Can't upload the AMBASAT-LED project

AndiAlmer

Hi guys!

I have a Rocket Kit and I'm on a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15.6. All cables and soldering seems perfect and I've followed all the instructions on /howto. The voltage switch is on 3.3.

Building the AMBASAT-LED-project works perfectly, but when I upload the project in Visual Studio Code, the CH340 blinks once and then I receive the following error:

avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 8 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00

The AMBASAT board appears nicely in Visual Code after placing the json-file in there.

Some help please? 🙂
a n d i

John_Betong

AndiAlmer
First, we would suggest trying with a different programmer. Do you have access to another CH340 or FTD32? They are available on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FT232RL-Ftdi-USB-To-Ttl-Converter-Series-USB-3-3-5V-Arduino-Pro-Mini-FTDI232/223608189621

Also, double-check your wiring. Can you try the programmer on an Arduino board?

AndiAlmer

I'm afraid I only have what's in the kit. But I'll check the wiring first and if that's ok, I'll order another programmer from ebay.

fredricraab

I'm having the same problem. See the error messages below. Please advise. I do not believe purchasing a new programmer will solve the problem, nor is it an acceptable response on AmbaSat part (since you supplied the programmer.)

Looking for upload port...
Auto-detected: COM3
Uploading .pio\build\AmbaSat-1\firmware.hex
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 1 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x46
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 2 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x5b
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 3 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xb9
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 4 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xe4
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 5 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x5a
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 6 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xe5
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 7 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x91
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 8 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x4c
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 9 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x26
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 10 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x46

avrdude done. Thank you.

fredricraab

Results of additional troubleshooting:

I've removed and updated the CH340 drivers - I'm using Windows 10. Using a multimeter, I verified 3.3 volts are present on the board.

I've performed the loopback test as suggested by Sparkfun here: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-install-ch340-drivers/all#troubleshooting

Using Putty @ 9600baud, it was successfully. I attempted to load Blink using the Arduino IDE. Same problem. But interestingly, both the serial monitor and Putty, showed the AmbaSat board sending a binary message every 1 or 2 seconds. (Do the assembled boards come preloaded with a diagnostic?)

Please advise.

John_Betong

@fredricraab,
Are you able to try with another programmer? Have you checked your wiring? Does the programmer work with a regular Arduino board?

fredricraab

John_Betong

I have not tried another programmer and checked the wiring multiple times. All my Arduino cards have USB interfaces, so I can't use the programmer with them. But the programmer echos in lookback (Rx connected to Tx). Have you been having problems with the programmers; perhaps a bad clock?

It appears my assembled card is running the preloaded blink program, but the LED is not blinking. And the output is garbled. 9600 baud is the only speed that shows garbled characters (using Putty or the IDE's serial monitor).

Please advise.

John_Betong

@fredricraab,
Thank you for the further details. Yes, assembled AmbaSat-1 satellite boards are preloaded with a version of the LED 'blink' which also outputs debug information.

frankiminternet

I had the same problem after finishing the first step "Assembly 1 - LED Flash". But then i soldered also the rest of the resistors and capacitors which came with the kit and then it worked. I found the solution somewhere in an other thread.

John_Betong

@fredricraab
OK. We've not had any major issues with the programmers and would say a less than 1% failure overall. However, that doesn't help you much and it looks like you've tried everything. Can you contact jackie@ambasat.com and we'll arrange to dig deeper with this.

fredricraab

John_Betong

John, Happy new year. Thanks for your assistance. I'm just returning to this project. I found an Adafruit FTDI USB interface cable (part number 70), and connected it to the Ambasat using the appropriate ground, power, tx, td pins. With the Arduino IDE Serial Monitor set to 9600, I see the debugging messages sent once per second:
RAW:0
UV_INDEX:0
IR:-5246 lux
Visible:14259 lux

So it appears my original problem was a defective programmer.

