problem programming 20m2

[haexapodim]

HELLO
i use a axe118 board and axe027 usb cable to program my picaxe.
It's working with all my picaxe 20m, but as soon as i try with picaxe 20 m2 i have this message :
check power
check cable
do a reset

Some body can help me ?

THANKS

 

[nick12ab]

Have you done a reset? All new chips are preprogrammed to send a message to the computer terminal saying "Hello I am your PICAXE-XY" and need a hard reset for their first reprogram.

 

[haexapodim]

how can i do a hard reste (switch off then switch on the board)?

 

[Technical]

Have you done a reset? All new chips are preprogrammed to send a message to the computer terminal saying "Hello I am your PICAXE-XY" and need a hard reset for their first reprogram.

This is not true, you do not need to do a hard reset on a new chip. However a hard reset is not a bad thing to try. Simply connect the power after the 'download progress bar' appears on screen.
Have you updated your software to support the 20M2 chip/selected the correct 20M2 mode?

 

[haexapodim]

i have done the hardware reset but it still not working
I have selected 20m2 in the option window
i really don't understand why it doesn't work

help

 

[nick12ab]

• If you press the Check Firmware Version button in Programming Editor in the Options dialog then turn on the project board, does it tell you what the firmware version is?
• Is the programming cable fully inserted in the project board?
• Are you using the same USB port as usual for programming?

Technical, was the need for the hard reset on a new chip never true or was it once true but no longer true?

 

[haexapodim]

when i press the Check Firmware Version button in Programming Editor :
if a 20 m is connected i can read the parameters of the picaxe
if a 20 m2 is connected it send me an error message

so i don't understand why is working with a 20m and not with a 20 m2

 

[nick12ab]

Can you provide scans or photographs of the top-side and underside of the project board top and bottom with the 20M2 inserted?

A few weeks ago I came up with a 'diagnosis list' of steps to perform including 'check that the chip isn't running hot' or similar - I'll post it when I find it.

 

[haexapodim]

THE TWO photographs :

 

[Technical]

If a 20M works then the 20M2 should also work immediately. Consider trying another 20M2 chip?

nick - never, not sure where you got that idea from!

 

[haexapodim]

I have tried with three differents 20 m2
and
it's still not working
.....

 

[nick12ab]

Sorry, the checklist was for a serial LCD module.

It looks like you do have the PICAXE in the correct way.

@Technical, it was probably because I'm impatient with things like that and I don't often use the pause command so if the download doesn't start pretty much instantly, I assume that it needs a hard reset and I do that before the timeout. I tested it and the delay was around a second with my unused 40X2.

 

[haexapodim]

should i connnect the pin 0 to 0V via 10 K resistor, or let it floating, or do something else??

 

[nick12ab]

should i connnect the pin 0 to 0V via 10 K resistor, or let it floating, or do something else??

Pin 0 of the project board, the PICAXE or what? In the case of PICAXE or project board terminals connecting to the PICAXE, do you mean pinC.0 or pinB.0?

 

[haexapodim]

i was talking about the pin number 10 of the picaxe (C.0)
At this time it is connected to 0V via 10K resistor

 

[nick12ab]

haexapodim - how would that resistor on a non-programming pin make a difference.

Just in case you did it wrong, can you outline your hard reset procedure please. A beginner's mistake is thinking that you need to power on the PICAXE before pressing or at the same time as pressing Program but you need to do it about a second afterwards.

 

[nick12ab]

If you open up the PICAXE terminal with a new PICAXE-20M2 connected and set the terminal to 4800 (or possibly 9600) baud, do you get a message saying "Hello I am your PICAXE-20M2"?

 

[haexapodim]

Concerning the reset procedure i power on the picaxe after pressing program
I have opened the picaxe terminal and set to 4800 but what i have to do after ?

 

[nick12ab]

what i have to do after ?

You've got to look out for a 'hello' message like this one:

Overhyping of my first ever use of a PICAXE-28X2 above! Note that 9600 baud is for X2 parts only.

Also note that a new unused PICAXE has to be connected and powered on. I don't own a 20M2 but there's no reason why Rev-Ed wouldn't program it to do the same.

 

[haexapodim]

nothing appears :

 

[nick12ab]

Do you have unused 20Ms and 20X2s that you can also test?

Are you using batteries?

 

[haexapodim]

no i don't have any more unused picaxe
i'm using 3 1.5 v batteries

 

[nick12ab]

i'm using 3 1.5 v batteries

Can you check the voltage of these with a multimeter. A regulated 5v supply is recommended for testing.

