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FTDI Chip Not Working — Parallax Forums

FTDI Chip Not Working

william chanwilliam chan Posts: 1,326
edited 2005-10-14 13:40 in General Discussion
I finally made a USB Interface for my SX20 SS chip using the FTDI232BM chip.
I plug it in, the SX powers up from the USB 5V supply and can be programmed by the SXKey.
But nothing happens on the PC. Windows XP doesn't start saying that some new device has been connected.

I double checked all SMT connections with a magnifying glass, nothing seems to be wrong.

Now what?

Why is there no forum on the FTDI chips?

Comments

  • Randy GlennRandy Glenn Posts: 25
    edited 2005-10-06 15:55
    Important thing to check: do you have D+ and D- hooked up right? Reversing them meant an $800 respin for me... [noparse]:([/noparse]
  • John BJohn B Posts: 82
    edited 2005-10-06 16:00
    Have you installed the FTDI drivers?

    If not, go to www.ftdi-chip.com, download and install the Windows XP·driver for the FT2332BM chip, and TEST it with a professionally designed FTDI USB·Adapter.· This will confirm that the driver was successfully installed and that your PC hardware is working as it should.

    If you have already done this, have you checked the oscillator for proper operation?

    Does the FTDI chip dynamically appear (graphically, of course) in your device manager window·(under ports, com and lpt) when you connect it to the USB port?

    If you are still having trouble, please provide more information regarding how you determined it is not working and any other information that you can provide to give us a clue.· In this case, a schematic and a photo of your prototype would be very helpful in identifying the trouble.









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    John Barrowman
    Engineering
    Parallax, Inc.
  • william chanwilliam chan Posts: 1,326
    edited 2005-10-06 22:25
    Thank you John and Randy,

    I did not install the drivers b'cos I was hoping Windows will ask me for the drivers when I plug in the FTDI device.
    That's how I know it is not working, b'cos Windows is silent.

    Seems like the D+ and D- are not reversed....

    How to check that the 6Mhz oscillator is running? My Parallax USB scope cannot go that fast....

    I have also checked that power and ground is connected to the FTDI chip and it is powered.

    Another question :
    Does Parallax sell the solder paste that contains suspended metals for SMT oven work?
  • John BJohn B Posts: 82
    edited 2005-10-06 22:32
    Did your design work properly after you installed the required drivers?

    Though we use it internally, Parallax does not offer solder paste for sale.

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    John Barrowman
    Engineering
    Parallax, Inc.
  • Paul BakerPaul Baker Posts: 6,351
    edited 2005-10-06 23:00
    william chan said...

    Another question :
    Does Parallax sell the solder paste that contains suspended metals for SMT oven work?
    Buying solder paste can be a bit tricky, purchasing it from a source such as Digikey is expensive to begin with, plus they have an overnight delivery requirement because the suspension starts to break down when not refridgerated. I have however found that Howard Electronics sells 10cc syringes for $16.00 and doesn't have an overnight delivery requirement, though I would still get it sent no slower than 2nd day air (which is what I did and it worked fine).

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    ·1+1=10
  • Tracy AllenTracy Allen Posts: 6,666
    edited 2005-10-07 21:42
    Zephyrtronics sells syringes of solder paste, which are fomulated for long shelf life. They ship with a gel-ice pack.
    www.zeph.com/zephpaste.htm
    We are very happy with one of their hot air reflow systems.

    In general, if you have an off topic question, please create a new thread.

    With respect to the FTDI chip, the first time I got one (USB2SER) I plugged it into my Mac to see what would happen, and just as with your experience, nothing. The drivers linked on the Parallax web site are the .exe files, (for XP?). The FTDI site www.ftdichip.com has drivers for other OS'. The Mac OS 10 installation turned out to be roundabout, involving a trip into the unix terminal application to tweak the settings., but this procedure is well documented at FTDI. It is however more roundabout than I have ever seen before for a USB device.

