Getting Started

[waltsar]

I'm just getting started using Pixaxe and have already run into a problem. I'm using a 14m2 starter board Axe117. I'm trying to download a simple 5-line program to flash an LED. The problem: when I try to download this program to the board, I get a message "Error: no hardware found on com5!" I've checked out the cable and it checks O.K.. In Device manager I find the cable listed and it says "This device is working". Further, it shows that it is on com5 which is the com number I chose when I configured the program. The power to the board is a solid 4.5 volts - I'm stumped!

Any help will be very much appreciated!

Walt

 

[kfjl]

Hi,
We're all stumped without photos of what you're trying to get working....

 

[Buzby]

Did you assemble the board yourself ?. If so, a photo of the front and back will help us a lot.

It could be a solder splash shorting something. Do you have a multimeter to help diagnose the problem ?.

Have you done the 'paper clip loopback' test ?

 

[hippy]

"Hardware not found" usually indicates that the PICAXE has failed to respond to the download initiation rather than there being anything wrong with the cable, driver installation or board and is usually solved with a Hard Reset procedure.

To Hard Reset; keep everything connected, turn the power off to the PICAXE, wait a few seconds, initiate a download the about a second later turn on the power to the board. This should cause the PICAXE to accept the download.

Th order is important; power off, download, power on, and the timing can be a little tricky to get right at first as the PICAXE must be powered up before PE6 decides it's not there.

One thing to check is that the AXE027 jack is fully pushed into the jack socket.

 

[waltsar]

Hi Hippy,

Thanks for the reply! I tried the hard reset multiple times with varying time intervals of reapplying power with no success. One comment - in the manual, it states that when doing a hard reset, power should be reapplied just after the download status bar appears on the screen - that status bar never appears on my screen, just the error message "Program failed ..... Hardware not found on com5" (does that mean that the PC sees nothing connected to com5 and therefore doesn't send anything out?). I tried to attach pictures of the board, cable, and screenshot as .jpg files but they would not load (a line through the file names).

In answer to some of the other replies, I did the cable loopback test and it checks out O.K. I assembled the board myself - and I've checked all the solder joints with a magnifying glass and done a point-to-point continuity check of all inputs, socket pins, outputs, etc as well as checking all adjcent solder connections for shorts - so far everything seems to be properly done.

Is there any test that can be done to see if the PC is actually communicating with the board?

Again, thank you all for the replies, they are greatly appreciated,
Walt

 

[inglewoodpete]

Hi Hippy,

Thanks for the reply! I tried the hard reset multiple times with varying time intervals of reapplying power with no success. One comment - in the manual, it states that when doing a hard reset, power should be reapplied just after the download status bar appears on the screen - that status bar never appears on my screen, just the error message "Program failed ..... Hardware not found on com5" (does that mean that the PC sees nothing connected to com5 and therefore doesn't send anything out?). I tried to attach pictures of the board, cable, and screenshot as .jpg files but they would not load (a line through the file names).

When you click on the "Program" Button, the message "Searching for hardware on COM..." should appear in the bottom right of the PE window for about 5 seconds. For a hard reset/program-reload, you should apply power to your PICAXE board during this period. If the PE is unable to communicate with your PICAXE board, a popup window titled "Program Failed" will appear, with the message "Error: Hardware not found on COM...!"

In answer to some of the other replies, I did the cable loopback test and it checks out O.K. I assembled the board myself - and I've checked all the solder joints with a magnifying glass and done a point-to-point continuity check of all inputs, socket pins, outputs, etc as well as checking all adjcent solder connections for shorts - so far everything seems to be properly done.

Is there any test that can be done to see if the PC is actually communicating with the board?

Again, thank you all for the replies, they are greatly appreciated,
Walt

Since your cable appears to be working OK, if you have a multimeter and/or test LED (with a series 330ohm current limiting resistor). Using one of these to diagnose the fault, you should see the voltage on Leg 2 (SerIn) go high when a download is attempted (Leg 2 is normally pulled low by the 10K + 22k resistors). In response to this, the PICAXE 14M2 should respond by outputting a brief 'blip' or two of data on Leg 13 (SerOut) during the download attempt. Leg 13 is normally held low and the data pulsing will go high (Eg +5v or thereabouts).

Let us know how you get on.

 

[bpowell]

What are you using for the connection from PC to AXE board? A cable provided by RevEd? Something you made?

