Motherboard firmware problems

Motherboard firmware problems

Chr1st1an 19 Aug 2009 19:55

I just recieved my Cupcake CNC yesterday. I finished the Plastruder a couple of hours ago. I wanted to test it, so I hooked it up to the motherboard. ReplicatorG 0006 said that the firmware on it was v0.6, so I tried to update it, following the instructionds on the RepRap page. But when I upload it, the Arduino software tells me this:

avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x48
avrdude: stk500_disable(): protocol error, expect=0x14, resp=0x48

I tried both the USB2TTL cable and the FTDI basic breakout from Sparkfun, but I keep getting this message. I've also both tried manual and auto reset.

The funny thing is, that when I tried to update the firmware on the extruder board, it worked fine.

When the Motherboard resets (both manual and auto), it turns off the power supply and turns it on again after a while. Is this normal?

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

singularityu 20 Aug 2009 04:47

Likely one of two things:
1) the board is unpowered
2) you did not reset the board after commanding the upload

The power supply provides standby power as long as its switch is on, so it is OK if it is only providing 5V on the pins that power the board (the fan won't be turning), however, if the power supply is completely switched off, you get the message you saw.

When you upload the firmware, you have to hit the reset button a few seconds after commanding the upload. One way to get the timing right is to hit the reset button just after you get the message that the upload has started. If the timing is too far off, you will get the message you saw. It may take few tries to get this right.

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

Chr1st1an 20 Aug 2009 12:34

I wish that was the issue, but unfortunately it isn't. When I reset the board it turns off the power supply (fan stops running) and the after about 5 seconds it turns it on again (fan starts turning again). In fact I did press and held down the button a couple of seconds right after i clicked upload to I/O board. It worked fine with the extruder, but I've tried it with the motherboard 20 times with no luck.

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

Chr1st1an 20 Aug 2009 12:45

This is what happens:
1. I click the upload to I/O board in the Arduino software.
2. I press and hold the reset button for about two seconds.
3. The power supply turns off, but is still supplying 5 Volts to the board
4. The debug LED on the board blinks a couple of times and the power supply turns back on
5. I get the
avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x48
avrdude: stk500_disable(): protocol error, expect=0x14, resp=0x48
message.

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

Chr1st1an 20 Aug 2009 12:58

The program file size seems to have an effect, because I just uploaded the the simple Blink sketch that makes the debug LED turn on an off, and it worked in the first try.

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

PhillyDee 20 Aug 2009 19:54

Could you confirm that all the pins are connected to the right ones? Sounds daft, but double check ;)

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

Chr1st1an 21 Aug 2009 13:42

Yes, the cable is connected the right way. I was able to upload the small blink sketch, and make the red debug LED in the motherboard blink.

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

Chr1st1an 21 Aug 2009 20:05

Still can't get it working. Any ideas of what could be wrong?

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

Chr1st1an 22 Aug 2009 14:30

I've tried 50 times now with 3 different USB to TTL convertors and I keep getting that error message. I really need some help getting it working.

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

PhillyDee 22 Aug 2009 18:46

Then its not the cable.

If you can get the blink sketch uploaded, than you should be able to upload the firmware with no problems at all.
Try a previous firmware, And try a different version of Arduino. I used 0014 (I think … ) as the latest one never worked at all for me.

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

Chr1st1an 23 Aug 2009 12:38

Now I can't even upload the Blink sketch anymore. I've tried with Arduino 0014 and 0016 with no succes. One of my USB to TTL convertors have an RX and a TX LED on it, so you can see when it communicates with something, and usually they blink very rapidly when uploading a sketch, but with the motherboard, it just blinks a couple of times and I get the error message.

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

Chr1st1an 23 Aug 2009 15:44

Okay. I think, I've tried everything. I have tried it on different computers. I have tried different releases of the Arduino software. I have tried different versions of the firmware. I've tried 3 different USB 2 TTL convertors. I have tried with both auto and manual reset. I don't know what's wrong. I've finished my Cupcake and I can't wait to get it working :-(

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

Chr1st1an 23 Aug 2009 15:55

I have also tried re-burning the bootloader. Same result :-(

Re: Motherboard firmware problems

Chr1st1an 24 Aug 2009 19:51

No problem. I got it working. It turns out that this page has all you need, if you just can't get it working: http://wiki.makerbot.com/burn-custom-firmware-using-arduino