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    Tracy Allen
    www.emesystems.com

    Post Edited (Tracy Allen) : 10/7/2005 10:05:10 PM GMT
  • dkemppaidkemppai Posts: 315
    edited 2005-10-09 16:59
    william chan said...
    I finally made a USB Interface for my SX20 SS chip using the FTDI232BM chip.
    I plug it in, the SX powers up from the USB 5V supply and can be programmed by the SXKey.
    But nothing happens on the PC. Windows XP doesn't start saying that some new device has been connected.

    I double checked all SMT connections with a magnifying glass, nothing seems to be wrong.

    Now what?

    Why is there no forum on the FTDI chips?
    FTDI chips can be troublesome at times.

    Did you install an EEPROM with the FTDI Chips? If so, is it programmed? If so, what was the·PID/VID programmed into it?

    Now, if you didn't install·an EEPROM, under windows XP, the default PID/VID for the device is mapped to VCP drivers,and the device should open·up as a COM port. Is is possible this happened, and you didn't notice it?

    The FTDI stuff works wonderfully, but is is hard to get working the first time!

    Keep us posted!
    -Dan


    ·
  • william chanwilliam chan Posts: 1,326
    edited 2005-10-10 11:38
    I am not using any external eeprom for the FTDI chip.
    I went to the Control Panel/System Devices / Ports and found only Com1 and Com2 (which is native) on my Win2000 machine.

    So as John suggested, I went to the FTDI website and downloaded the 232BM drivers which was zipped up.
    After unzipping, I found that there are no .exe files to run to install the drivers.
    Seems like only the .ini file is available. That means Win2000 must detect the FTDI chip without drivers installed, then only it will install it.
    Is the Parallax (Opta) scope using the same FTDI chip? I have another WinXP computer that has the Parallax scope installed.
    Does this mean that the driver is already installed?

    John,
    Can I post the Schematic and PCB layout in ExpressPCB file format? Will you be able to view it?
  • Jon WilliamsJon Williams Posts: 6,491
    edited 2005-10-10 13:22
    William,

    Yes, the Parallax Scope uses the same FTDI chip. No, we don't have the schematic available in ExpressPCB format -- you should be able to do that for yourself with the schematic we've provided (we actually use Protel for our boards).

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    Jon Williams
    Applications Engineer, Parallax
  • william chanwilliam chan Posts: 1,326
    edited 2005-10-11 00:08
    Jon,

    I meant I am going to post the ExpressPCB schematics, not Parallax.
    Nevermind, here it is. Can you see anything wrong with it?
  • william chanwilliam chan Posts: 1,326
    edited 2005-10-11 05:14
    Just now, I plugged in the Parallax scope into my Win2000 machine and immediately, it
    detects USB<-> Serial device and asks for the driver.
    I cancelled the installation and plugs in my FTDI project, NOTHING.

    I opened up the Parallax scope and compared the D+ and D- continuity checks to see whether they are reversed, but they look correct.
    Except that the resistance from the FTDI chip to the D+ is only 12 ohms on the Parallax scope wheares its about 22 ohms on my board. But I think that should not make any difference.

    The other thing is that my 6Mhz resonator was sourced locally.

    I now attach the PCB design of the project as well in ExpressPCB format.

    Now what else to check?
  • Jon WilliamsJon Williams Posts: 6,491
    edited 2005-10-11 18:08
    Okay, I had a quick look at your schematic and went over it with the USB2SER engineer -- you clearly didn't follow our schematic to the letter.· Since you don't want to do that, you really should consult the FTDI documentation at this link:

    http://www.ftdichip.com/Documents/DataSheets/ds232b17.pdf

    Of particular note -- that our engineer thinks may be causing your troubles -- is the exclusion of the 1.5K resistor that connects between pin 7 (USBDP) and pin 5 (RSTOUT#) on the FTDI chip.· There are a few other things that we noticed, but JB doesn't think that they are the cause of your problems.

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    Jon Williams
    Applications Engineer, Parallax
  • william chanwilliam chan Posts: 1,326
    edited 2005-10-12 07:01
    Jon,

    You are a Genius !

    After adding that resistor, it just works ! The Win2000 is now asking for the driver.
    I will work on the serial comm next.

    Thanks a lot. cool.gif
  • Jon WilliamsJon Williams Posts: 6,491
    edited 2005-10-12 13:24
    Not a genious; just a careful reader. I'm glad it's working now -- good luck with the rest of your project.