I may have another problem, namely the values don't change. I've covered the sensor and placed it under a light.
Any ideas? And should we discuss this under another topic heading?

John_Betong

@fredricraab icr,

Please can you share your code and we'll take a look

fredricraab

John_Betong

John,

The messages to which I referred were sent from the diagnostic program pre-loaded on board as I received it. I since have made several puzzling observations to report:

(1) I think it is safe to conclude the USB programmer board I received is defective and needs to be replaced.
(2) I attempted to upload the Blink program using the Adafruit cable with only the Ground, VCC, RX, and TX leads connected. The upload failed.
(3) I connected the Adifruit RTS lead to the AmbaSat's DTR lead and attempted the upload.
(4) The upload failed, but much to my surprise, the output of the IDE serial monitor changed. It reported "Checking I2C device..." for the first time and then reported values that change as expected as I covered/uncovered the sensor. See below.
14:20:19.591 -> RAW:0
14:20:19.638 -> UV_INDEX:0
14:20:19.638 -> IR:-5246 lux
14:20:19.638 -> Visible:14259 lux
14:20:19.685 ->
*** AFTER ATTEMPTING UPLOAD ***
14:20:21.367 -> Checking I2C device...
14:20:21.929 -> Found Si1132
14:20:21.929 ->
14:20:21.976 -> RAW:0
14:20:22.023 -> UV_INDEX:0
14:20:22.023 -> IR:392 lux
14:20:22.023 -> Visible:565 lux
14:20:22.023 ->

(5) Thus I'm assuming the sensor and AmbaSat are functional, and problem exists with the programmer. I will request a replacement from Jackie.

Question: Do you have any suggestions has to how I might use the Adafruit cable with the AmbaSat? They are both USB to TTL serial interfaces, but the RTS/CTS and DTR/SS interfaces and (drivers perhaps) are different.

Thanks for your help.

Slywombat

I have a similar issue, I can upload the led blink, and that works without an issue, however if I select the sensor01 example, and try and upload it. I get the programmer is not responding after it has completed 50% or so. https://photos.app.goo.gl/pTqEsV4QZTn5B53i8

Slywombat

Slywombat Now it will not upload the LED blink anymore either. I think I have a dead unit. Where do we get support?

kamprath

Slywombat Your issues are most likely caused by the USB UART's serial connection falling out of synch wit the clock on the AmbaSat. If you are using the default configuration, the ATmega328P is set up to use the 1 MHz internal clock on the ATmega328P. This is done to reduce power consumption. However, the problem with the 1 MHz internal clock is that it is not consistent, meaning things that require precise timing, like serial communications without a clock line, can be problematic. One solution is to return the fuses on the ATmega328P so that it uses the 4 MHz external clock that is on the AmbaSat board. That is far more reliable for serial communications. If you are not set up to do that, then you need to experiment with how you plug the USB UART into your computer. Try to plug it directly into your computer rather than through a hub. Change the usb cable. change the wires between the UART and the AmbaSat. There is likely noise or inductance somewhere that is making it difficult to keep the serial communication in synch.

John_Betong

@fredricraab,
Not received your request for replacement. Is this still an issue?

fredricraab

John_Betong
Thanks for following up. I emailed Jackie and she will be sending me a replacement.

fredricraab

I have since learned that others are having the same issue with the uploader. I've been successful using the Adafruit FTDI USB cable (product 70) with a set of male to female jumpers (product 4447). The connections I used are as follows:

FTDI ---------------- AmbaSat
Black GND ----------GND
Brown CTS ----------not connected
Red 5V --------------Vin
Orange TXD --------RX
Yellow RXD ---------TX
Green RTS ----------DTR

Note: The uploader in Visual Studio Code does a verify pass after writing the code to flash memory. This verify pass sometimes fails. But code is loaded and so far appears to run correctly, even with very large programs. Uploading again usually returns no errors. Also, unplugging, then re-plugging the USB interface usually works. (I'm running Windows 10 on a Dell laptop.)