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Faulty PropPlug? — Parallax Forums

Faulty PropPlug?

KlazenKlazen Posts: 12
edited 2008-10-15 21:03 in Propeller 1
I'm having a problem here, and it's making things difficult to work with. The worst part is the fact that the problem is intermittent, which makes it all the more difficult to pinpoint the cause.

Here's what happens:
I plug my PropPlug into the board and my computer, and the battery to the board·(I've tried it in every possible permutation, like cable to computer, then cable to plug, then plug to board; or plug to board, cable to computer, cable to plug, etc.)

The lights on the plug flash (which means that the computer made contact with the plug, right?)

The green power LED on my board lights up dimly if the battery isn't already in (I have the Propeller Education Kit), which should mean that at least the power connection works

I go into the Propeller Tool, and attempt to load a program into RAM (or check info, or load into EEPROM)

Blue lights flash on the PropPlug

"No Propeller Chip was found on any available COM Port" pops up on my screen

I bang my head against the table in frustration, and try it again.·mad.gif

Now, a while ago I was able to fix the problem by taking the plug out of the board (with the 4 pin header still attached), plugging it into an empty region of the breadboard,·and then putting it back in place. Weird, huh? Also, at one point, when I pulled the header out of the plug, pushed it in, or jiggled it some, the red light on the PropPlug would blink. This led me to believe that maybe the problem was in the header, the socket on the plug, or the breadboard itself. But I couldn't fix it by moving the plug one column over, nor could i fix it by running wires from the pad of the plug into the breadboard, thereby bypassing the header and socket. What's worse, is that now none of these temporary fixes is working anymore. I'm at wits end. If anyone has experienced this before, or knows how to fix it, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for your time.

Here is a link to the picture of my setup (Yes I know this is the default picture from the Parallax site, but my board is pretty much identical to that. Also, I don't have a camera with me here at school.): http://parallax.com/Portals/0/Images/Prod/3/323/32305a-M.jpg

Comments

  • KeezinatorKeezinator Posts: 21
    edited 2008-10-14 19:29
    Stating the obvious.... you tried with a fresh battery??
  • KlazenKlazen Posts: 12
    edited 2008-10-14 19:31
    Yeah, like four of them. I probably should have stated that in my post. Thanks, though. Always good to start with the obvious tongue.gif
  • KeezinatorKeezinator Posts: 21
    edited 2008-10-14 19:41
    OK. Another one. I Propstick USB version of the PE kit.

    I found that the pins of the clock crystal were so long, they kind of prevented the propstick to be pushed in all the way. In my case, slightly widening one of the holes in the breadboard, allowed one of the pins to go a bit deeper and it worked.

    For what it is worth...
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,593
    edited 2008-10-14 19:42
    I had a problem with one of my PropPlugs where the USB connector came loose...· Then, if I squeezed the connector down on the board, it would work...· Eventually, the whole connector fell off and I had to solder it back on (not easy!).

    You might try squeezing the connector and/or looking at the little pins and making sure they're still soldered down...
  • KlazenKlazen Posts: 12
    edited 2008-10-14 20:08
    Still having the problem. I tried your idea Rayman, but it looks to me like the USB is firmly connected to the programmer (also tried pushing all of the pins down, but that made no difference). And Keezinator, since I don't have the PropStick version, I can't try what you're suggesting. Thanks for your replies, though.
  • agodwinagodwin Posts: 72
    edited 2008-10-14 20:08
    I've found that Windows sometimes loses the plug. The safest way to get it back seems to be :

    1 remove prop clip from board AND from USB cable
    2 connect prop clip to board
    3 connect USB cable to prop clip

    Power is probably best applied at the end, but I often apply it after 2 without problems.

    I think you've probably tried that order already, but it might help someone else.

    I've also sometimes noticed the lights flicker slightly when i touch or move the prop clip. This shouldn't really happen, and I suspect that, like Rayman, I've got a slightly loose connector. Maybe yours is unreliable too.
  • KlazenKlazen Posts: 12
    edited 2008-10-14 23:21
    Yeah, agodwin, I have tried that. I occasionally had that issue back before I had this problem, maybe Parallax should look into fixing that haha.

    Unless anyone else has any ideas, it looks like I'm going to have to get a new PropPlug sad.gif. And right as I started a new project, too...
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,593
    edited 2008-10-14 23:40
    Make sure you have the latest version of the Prop Tool (V1.2).

    Earlier versions had occasional troubles making connections and completing downloads.

    Also, try rebooting.· I have one computer that sometimes has troubles like that and rebooting seems to help...
  • agodwinagodwin Posts: 72
    edited 2008-10-15 06:19
    Mine seemed to get a whole lot worse after I installed another piece of software that replaced the FTDI driver. I've tried to get it back to the old state, but I'd had a driver installed before Proptool came along, so I'm not quite sure which version is the 'good' one. It would be nice to believe it's the latest one, but I'm too cynical for that smile.gif.
  • StefanL38StefanL38 Posts: 2,292
    edited 2008-10-15 09:33
    Hello Klazen,

    1.) did you download the newest driver and install described like in this document ?
    www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/ftdi/USB-VCP-Install-WinXP-v1.1.pdf

    FTDI-USB-driver
    www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/sw/R9052151.zip


    2.) there is a PDF Troubleshooting USB Driver Problems

    www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/ftdi/USBDriverTroubleshooting-V1.0.pdf


    3.) If this does not help mail to the technical support of parallax.

    www.parallax.com/tabid/381/Default.aspx

    best regards

    Stefan
  • KlazenKlazen Posts: 12
    edited 2008-10-15 14:12
    Well, I checked, and I already have the latest drivers as well as the latest version of proptool. I really think the problem is not in the software, though. I think it's the hardware.
  • StefanL38StefanL38 Posts: 2,292
    edited 2008-10-15 17:46
    Hello Klazen,

    did you change the latency-values the way it is described in the pdf above ?

    I have this problem when using a USB2RS232-adapter with a Prolific-chip.
    2-20 times propeller not found and then it works 2-20 times then one time working.
    etc, etc. etc.

    with my PPDB there are no problems at all

    best regards

    Stefan
  • KlazenKlazen Posts: 12
    edited 2008-10-15 19:02
    Yes, I did, but that didn't seem to help.
  • StefanL38StefanL38 Posts: 2,292
    edited 2008-10-15 21:03
    Another Idea that I have

    You cold try to increase the thread-priority of the proptool

    start taskmanager change to register processes rightclick on propeller.exe change priority to high or realtime
    maybe realtime will cause problems

    best regards

    Stefan
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