 

[The bear]

Hi,
Have you got the Picaxe I.C. in the correct way?
It has been known!
I could be black listed for this.
Good luck.................

 

[hippy]

I could be black listed for this.

Nah, not for pointing out things which could well be the issue.

If the cable tests okay then one would presume the issue is not with the cable or the software but it would be useful to know if that is an AXE027 or something else.

If it's not the cable or software that does point to the issue being with the board or something hardware related. Unfortunately that could be anything which could be wrong.

The first thing I would check is that power is getting to the PICAXE chip pins, that there correct components are fitted in the right place, the right way round, that there are no open-circuit, or shorts, errant solder splashes and the like.

We do have a Fault Finding guide which may be of help : https://picaxe.com/faqs/fault-finding

It will help to post a photo of your board to see if other eyes can spot something amiss. If the attachment uploader rejected your JPEG files it may be that they were too large; you may have to run them through some photo-editing software to reduce their size or resolution.

 

[kfjl]

Back in post #2 I asked for pictures because I thought waltsar was a victim of the world's most stupid name for a starter kit: "The AXE117 PICAXE-14M Project Board Kit" is sold WITHOUT a PICAXE-14M.

 

[neiltechspec]

I think you looked at the wrong item.
Not the 'Project Board'. He did say the 'Starter Board', this comes with a 14m2 & Axe027.
That's assuming it is the Starter kit he purchased.

 

[inglewoodpete]

Hi,
Have you got the Picaxe I.C. in the correct way?
It has been known!
I could be black listed for this.
Good luck.................

That reminds me of a case, some years ago, of one poor enthusiast who managed to solder all of the components on the wrong side of the board.

 

[kfjl]

I think you looked at the wrong item.
Not the 'Project Board'. He did say the 'Starter Board', this comes with a 14m2 & Axe027.
That's assuming it is the Starter kit he purchased.

Yes, I think you're right.
Stumped again then.

 

[waltsar]

Gentlemen,

Thank you all for your help. I've tried all the suggestions you've made and unfortunately, I still have the same problem. To answer a few of your questions ... I have the 14M2 starter kit and it comes with the Axe027 cable. I've checked all the connections again (point-to-point) with an ohmmeter - no shorts/no opens. The chips are in the correct way and the pins are securely in the sockets. The Win10 Device manager tells me I've got an Axe027 cable on Com5 and that's how the program is configured - from this, I assume that I've got the right drivers installed in all the right places.

So far, the only thing I've found that looks strange to me is a constant AC voltage on pin 13 of the processor (it's probably a pulse stream - I'm using the HZ function on my meter set on AC volts). It presents as 208.4 HZ and the voltage jumps around as you'd expect when reading pulses with a meter. All the other pins (except +V) are a solid zero volts.

Thanks again for your replies,
Walt

 

[AllyCat]

Hi,

All the other pins (except +V) are a solid zero volts.

Look again at post #6 from inglewoodpete.

In particular, check that Leg 2 goes High for a few seconds when you attempt a download, If not, then that is your problem.

If it does go High and Leg 13 doesn't respond, then that is probably the issue (Faulty PICaxe, PSU or Hardware, etc.).

Cheers, Alan.

 

[hippy]

So far, the only thing I've found that looks strange to me is a constant AC voltage on pin 13 of the processor (it's probably a pulse stream - I'm using the HZ function on my meter set on AC volts).

Leg 13 of a 14M2 is the Serial Output pin so that sounds to me like the PICAXE is running its "I'm alive" pre-programmed test program.

To check that you can open the Terminal window within PE6 - Press the F8 function key to bring that up,. Ensure the COM Port is set to "COM5 AXE027 PICAXE USB" and Baud Rate to 4800. If it is running that test program you should see something like "I am your PICAXE-14M2" being repeatedly printed.

If so that means the PICAXE is working and what it is sending is being received by PE6.

 

[waltsar]

Leg 13 of a 14M2 is the Serial Output pin so that sounds to me like the PICAXE is running its "I'm alive" pre-programmed test program.

To check that you can open the Terminal window within PE6 - Press the F8 function key to bring that up,. Ensure the COM Port is set to "COM5 AXE027 PICAXE USB" and Baud Rate to 4800. If it is running that test program you should see something like "I am your PICAXE-14M2" being repeatedly printed.

If so that means the PICAXE is working and what it is sending is being received by PE6.

