Wierd download problem.

[devosbi]

I'm having a strange issue with my PICAXE 18X on the project board, it has been working fine up until now (i am unsure the cause of the problem) but the PICAXE refuses to download code.

When i attempt to the software tells me it cannot connect / find it.
What make this even more odd, is the PICAXE seems functional and runs the code i last put on it fine.

I have tried resetting it, checked the download circuit and tried it on a different PC all without results.

Please help

 

[Andrew Cowan]

Have you tried doing a hard reset once the download bar appears?

A

 

[devosbi]

I have tried a hard reset, both with holding down the button and by disconnecting the power, both did not work.

 

[inglewoodpete]

Download problems: More details

Welcome to the forum.

Please answer all questions. The more information you can give us, the easier it will be to help. ...and the quicker the solution!

Which download cable are you using? If it is a USB to serial adapter, who manufactured it and where did you get it from? Have you recently changed cables?

Power supply. How are you powering the 18x? Battery or mains? If mains, are you using a regulated supply?

Which project board are you using?

 

[slimplynth]

Hi Devosbi

I had trouble downloading to an 18X on a dev board (AXE090) recently... weird thing was if I went to the options menu and performed the serial connection test first.. closed the options screen and attempted download, it worked every time... but never worked without the connection test first.. same error as yours.

 

[devosbi]

I am using the Serial RS232 Cable, that connects to my PC's COM port. No USB for this one. It came with the development board (A proper little kit thing, with the cable, CD and board), not 100% who the manafacturer is though.

The cable has remained the same since I got it, and i have had success with this cable in the past.

The power supply is a 3 AA battery box, but i have also tried it with a desktop lab powersupply.

The board is the CHI-030.

 

[inglewoodpete]

I am using the Serial RS232 Cable, that connects to my PC's COM port. No USB for this one. It came with the development board (A proper little kit thing, with the cable, CD and board), not 100% who the manafacturer is though.

The cable has remained the same since I got it, and i have had success with this cable in the past.

The power supply is a 3 AA battery box, but i have also tried it with a desktop lab powersupply.

The board is the CHI-030.

Not having the USB lead makes testing a lot simpler.

The three areas where I would start looking are:
* Try some fresh batteries
* Test the serial lead. Go to the Programming Editor's Options panel (Serial Port tab) and work through the serial lead test process.
* CHI-030: Are you feeding the 4.5v via the 100 ohm restor or have you removed the resistor? (Feeding the PICAXE and darlington driver separately)

 

[hippy]

One thing which can be a boon is to have another PICAXE board to compare with. If one works but the other doesn't it likely narrows it down to a board-based fault, if both don't work it's more likely to be a cable, PC or software configuration issue ( unless you've been very unlucky and both boards have failed - in which case check batteries ).

The AXE021 PICAXE-08 Proto Board, an 08/08M and BAT020 3xAA Battery Box is great for that and not too expensive. I don't think there's any real saving in building your own strip-board version and using the proto board PCB means you don't have to spend much time checking you've got power and download wired correctly.

I'd add a LED + R to the Jack's RX in so you can see the Serial Test results and then it can easily be used for cable testing. Plus, having it pre-programmed to display a message can check the PICAXE to PC side of things.