openrcforums

Hi guys,

After reading a lot of posts I decided to write this one because I'm clueless and I don't want to do something wrong with my transmitter.

I have :
- a Turnigy 9X v2
- a smartieparts v2.4
- a mac with Maverick

Software :
- eepe
-companion9x

I installed easily the board on the T9X without any problem.

When I try to flash the firmware with eepe (or companion9x), I have the "classic" :
I removed the board, cleaned the pads with alcool, checked the 5 pins and I still have the same error.

I checked the nylon spacers and two of them were longer than the 3rd one in a way that pins were barely longer than the spacer. I filed them down (less than 1mm) to have 3 equal spacers but still the same error.

I started to try random "stupid" things (Tx on/off ; with or without battery) so before messing everything up I decided to write this post

Thanks a lot,

Antoine

DO NOT use the -F option.

With the v2.4 SP board, you do need the Tx switched on when trying to access it.

What version of Avrdude do you have?

Mike.

Hi Mike,

I tried with the default version of Maverick (I will check the version tonight)
and
with the version from the CrossPack for AVR (http://www.obdev.at/products/crosspack/download.html) which is normally 6.0.1.

I had the same error with both version.

Antoine

I have tried with Avrdude 6.0.1 and 5.11.1.

I have checked with a multimeter the connection between pads and microcontroller pins to be sure that pads are clean and everything looks good. My probes ends are really smaller that smartieparts board's pins so I think that if they touch the tx board, the connection should be good.

The nylon support is longer than the spacers so I have tried without it to lower the board but still no luck.

It's always the same message :

Can you post a picture of your 9x's board so we can verify you have a V2 board please?

Also not a bad idea to post a picture of your SP board from the front and side so I can verify the pins are straight 'enough' (they don't have to be perfect, but straight enough that the tips of the pins don't fall outside the circumference of the pad... hard to describe... its easier just to post photos)

Power must be on (by battery). No point at all in trying it with it switched off or unpowered.

If you've gone through everything on my troubleshooting guide then its probably either:

1) simple alignment issues. Loosen screws... jiggle board a bit... tighten and try again. TRY A FEW TIMES PLEASE.
2) there's been a RARE defect in the board that can result in that error. But I mean RARE. Out of some 8000 units to date, I think there was only 2 or 3 so far.

If still not resolved, then contact me and I'll send another unit for you to try. If it still doesn't work, then its something with your radio or setup.

- Steven

Hi Steven,

thanks for your fast reply !
I'll try your point #1 tonight

Thanks

Antoine

Thanks. Pins/pads appear fine.

I have tried 10 times to jiggle the board today (and did it few more time on first install) no success.

Can I check something else to target the problem(s) ?

Not really. Reply again to our email and confirm your address and I'll send you a new kit right away. That'll be the easiest way to diagnose. If the replacement works, then it was a problem with the board we sent you. If it doesn't work, then its something on your end. Either way, knowing that is a big step forward.

- Steven

Just one more detail, the red LED is on when I plug USB cable to my computer.

I am having exactly the same issue with mine, however i have 2 9x's and 2 Smarty parts boards.
And i have successfully flashed er9x on 1 transmitter using both boards (both 2.4).

I have tired swapping usb leads, spacers boards and both work in one transmitter but not the other
Also since flashing it has made the TX have eprom error on the screen (not the one you can get rid of after a flash by pressing a button) so it must of communicated at some point as it was working using the normal firmware before the flash.
pictures of mine
So should i look for any obvious signs of problems on the pcb (TX)?

Try removing the HK backlight from the equation.

Also check the 6-wire jumper and make sure all the wires go straight across (ie. check that its not miswired). You tried swapping everything else, so maybe just swap the jumper wire too.

Tried that s_mack, Unplugged the light checked the jumper had 6 straight connections.
Tried cleaning the connections on the transmitter and tried wiggling the board you can see the pads are scratched up a little but still no joy
At a loss on what to try next really

Did few more attemps, but still the same error.

For now I let the SP board inside and use the Tx with stock firmware. Don't know what I can try before soldering.

Antoine wrote:Did few more attemps, but still the same error.

For now I let the SP board inside and use the Tx with stock firmware. Don't know what I can try before soldering.

Did you ever manage to get this working ?
Mine still sat on the desk being unresponsive, I think next up for me is to solder in the smarty parts board

No never...

s_mack sent me another board and still the same error, so it should be something with my controller.