Hi Hippy,

Still not able to download the program to the 14M2 board/chip. Here is the sequence I followed:

In PE6 Editor/Workspace Explorer, the following are listed:
Picaxe Type = Picaxe - 14-M2
Comport = Com5 Axe027 Picaxe USB
Simulation = Picaxe 14-M2

I pressed F8 and Serial Terminal pop-up window showed: 4800 baud, etc.
Then this statement repeated over and over "Receive Buffer: "hello, I am your Picaxe 14-M2"
I closed the window and went back to the program page - I clicked on "PICAXE" and from the "Download" box chose "Program" - on the lower right of the screen, this message, "Searching for hardware on Com5" - after 2 seconds, this message: "Program Failed...Error: Hardware not found on Com5!".

This seems to mean that the PC/PE6 Editior are able to communicate with the 14M2 board/chip. So, what does "not able to find hardware on Com5" mean?

Again, thanks for all the help,
Walt

 

[AllyCat]

Hi,

This seems to mean that the PC/PE6 Editior are able to communicate with the 14M2 board/chip.

No, it means that the Editor is able to receive data from the PICaxe, but not that it is able to send data to the PICaxe's input. Hence the suggestions in #6 and #15 to check if Leg 2 is being raised High to initiate the programming procedure (immediately after the program load is attempted). The "Hardware Not Found" message indicates that a download was attempted (by sending a High voltage level) but that the required response was not received from the PICaxe.

Cheers, Alan.

 

[Buzby]

Definitely sounds like a dodgy socket, or soldering error in that area.

We already know the cable is OK, because it passed the 'paper clip' test.

We know at least 2 of the 3 contacts in the socket are working, because we see 'Hello, I am your PICAXE'

Please post clear pictures of front and back of board, we might see something you missed. ( We all miss something sometimes ! )

Cheers,

Buzby

 

[waltsar]

Definitely sounds like a dodgy socket, or soldering error in that area.

We already know the cable is OK, because it passed the 'paper clip' test.

We know at least 2 of the 3 contacts in the socket are working, because we see 'Hello, I am your PICAXE'

Please post clear pictures of front and back of board, we might see something you missed. ( We all miss something sometimes ! )

Cheers,

Buzby

Hi Buzby and others,

It's Alive!!! - Gentlemen, thank you all so much for all your help! Buzby was right- the problem turned out to be a faulty solder joint on the socket. It was not connecting the Serial In signal to the board. A quick dab of solder and the system now works. I downloaded the program and connected an LED to output 4 and Viola- a blinking red light.

This was a good experience for me - I learn best by doing something instead of studying about it. And this troubleshooting experience allowed me to really dig into the system and gain a much better understanding.

Again, thank you all for your patience and willingness to share your expertise with a newbie. I hope someday in the future I will have acquired enough knowledge about Picaxe to help out some other beginner who's pulling out his hair (I hope that at least some of mine will grow back in).

Walt

p.s. I'm absolutely sure that I will be posting questions on the forum for quite a while. It's been 20 years since I worked with electronic equipment and even longer since I did any programming.

 

[AllyCat]

Hi,

Since your cable appears to be working OK, if you have a multimeter ...... you should see the voltage on Leg 2 (SerIn) go high when a download is attempted ...

The answer was at #6 (and several times later) but probably "hidden" or lost by subsequent posts. A common problem in forums where multiple replies are given without a response from the OP, perhaps because we're in different time zones. Here, in particular the UK, USA and Australia have been involved (and also some of us keep quite "strange" hours).

Cheers, Alan.

 

[hippy]

This seems to mean that the PC/PE6 Editior are able to communicate with the 14M2 board/chip. So, what does "not able to find hardware on Com5" mean?

"Hardware not found" indicates PE6 initiated a download, raised the Serial Input line high to signal a download to the PICAXE, but the PICAXE did not acknowledge that.

That can be due to the PICAXE being busy doing something and not seeing the signal, which a Hard Reset will usually resolve, or some kind of hardware fault, as here, which is preventing the signal getting to the PICAXE input.

Glad you got it resolved..

 

[Gramps]

Thanks for this clear walkthrough!
This thread aught to be up on the "Read before you post." header.
Well do I remember my "Error: no hardware found on com5!" PHOW (Pounding Head On Workbench) day!
Thanks to all for an outstanding forum!
Gramps