9XR Wont flash after some mod done

[Galessin]

Yes I cant program it.

Today I even lift the 4 pin require from the board and connect direct to them and still nothing

im about to order a new MCU probably a 128 ..

I will do a last attempt and try the 1 mhz oscilator if its not working I will remove the mcu and drop another one

[rperkins]

If your radio is otherwise working then I dont believe you need to mess with the external oscillator. That is only necessary for a 'bricked' mcu, which your is not IF it is working as a TX.

What struck me is that detaching the reset allowed it to come back to life. I hadnt thought much deeper on it though. I had considered that maybe serial programming got disabled but I dont even think that is possible with a serial programmer. It could have been a fluke though. You could read your fuses to determine if serial programming is listed as disabled

[MikeB]

I'm looking very closely at your picture showing the connections to the main board. I think you have a (black?) wire connecting to ANALOG ground rather than DIGITAL ground.

Look where the ORANGE wire is connected here:

Mike.

[Galessin]

Your picture is a 9x board mike, Mine is a 9xr with factory install ICSP. but both ground point are the same thing I check with multimeter.

The only thing 9xr dont have is the reset capacitor, we dont use the large one but they still place a small brown one.. probably a 0,1uf

Today im going to order a atmega128... if the 128 get the same result I will trash this piece of .....

Rperkins : I cannot read the fuse because I have NO communication whatever with the chip. That why I want to try the 1 mhz oscilator.. at this point I have nothing to lose really

Im still wondering .. each time I try to communicate the radio reset.. is there a posibility that the reset line pull up 10K is not enough and causing this?

In my last try I lift the 4 pad and hook directly to the mcu pin , I put a pull up on reset line but without any cap still nothing.

[MikeB]

Hmmmm, I think the 9XR is actually WRONG. The two grounds are connected via an inductor (L2 on the 9XR board), so a meter will say they are connected, however high speed signals to ground won't go through the inductor. I would move that ground connection to the similar pad shown on the 9X board, that is DIGITAL ground that should be used for programming.

Mike.

Edit: I know you managed to flash the radio once. I assume you are using the same cable, and the 9XR 6-pin connector. Have you checked the connections from the 10-pin on the programmer go to the correct pins of the 6-way on the radio?
If you connect just the 5V and ground from the programmer (if you can) does the radio come on (with no beeper)?

[Galessin]

Yes I used the same programmer and wire to flash before and I have check with a multimeter from the programmer 10 pin to the mcu pin , all in order.

My board is completly disconnect from the radio but Yes I hear the beeper when plug with the programmer power before. Its was the switch warning beeping.

I will try to move the ground see what happend.

[Galessin]

Still fail with ground moved

[MikeB]

I don't know if you can do this, but try:

Power the radio on. Then using a 1K (or about 1K) resistor connect each of MOSI, MISO, SCK and RESET in turn to +5V and ground through the resistor. In each case measure the voltage at the pad where the programming wire connects. Connecting RESET to ground will (should) hold the processor reset.
Each pad should go to +5v (very closely) and close to ground, but may not reach ground itself.

Mike.

[Galessin]

I dont understand,

you want me power the mcu and to attach a 1k res to each mcu pin (series) then try them one by one to ground and 5v?

My line are not on any pad anymore , I lift them

[MikeB]

Yes that's it. Connect a 1K resistor to, say, the MISO pad. switch the Tx on, connect the other end ot the 1K resistor to +5V and measure the voltage at the pad, then move the other end of the resistor to ground and measure the voltage at the pad. Repeat for the other signals MOSI, SCK and RESET. This will test for any problems on the board or in the processor.

Mike.

[Galessin]

Sorry I was busy this week,

here the pin voltage as request:

Mosi,miso,sck and reset all have 4.92V on VCC

mosi,miso,sck have 0.126V on GND

reset have 0.533 on gnd

Remember reset have a 10k resistor pull up.. dont know if this the reason why its not like other pin.

[MikeB]

Correct regarding the reset voltage.
All those values look OK.

Everything looks OK, it's just not programming.

I've got to come back to the wiring between the programmer and the board. I can only suggest connecting the programmer to the tx, but NOT connecting the programmer to the USB, so nothing is powered. Now check for shorts between any of the six wires and check each wire connects all the way from the programmer to the processor.

Mike.

[jhsa]

I know that it might not be the problem but at this stage it's worth to check everything.. Could you post good pictures from both sides of your programmer?

João

[Galessin]

I already check 10 time the programmer line to the mcu pin.. there are no short there . and all communicate from the programmer 10 pin to the mcu pin.

Im not only testing with one programmer .. I already try 3 programmer, 2 arduino and the hk... BOTH programmer was use to write and read stuff... know working condition

[MikeB]

Fair enough, just can't think of much else to try at the moment, everything else seems to be in order.
The radio is still working OK we understand. Can you just confirm the MENU button works, and both the AIL switch and THR switch work. These are on the SCK and MOSI and MISO lines so this check is to confirm the external pins connect internally in the processor.

