Problem with propeller chip.

MovieMaker

I got the chip. I put the vga and ps2 ports on. I put the 100 ohm and 470 ohm resistors and the headers and the jumper block. I hooked up to the ac adapter and the usb port on my xp machine. I ran prop startup tool as suggested. It said it could not find com port 1. When I hooked it up to my computer through the usb port, it made a little sound and red and blue lights beeped and blinked. After that I changed the port from 6 to 1 and tried different numbers but it did the same thing. "no propeller chip found on any com port.

I could use some help. Thanks in advance.

MovieMaker

My device manager says the ft232r uart needs a driver.

Mike Green

What kind of USB adapter do you have? Many of them don't implement handshake lines which the Propeller needs to be identified (DTR particularly). When the com port seems to work, but there's no Propeller found, it's usually a problem with the com port, the circuitry between the USB adapter and the Propeller, or the reset circuitry for the Propeller. Can't give you specific help without a circuit diagram. The proper circuitry is shown on the Propeller Schematics web page and in the schematics for the Propeller Demo Board and Protoboard.

If you have an FTDI-based USB to serial adapter, download the current driver from FTDI's website and install it after uninstalling any existing driver.

MovieMaker

The computer sees it. It flashes a red and blue light at the usb port. It is an ASUS SLI with a 775 chipset. Usb works for every other piece of equipment I have.

Mike Green

It isn't working. It's very common for the default USB driver to get activated in error for USB to serial adapters and that won't work for downloading to the Propeller. You need a proper driver that correctly implements the handshake lines (DTR particularly). The red and blue lights can flash all they want, but the thing won't work properly without the right I/O driver. Removing the current driver and reinstalling a freshly downloaded copy is the first step in getting a Propeller or Stamp or SX processor working when it doesn't just work. The other "most common" problem is that there's no power to the Propeller or Stamp, particularly when running Stamps off batteries.

You can delete messages that you post. Use the X box in the upper right hand corner of the message box.

MovieMaker

I downloaded the proper driver and installed it. It got rid of the yellow exclaimation mark, but no soap. Everything is still the same.

:-(

MovieMaker

not using batteries. Using a 9vdc source.

jazzed

Do you have the Propeller preferences set to automatically detect COM ports? Hit F5 in Propeller tool, a window should pop-up with 3 tabs; select the center tab and set bottom combo-box to AUTO. You might also try rebooting your computer or just removing the USB connecting the Propeller briefly.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

Mike Green

You probably need to post a schematic. It doesn't take much for the Propeller to show up to the Propeller Tool software once the com port is working properly (including the reset circuitry) and there's power applied. The crystal doesn't have to work ... at this point the Propeller is running off an internal clock. The EEPROM doesn't have to work ... the Propeller can just use the PC connection and its internal RAM.

MovieMaker

OK, thanks for your help. I will try this. My wife is calling me to go to bed.

Rayman

Also, make sure you have the latest Prop tool (Version 1.2)

MovieMaker

Thanks. This is a most helpful forum. I have to go to church and will be gone until late tonight before I can play with it again. Then, work Monday. But, I will keep you informed on what happened.

MovieMaker

Also, I have a little confusion about the jumper block on the propeller board. The instructions say install the jumper block. It doesn't say in what position. One side is 5volts and the other side is vin. I guess it means battery or ac adapter. Am I correct? this is on the propeller proto usb board.

My ride is here for church. Talk later.

bambino

The jumper block applies to the servo connections in the top right of the board. It is just like the servo connection on the Board of Education if installed. The jumpers deliver 5v or Vin respectfully to the servo connections.

MovieMaker

Ok, I got everything fixed. Well, I don't know about Everything, but this problem is solved. I measured the output of the 9vdc that I had coming in and my ac adapter was bad. I replaced it with the one suggested from radioshack and walla, I got the scroll demo to work. I am a happy camper now.

MovieMaker

OK, so now I have a question about the FemtoBasic2.004. I did the scroll thingy and it worked fine. I loaded femtobasic and I found that it will not show a carriage return. It types back onto itself.

READY.rminal FemtoBasic 2.004. is what I get. When I hit the arrows or the enter key, it just enters AAAA EEE, etc.

any idea?

This is on the protoboard.

MovieMaker

Got problem solved. I had to take it off normal mode.