Try using Lynxterm. It does not need to “connect” in order to do the upgrade.
o Jumper the baud rate jumpers for firmware upgrade
o Open Lynxterm
o Select Firmware
o Select Open
o browse to where the *.abl file is located and select either
1-06XE.abl for mega 8
2-01XE_BETA1.abl for mega 168
o Select Firmware Update
o Cross fingers and maybe say a little prayer. 
This should bring it back to life. Hope it helps.
Just tried it and no go =(
I get this error
Error Verifying address : 1EC0 (Hex)
Firmware update failed
You may check the SSC-32 power supply, communication parameters
and serial connection and then retry to update the firmware.
I tried that part extra hard too =(
well first, there are several jumpers on the SSC-32 card. You need to check the following:
1.) is the card set for PC communication? check manual for jumper settings.
2.) are the jumpers to enable the data cable (DB9) correct? again, check manual for picture reference.
3.) check that the jumpers for a forced update is correctly setup. check manual.
4.) try again
I’m looking into it.
hey SN96
I just rechecked all of those and no go, I never changed any of the jumpers other then the BAUD jumper for jumper firmware update so all of the jumpers are still in the same position as they where when the board was last working and the way i received it from lynxmotion.
Haha,
i think you miss to power cycle the card before clicking “begin update”
i have tried all the process here, i can get this error message if i miss the step 2 : “power cycke the card”…
i was able to flash with the wrong firmware then restore to V1.06XE with lynxterm 
use Lynxterm to correct this :
1 : set the jumper as describe in the jumper method picture
2 : power cycle the card (wait 5 second when off before switching on again)
3 : click begin update
it should work…let us know
note RIOS V1.05 will block wrong firmware update to avoid this issue
Nope didn’t miss the power cycle step and i just re tried it and waited 5 seconds like you said and still nothing same error pops up.
I am also using lynxterm as everyone has mentioned.
Also though i would add that when i initially click firmware update i first get an error stating
Unable to update firmware with the “software method”
It give me an option to hit cancel too retry this method or to hit Yes to update the firmware with the Jumper Method.
Rift, make sure you have the Lynxterm set to 115.2 kbaud for software updates! Is that what you are doing? Also are you using a USB to serial cable?
Lynxterm set to 115.2 kbaud for the software and I’m using a standard serial cable no usb to serial adapters. I even checked in windows to make sure the serial port was operating at 115.2 kbaud.
Um, could you check again the jumper position on the baud pins ?
it should cross the baud pins “near” the SSC-32 chip (close to the “BAUD” text) not near the servos pins.
Yes the jumper is right next to the word BAUD crossing the pins like illustrated in the Manuel.
i’ve tried 3 times here, without any problem…
i just can think of a power supply issue,
maybe you can try with all servos disconnected.
…as the green led is no more enable, do you have a way to make sure the power supply is really on ? it could be a problem with the round power supply plug ?
please make sure there’s voltage on the SSC-32 card…dunno
Yup that was the first thing i thought of i happened to have a little LED light that plugs into a 9volt battery i took the 9volt battery adapter that came with the kit plugged it up to that and then attached the wire ends to the round power supply cable and the light turned on. So the power supply isn’t the culprit here.
I have also tried to do this with all the servos disconnected and still nothing happens.
I wonder if the 9v battery is low. I had a problem one time where I could not program my MCU (Micocontroller) even though the LED light was ON. I replaced the battery with a fresh one, and Walla! I was able to program it again.
Even though the 9v battery is not dead, it could have just enough power to light the LED but that’s about it. Is the battery new?
We have tested this and it does work. The only thing left is a low battery. Remove everything from the SSC-32 and power it only with a good fresh 9vdc battery on the VL input.
Just went to get a completely new pack of battery’s even tho the one i was using was brand new. I did exactly like you said unplugged everything from the SSC-32 using only power from the VL input of a brand new out of the box 9volt, followed the instruction for jumper firmware update, i first got the software update error then clicked yes to do jumper update i then removed one jumper and placed one along the word BAUD, then i unplugged the 9volt for 5 seconds to imitate the power cycle phase and hit update.
The status bar goes through the erasing, and writing phase but then when it hits verifying it errors and i get that original error i mentioned.
There is no doubt in my mind that this method does work its just not working for me =/
Also what i meant about the LED light was that it was attached to the battery adapter which was then attached directly to the power supply end provided with the kit, this was done to test the fact that current was coming from that power supply (i don’t have a volt meter handy right now) which it was.
where are you located?
Brooklyn New York
Man, this is one tough issue. There is nothing else I can think of at this point. I think Jim went home for the day.
There is only one more thing to try, and it probably wont help and it’s a long shot, but have you tried rebooting your PC?
This is goofy… Let me send you a new chip.
Please email or PM me your complete address.
Problem solved… Next! lol