Mike.

[Galessin]

all switch and button work, TX boot, I can go into setup and think like that, I did not test the frsky module yet in the back , but I tested my mod ( internal flysky hf 030) and its working

All the test was mostly done without any connection to the board , only LCD is hook

[Galessin]

some ppl sugest me to buy another 9xr.. well I dont like the idea .. I dont trust them anymore

[MikeB]

I can understand that. I'm coming to the conclusion that there is a fault in the processor. I believe you tried using -B100 with the USBASP. If you haven't tried it, try -B1000 to really slow it down.

Mike.

[Galessin]

SO order a new chip is the only solution then?

What if I use the brick tutorial.. will this put the chip back to factory and maybe fix it?

[jhsa]

Mike, crazy thought, is it possible that they locked the chip at the factory? Galessin, have you ever managed to read the chip's eeprom or flash?

[Kilrah]

If the chip is protected it's automatically reset when erasing, so you wouldn't even notice when writing. It's only a read protection.

[jhsa]

but couldn't it be write protected as well? sorry about my ignorance.. It happens a lot lately

João

[Kilrah]

No.

[Galessin]

I just order a http://www.digikey.ca/product-detail/en ... ND/1886206 at digikey

I hope its the good one and this will solve my problem... Its gonna be a headache to solder I bet

I forgot but do I need anything else to switch the chip.. a oscilator or thing like that?

[Flaps 30]

I hope its the good one and this will solve my problem... Its gonna be a headache to solder I bet

To desolder the chip.. Look here ----> http://openrcforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=2477 Some people have used hot air work stations to remove the chip, and others have used a new scalpel blade to gently cut through the legs of the old chip to remove it. It really is up to you.

I forgot but do I need anything else to switch the chip.. a oscilator or thing like that?

Nope - Just a good USBASP that doesn't give the SCK error message, so that you can slow down the speed so you can set the fuses correctly. If you have one with the SCK message. The simple answer would be to get one from RPerkins that will work, rather than mess about. ----> http://9xrprogrammer.com

[ReSt]

Order a set of QuickChip also. This will really make it easy to unsolder the chip.

If you order it on ebay, there probably will also be a video of how to use it. Look for several videos because I saw different ones and the last that I checked just in the moment was not so good.

Use a small track of flux around the chip, covering the pins. Then use a not to small tip on the soldering iron, as you have to melt the original tin of the solderpads.
When you apply the QuickChip solder, use enough Quickchip to cover all the pins so that there is a trace of fluid quickchip around the chip. (I needed one half of one stick of QuickChip)
Do one side after the next. The QuickChip probably will remain fluid until you have done the last side.
If required, just heat the cooled down parts up again and the chip can be easily shifted off the pads. No force is required, only some tool to shift it.
Remove excessive solder and QuickChip and clean the area with the alcohol pads. Check, that no solder drops are on the neighbouring tracks and electronic parts.
If possible, collect the used QuickChip, you can use it another time.

When you solder in the new chip, verify the orientation. Guess why I know...
Position the chip and attach two opposit pins with solder. Verify the orientation. Put a trace of flux onto the end of the pins where they touch the board. On my board, there was enough solder left on the pads so that I did not need to apply additional solder. Shortly heat up one pin (and its solder pad) after the other so you see that the solder of the pad flows onto the pin. Check all solder points with a magnifying glass. Shorted pins or poorly soldered ones normally are no problem. Just use a bit of flux and heat it up, the solder will collect at the pins and the pads where you can remove it.


Reinhard

[Galessin]

order already place and shipped and this 50 $ tx cost me enough already I wont add a 15$ desolder thing... I will cut the mcu pin with a knife then clean the pad... this MCU dont communicate I see no reason why not destroy it in the process.

my hk programmer dont give sck error anymore I flash it with a hex find on this forum. But I still have a arduino mega too that give no sck error when turn into a programmer.

[Flaps 30]

this MCU dont communicate I see no reason why not destroy it in the process..

That's it! Give it hell.

my hk programmer dont give sck error anymore I flash it with a hex find on this forum. But I still have a arduino mega too that give no sck error when turn into a programmer.

Great.. Then you are all set.. Just use the -B 100 in the extra arguments in the AVRDUDE configuration to slow things down to set the fuses. Then you can go back to normal speed to put on the firmware.

[MikeB]

When cutting the pins off be very careful with the last few, make sure you don't strain the pads and peel them off the board.

Mike.

[Galessin]

putting a new chip specialy if I flash it with the fr sky mod firmware BEFORE solder it will probably work, and I hope I will be able to flash it when its done and solder in place if its working then Ill know the previous chip was bad , if its a no go then I will be doom to buy another TX if I want to flash it again, cause I saw nothing wrong or short on this board, and I spend quite some time looking at it with magnify glass and macro photo and to me its look great without damage.

Im pretty sure the board is OK since I lift the mosi,miso,sck,reset mcu pin to try directly bypassing the board and its was not working.