 

[pha555]

Return to using your PICAXE-20M. Once you are sure you can download, use a meter to monitor terminal 19 relative to ground. When idle, this should be near ground. When you start to download this should rise to near 5 VDC.

Then, try the same with the 20M2. Again, when idle, it should be near ground. When you start to download this should rise to near 5 VDC.

Please let me know.

Peter Anderson

 

[haexapodim]

thanks for help
i 'll try that tomorow and i will tell you if it's working or not

 

[John West]

Return to using your PICAXE-20M. Once you are sure you can download, use a meter to monitor terminal 19 relative to ground. When idle, this should be near ground. When you start to download this should rise to near 5 VDC.

Then, try the same with the 20M2. Again, when idle, it should be near ground. When you start to download this should rise to near 5 VDC.

Please let me know.

Peter Anderson

That's an excellent idea for folks with only a multimeter handy who need to check for data flow, doc. Whatever the voltage fluctuation looks like, on whatever type multimeter is used, it should appear the same for both chips. I'll keep that trick in mind. Thank you.

 

[inglewoodpete]

Another thought. Everyone is assuming that you are using the same circuit board and swapping the chip from 20M to 20M2 and back again.

Can you confirm that you are using only one axe118 board for all your testing?

 

[haexapodim]

yes i'm using the same board for both 20 m and 20 m2

there's something strange about the voltage fluctuation. It's not the same for the both chips :

20 M : 0 V to 0,5V when downloading
20 M2 : 0,2V when downloading or not

 

[Goeytex]

What is the Supply Voltage at Picaxe terminal 1 when the M2 is inserted ?

A low supply voltage when the M2 is inserted would suggest an internally shorted pin on the M2.

Goey.

 

[hippy]

there's something strange about the voltage fluctuation. It's not the same for the both chips :

20 M : 0 V to 0,5V when downloading
20 M2 : 0,2V when downloading or not

There's something wrong in both cases. The reading should be closer to 4,5V rather than 0,5V for the 20M.

Under what circumstances are you measuring the voltage - when downloading or using the serial port test ?

 

[haexapodim]

the voltage is measuring during downloading

 

[hippy]

Try a serial port test : View -> Options -> Serial Port, tick Show Port Help Tools, click Test Port.

 

[haexapodim]

with both picaxe i obtain
0V when green led is turned off
4.88V when green led is turned on

 

[Goeytex]

The 20M working and the 20M2 not working suggests a bad 20M2.

However I would remove the ULN2803A, disconnect any separate supply, and try again
before declaring the M2 as bad.

Alternatively I would put the M2 on a breadboard with the minimum circuit and test, eliminating
any possible problem related to the AXE018.

 

[haexapodim]

I have build a board with the minimum circuit (resistors 10 and 22K, a jack) and the problem is still the same

Considering that i have bought four 20m2 a week ago, and that i have tried to programmed each of them, i don't think that all the 20m2 are bad

 

[hippy]

Everything seems okay. If the 20M2 is not working but 20M is then there seems three possibilities -

1) It's damaged - seems unlikely for three 20M2's.

2) The three are not 20M2's - are they labelled as "PICAXE-20M2" on the top of the chip or do they have a PICxxFxxx number ?

3) They are simply not responding. If that's the case then a Hard Reset should fix things so perhaps retry that ...

Turn power off
Leave for a few seconds
Initiate a download
Wait for the title bar of the pop-up to show "Connecting to hardware ..."
Turn the power back on

If it doesn't work immediately try a few more times, try with the other 20M2 chips, and it may be worth disconnecting whatever is connected to the AXE118 output pins in case that is creating some phantom powering situation preventing hard Reset from working.

 

[Goeytex]

Please take Photo of this new board and post ....

 

[nick12ab]

Please take Photo of this new board and post ....

Or better still, scan it. A blurry photograph doesn't allow us to see the label on the chips. For close-up shots, VGA cameras on entry-level phones work better than £100 compacts since the VGA cameras tend to be able to focus very close up.

 

[Technical]

We think that this should be much simpler to solve, if 20m work then the logical conclusion now is the 20m2 are not working, every other test has already been done. We are quite happy to test them if they are sent back to us.

 

[haexapodim]

thank you for help
but it will more expensive to send them back to you than buy new one.
i will test new 20m2 in a few days