I have not tried the soldering option but after testing 2 boards, I am not sure it will change something.

Let me know if you figure it out.

No answers just thought from my recent 9x work.

I just installed a new stock 9x board in 9x case, a replacement for a dead board. This came to me me with a v2.4 SP board installed on a dead/bricked board. I haven't used a sp board in several years so I had to load a USBasp driver onto my w7 32B computer and use the latest eepe. That went well and after reading I had to have the 9x powered to read or flash I did that. It worked right off and I was able to flash to the latest er9x FW and DL/UL model mix memories ok.
Yes I did see a sp red led when the USB was connected. I also had the BL connected and it was on full time. I assume being powered from the VDD pin on the sp board being connected to the main boards +5v pad.
Cleaning of the pads should only require one good time. Also verifying your 9x board is a V2 and the picture does seem to show it is.

Options?
Assuming your board won't program with the 9x powered and you see no warnings and a normal display.

The HK or Randy USBasp $5-10 solder in programer board( careful with eBay ones) is another troubleshooting option. 6 wires soldered and it should work. Once you've solved what's going on just clean the pads of excess solder and reinstall the sp board as it's a cleaner setup.
Why do that since you have the sp board to avoid soldering? Because something's not working and you only have sp boards and a 9x and are locked in a non working situation if you've tried pad cleaning, a new sp board, another 9x, hopefully another computer, and tried the administrator mode if in win7/8?

The big fear is bricking the 9x CPU.
Please post your progress.
Thank you

ShowMaster wrote: I also had the BL connected and it was on full time. I assume being powered from the VDD pin on the sp board being connected to the main boards +5v pad.

The VDD pin isn't powering anything, its just the on/off signal. The backlight is actually powered directly by the battery voltage.

Ok on VDD being the control. I remember now. I didn't check into it because it did work but remember it's on pin 17. I modified my v2.2 I have to not use the el panel some time ago. In any case the new 2.4 board is nice and worked right off with the new 9x mb I installed. I'm curious what's going on with the two here that's having issues?

I have ordered USBasp, will try soldering in a socket to flash it, i know both SP 2.4 boards i have are working as they work in my other 9x transmitter. Just stuck with that Eprom error message and the anoying buzzer

Hi all, bit of a long time since i posted as i ended up just buying a 3rd radio in the end. But i dug the radio out and have soldered directly to the board now and i'm still getting the same error as with the smarty parts board.

avrdude.exe: error: programm enable: target doesn't answer. 1
avrdude.exe: initialization failed, rc=-1
Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override
this check.

I can read the board apparently. i have managed to get it to make a backup bin twice, but never managed to write to the eprom.
But it doesn't let me write every time which seems like it could be a bad solder or or connection, i have re soldered it but still getting the same intermittent ability to read from the TX

so most of the time i get the above message but other times i am able to read the tx (will keep playing)

Have you ever tried adding a -B100 to the Avrdude command?

Mike.

Did you try with -B 100 in the extra arguments?

João

oops, Mike was faster

allanm wrote: Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override
this check.

And PLEASE DON'T try the -F option

Reinhard

Weirdly it looks like the solder is fine, what i have found is that if i setup eepc or companion they both fail to write to the eprom, unless i leave the USB out of the pc/ laptop have tried it on both and then load in the hex file i want to write just before writing i put the usb in and the hit write as quickly as possible.
This then allows me to write to the TX fine and it all works...
Now once it has written it will no longer work again unless i unplug the USB and then do a read as soon as its plugged in...
Tried with my other TX and its fine i can leave it plugged in and do reads and writes all day long no problem.
I didn't try lowering the baud rate as suggested as it appears to work using this method and im just going to keep it as a spare TX for the moment.

Some USBASP programmers do that.. Mine does it. Sometimes I have to disconnect and connect it again so it works.. That is normal.. The other radios don't do it probably because they use other programmer? the smartieparts??

João

jhsa wrote:Some USBASP programmers do that.. Mine does it. Sometimes I have to disconnect and connect it again so it works.. That is normal.. The other radios don't do it probably because they use other programmer? the smartieparts??

João

Yes i's using the smarty parts in my other TX, both smarty parts boards i have work in that TX but neither worked with the one i just soldered.

Atm i just have the cable hanging out so will have to get a socket and solder that it later to make it a little easier to update rather then keep taking the case off

On one of my radios it helped removing the capacitor that is on the reset line. The bigger one just below the crystal.

João