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    Jon Williams
    Applications Engineer, Parallax
  • Guenther DaubachGuenther Daubach Posts: 1,321
    edited 2005-10-12 15:37
    William,

    please let me add a general comment here:

    Aftere a series of guesswork posts, Jon had an immediate hit, once after you had provided the schematic. As you can see, the more details around a problem are presented, the better and faster a solution can be found. Do you remember how this thread started?

    I finally made a USB Interface for my SX20 SS chip using the FTDI232BM chip.
    I plug it in, the SX powers up from the USB 5V supply and can be programmed by the SXKey.
    But nothing happens on the PC. Windows XP doesn't start saying that some new device has been connected.

    I double checked all SMT connections with a magnifying glass, nothing seems to be wrong.

    Now what?


    I think you agree with me that this is not the kind of information that really helps others helping you to solve your problem. Please don't be offended by my post - it is a well-meant message to all forum members. A detailed problem description saves all of us valuable time, including yourself because you'll get a solution faster.

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    Greetings from Germany,

    G
  • PJMontyPJMonty Posts: 983
    edited 2005-10-12 16:23
    Guenther,

    I absolutely agree. More often than not, when someone has a problem, the first thing I have to do is pump them for more information about the details of the problem. When someone says, "The IDE isn't working. How do I fix it?" I pretty much have no information to try and help them. They may as well have said, "I'm thinking of a number between 1 and infinity. What is it?"

    When folks have a problem with software, they need to remember to explain all the steps needed to reproduce the problem, the exact error message that comes up (word for word, not just how they remember it), the details of their hardware configuration, the operating system they are running on, and the version of the IDE as the minimum information with the question they post.

    For problems with either hardware or software, people should always list all the things they have tried to figure out the problem. If they have schematics, put them in the first post with the original question. If they have a code question, post the source code.

    When you're trying to help someone over the Internet, more is more when it comes to details.
      Thanks, PeterM
  • TeeTee Posts: 2
    edited 2005-10-13 07:35
    I use the FTDI232MB chip to made a USB Interfece for my SX20 SS chip, its function.
    Then i made the scand Interface, its same whit first one, but it can not function.
    When i plug it in, the SX power supply up from the USB 5V and can programmed by the SXKey.
    But on the computer Windows 2000 at ' Divice Manager, Universal Serial Bus controllers ' was detac
    " ! USB Device " its means computer can detac the USB interface but can not function.
    Then i pulg it out then pulg in the first one USB Interfsce, it function. Computer detac the USB Interface
    at ' Ports(COM & LPT) ' come out "USB Serial Port" and at the ' Universal Serial Bus controllers ' come out " USB Serial Converter"...


    What happen to my scand USB Interface? Its same whit the first one, but its can not use. what problem?
  • Guenther DaubachGuenther Daubach Posts: 1,321
    edited 2005-10-13 07:56
    Yesterday, I brewed a cup of coffee, and it tasted excellent. Today I brewed another cup of coffee, and it tasts awfully. Im using the same coffee, the same cup, and the same water source - what is the problem?

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    Greetings from Germany,

    G
  • TeeTee Posts: 2
    edited 2005-10-13 08:10
    I check all components , all of its is good and all connection have connect right.
    I also check all then pins of components its connect right...

    can u tell me what can i do...maybe i forget do something...
  • Oliver H. BaileyOliver H. Bailey Posts: 107
    edited 2005-10-14 13:40
    FTDI is one of several manufacturers who make a USB to serial chip. FTDI has the largest market share but have some areas lacking in their drivers. One area to be careful of is adding new devices and creating virtual com ports. I had to clean the registry of about 40 com ports after making changes to the EEPROM. While their drivers haven't improved they have added a couple of utilities that make life easier. I have since started using the SILABS part which has the clock built in ad has fewer external component requirements and better Linux / UNIX and MAC support. I still like and use FTDI whenever I can.

    Oliver Bailey

    By the way if you create too many virtual com ports, FTDI has a program that will clean them out after you disconnect all FTDI based products. They offer it on their web site as a download.
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