Society of Robots - Robot Forum

Software => Software => Topic started by: nm1 on December 21, 2011, 05:07:05 AM

Title: Axon mote not recognised by hardware programmer
Post by: nm1 on December 21, 2011, 05:07:05 AM
Hi there,

I bought the two axon mote bundle but I think I may have bricked or semi- bricked one of them.
The axon still works, it prints to serial and transmits data but the hardware programmer cannot contact it.
I have tried reading the signature or clicking on the fuses tab in avr studio 4 but that does not work either.
I think this problem may have arose when I accidentally programmed it while the switch was in the off position, my other mote still works fine I just flashed the bootloader and started using MCUber with it as I have a 64 bit laptop.

I was wondering if my mote is "bricked" and if I should follow the bricked instructions in the FAQ. Also I programmed the the red LED are to flash every second which it still does which might rule out the frequency clock fuse corruption problem.

Any help would be much appreciated,

Thanks for your time
Title: Re: Axon mote not recognised by hardware programmer
Post by: voyager2 on December 21, 2011, 05:17:51 AM
What programmer are you using?

Try adjusting the ISP frequency settings in AVR Studio (Or whatever your using)
Check connecters , soldering , etc
Title: Re: Axon mote not recognised by hardware programmer
Post by: Admin on December 26, 2011, 02:02:48 AM
Did you program it fine before the the ISP programmer?

When reading the signature, did you select ATmega128RFA1 in AVR Studio first? (just making sure)

What frequency you have it checking on?

Does it still program normally when using the bootloader?

Although it's possible it somehow got bricked, it's highly unlikely as it seems the clock fuse is still working fine (allowing the LED to flash).
Title: Re: Axon mote not recognised by hardware programmer
Post by: nm1 on December 27, 2011, 07:51:46 PM
Thanks for the replies. Sorry about the slow response a cat peed on my laptop and killed it >:(

Yes it did program fine before and I did select atmega128rfa1.
I have tried all the programmer frequencies aswell.

no I removed the boot loader from that mote so I can't program it at all.
Do you think I may have corrupted the programming lock fuse?

Thanks
Title: Re: Axon mote not recognised by hardware programmer
Post by: Admin on December 27, 2011, 09:29:57 PM
hmmmm I'm a bit stumped here, I have to admit . . .

The brown out fuses were programmed in before being shipped, which should have prevented any corruption.

What is your programmer type? MKII? Also, try hitting the erase button a few times and see what happens . . .

With the Mote power on, when you plug in the ISP connector, does it look like the Mote resets? (normally, it's supposed to reset, and will interfere with your LED flashing for a second or so)
Title: Re: Axon mote not recognised by hardware programmer
Post by: nm1 on December 28, 2011, 03:45:02 AM
yes its a mkII programmer. When I hit erase the programming failed error message comes up.
Yes the mote is resetting every time I attempt to program or read the signature.
yea with webbot lib the program takes a few seconds to start running again so it is definitely resetting.


Thanks.

Title: Re: Axon mote not recognised by hardware programmer
Post by: Admin on December 29, 2011, 10:10:30 PM
hmmmmm

Does the other Mote program fine with the programmer? There is a possibility your MKII died. I've had that happen to me twice already, they aren't that reliable . . . What does the programmer LED do when you plug it in, and then try to program with it?

The other option is to assume a fuse corruption (although I'm not really sure which fuse), and do a high-voltage reprogramming of the chip to fix the fuses. But you'd need to purchase/make a high-voltage programmer and that might exceed the cost of just buying another Mote.