I recently got a BotBoard 2 and a BasicAtom Pro 28.
Until now i have a little bit experience with electronics, but no experience at all with microcontrollers.
So, i unpacked both the BB2 and the Atom Pro very carefully and plugged the Atom Pro into the board.
I am absolutely shure that all pins are connecting and there is none of the pins bend to the inside of the socket.
After that i connected only a 6v Power Source (5 cell NIMH) to the VS input and nothing else.
Jumpers installed are only the VS/VL jumper, the VS jumper for the first servo connector block and the jumper for the speaker.
I assume when enabling the power the green LED should light and then nothing else should happen.
But when i enable power the green light goes on, the speaker gives a “click” and after a pause of about 2 seconds the speaker starts clicking with about 10 clicks per second… until i switch the power off.
When attaching a servo to the first servo connector the servo starts moving “crazy” when the speaker starts giving the continous clicks.
What am i doing wrong ?
I read a lot of threads here but did not find any solution.
Do i have to connect the serial connection ? (assume not)
Can my Board or the Atom Pro be defective ?
Did i insert the Atom Pro in the correct direction (inserted it with the 2 yellow SMD´s facing the Speaker, as it can be seen on other images).
your pin is installed correctly. Atom Pro with the 2 yellow SMD´s facing the Speaker,
If the microcontroller is installed backwards it will not be
damaged by the Bot Board, but it will not be recognized by the IDE.
The green power (PWR) LED should glow if the regulator is getting the
proper power.
You must make sure to connect the battery or wall pack with
the proper polarity. This means the red wire is positive (+) and the black
wire is ground (-).
If you connect the battery or wall pack with the polarity
reversed, the regulator and the microcontroller can be instantaneously and
permanently damaged! Check your wiring carefully before applying power.
not sure why the speaker is clicking!
have you tried connecting 9v?
VS is Servo Motor Power Input (4.8 - 7.2vdc) and VL is Electronics Power Input (6.0 - 9vdc)
And it does not matter if i connect the power to the VS or to the VL connector… due to the VS/VL connector the power source should always power the electronics even if only connected to the VS.
Its always the same problem…
Personally I can not tell from your description if you have a problem or not. It is always possible that they preloaded some hello world type program on your chip.
I have not seen any mention of you trying to hook this up to the IDE. Have you installed the IDE and hooked up a serial cable to the BB2. Have you tried running the IDE and configure the serial port. For example go to the tools menu and select the Prefferences menu item. In this dialog click on the Find AtomPro button. Does it find your chip on the serial port connected to the BB2? If it does find your BAP, can you now download a program?
Yes, i tried to connect with the IDE but without any success.
But i only had a USB to RS232 converter.
Right now i am at work but later i will try again using a standard serial cable…
If the connections works i will try to clear the chip.
Otherwise i guess i have to contact the retailer.
Thanks for your hints, i will update the thread after trying again
Yes the Atom has a program installed from the factory. The program’s job is to cycle all of the I/O pins on and off. The chip is dutifully following the instructions in the program it was tested with.
You will need to program the chip with a useful program to make your robot work. 8)
My chip does the same thing, the problem though is that i can’t get any of the IDE to recognize the AtomPro. My basic chip works fine but when i install the AtomPro into the bot board it just starts the speakers clicking.
Ive tried just about everything so i ordered another AtomPro and i’m going to test and see if its something on my end or if the chip is really faulty
my PC is a self-made one running Windows XP SP3 (Quad Core Intel, 4 GB RAM).
The problem is that there is no Com Port.
The Mainboard has one com port but i do not have a connector for it.
Thats why i use a USB to serial adapter.
Mine is made by Logilink, based on the Prolific 2303 chip.
According to the vendor it does not need a powered hub.
I tried to connect the BB2 via the USB adapter and was not able to communicate using the IDE.
I downloaded the actual 8.0.1.7.
After testing the connection my PC does not recognize the USB adapter anymore!!!
When i insert it windows only says that there is a new “unknown device”.
Tried to re-install the driver, also tried to use the adapter on different operating system (same pc) and it also did not work.
Seems that the BB2 destroyed my adapter.
Very strange…
The argument about the factory testing program sounds good and i will of course test it again with a “real” com port, using a “real” serial cable.
But i dont know yet on what computer. Probably i will get a laptop from work to test it…
What logic do you apply to come to this conclusion? It could just as easily be a Windows driver issue, or a damaged usb cable due to static discharge. I’m not saying the Bot Board didn’t damage the cable, I’m just saying I don’t follow the logic that it did. I’m not sure how it could though. It only has 3 connections. Ground, TX, and RX. The PC on the other hand talks to the IC on the cable to know what it is and how to deal with it. It’s the PC that isn’t recognizing the cable.
Hi Jim, it was not meant this way…
I am not shure about anything anymore…
Its just that i used the usb adapter several times during the last months without any problem… and after connecting it to the botboard it brokes down… so, the suggestion was not far…
Meanwhile i tested the adapter on my tablet pc, which unfortunately also has no com port… and the usb adapter is not working.
It was never connected there before and it was a fresh driver installation.
I can not explain why it does not work anymore and i agree that the board could not damage it by logic, but… hmmm… i hopefully manage to get a laptop with com port tomorrow for testing, then i will know
My PC is a Gateway GT5628 running Windows Vista Home Premium.
I’m not sure about the USB to serial but its the one that lynxmotion sells
I have an Atom28 and my new AtomPro28 is the one i am having trouble with.
I’m using Atompro IDE ver 8.0.1.7 for the atompro and Atom IDE 5.3.1.0 for the Atom 28.
I’m not having any problems with my old Atom, its just the new one i recieved. When i try and get the IDE to recognize it the series of clicks the speaker emits is restared, like the microcontroller is being reset, but thats as far as i’ve gotten with it.
Sorry, wrong item, its the DB9 cable lynxmotion sells. I don’t think thats the problem though since its the same cable i use for my old atom 28 running on the botboard II works fine… Im out of ideas
I adjusted the hold time starting from zero raising it in increments of 5 till i reached the default of 25 then i continued up to 100 in increments of 10 but the IDE still didn’t recognize the atompro…
Ok you have a desktop pc with true serial port. The Atom works but the Atom Pro does not. The Pro does make the click sounds so we know it is functional.
The Atom Pro is faster and therefore puts more of a strain on the serial system. In other words if there is anything preventing the serial system from operating in a high speed way you will notice it with the Pro before the Atom.
Also try a new fresh 9vdc battery on the Bot Board just to rule it out.
Other items of interest. It is generally not possible to have more than one program that uses the serial port open at the same time. Usually the first one open will not release it until the program is closed. Not sure if this applies to you, but I needed to mention it.
You said you got a new Atom Pro. Have you tried it yet?
I am assuming you are opening an *.bas program and clicking program. Can you tell me specifically what you mean by “not recognize the Atom”? HTH
