkscreen.

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dastels
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by dastels »

I had a good look at your board, comparing to photos in the product/guide pages. It looks perfect. All I can think of is either a bad part(s) or, as you say, bad firmware.

The latter is easier to determine/fix so let's start there. It's a fairly old product that's currently out of stock and might be hard to get a replacement in a timely manner.

If you're familiar with Arduino, you can get the code from https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-MiniPOV4-Kit and rename Firmware to MiniPOV4Core, then load MiniPOV4Core/MiniPOV4Core.ino into the Arduino app. (Arduino is picky about the code file [the ino file] being in a directory of the same name). Then you can connect your board, build, and upload. I expect selecting "Arduino UNO" as the board type (Tools->Board) will work. See https://learn.adafruit.com/minipov4-diy ... usage-tips for a little more information.

Dave

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bananabarrow
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by bananabarrow »

Thanks Dave.

I wasn't too familiar with Arduino, but now seemed like a good time to get acquainted. Unfortunately I still haven't gotten the POV working, but here's what I've done:
  • Grabbed the MiniPOV4 repo from github
  • Installed the Arduino IDE
  • Opened and compiled the firmware (note this required an update to compile the code, prog_char -> char PROGMEM)
The problem I'm having now is getting the POV to be recognized over USB. I'm running Windows 7 64 bit, and when it's plugged in, it's never recognized (whether it's switched on or not).
device_not_recognized.png
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I ran the installer listed at https://learn.adafruit.com/usbtinyisp/drivers, but when the POV is plugged in, I continue to see "USB Device Not Recognized" instead of "USBtiny". I did verify that the driver is listed when I look at Add/Remove Programs, so I have no reason to think the driver installation failed.

I also grabbed the Windows driver listed at https://learn.adafruit.com/minipov4-diy ... /downloads, but I couldn't see how to install that one.

Am I missing a step here? Is it expected that I see the same error whether it's switched on or off? (I double checked my batteries, they're still good).

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dastels
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by dastels »

I can't help much (or maybe even at all) with Windows issues, I'm afraid. That said I looked at the driver download. and you'll need to unzip the file that you downloaded and run the installer_x64.exe file.

That should help with it not being recognized. It did see it plugged in though... that's something.

Dave

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bananabarrow
 
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Re: Unprogrammed Chip?

Post by bananabarrow »

I tried running that installer, but it quickly exits with the message:

Code: Select all

This application can not be run from the command line.
Please use your initial installer application if you want to install the driver.
Maybe this installer is meant for 64 bit AMD systems? Mine is Intel. As I mentioned, I do see the USBtiny driver listed under the programs that have been installed on the system, so I don't think I'm missing a driver at this point. Is there anything else I can try?

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