Hey, sorry, ran into an error "avrdude: ser_open(): can't open device..." , I know the manual says that its most likely my line in the makefile listing the port, I have it set to COM1, and this is the line as I edited it:

AVRDUDEFLAGS=-c avr109 -p m168 -b 115200 -P COM1

might I have the syntax wrong? Thanks for the help.

Hi jkelly15,

It sounds like the device really isn't installed, or not on COM1. Did you check Device Manager?

COM1 is often reserved for the "real" serial port -- even when there is none present physically, it's sometimes mapped in the BIOS in some ways. To avoid confusion, I'd recommend trying to set your USB-Serial adapter to COM4, and give that a try. Let us know!

Mike

Hi mike, Thanks for the help, I've been using the Device Manager to switch the COM ports around and have tried ports 1-5 and have edited the make file as necesary, but I can't seem to get a different response that the same error message, and uninstalled and re-installed the driver. Thanks for any help.

Hi jkelly15,

Quick thought. Depending on your system, you might need to run the Command Line as administrator so it will have the right permissions. If this is Vista, try right clicking the Command Line icon, and choosing run as administrator. Hope that fixes it.

Humberto

Hi all,

Anyone know what to make of this error message?

avrdude -c avr109 -p m168 -b 115200 -P COM3 -U flash:w:initialload.hex:a

Connecting to programmer: . Found programmer: Id = "S ""; type = p Software Version = V. ; Hardware Version = v. avrdude: error: buffered memory access not supported. Maybe it isn't a butterfly/AVR109 but a AVR910 device? make: *** [initialload-upload] Error 1

SteveL

Hi SteveL,

That is the all encompassing, something went wrong when the computer was trying to talk to the bootloader. There are many things that could cause that error - the most common cause is a loose or misplaced wire. Check the power connections, crystal, and bypass cap to make sure they are all in the right place. Pay special attention to the programming cable wires, make sure they are snug and in the right place.

If it still doesn't work, check your battery. If you have a multimeter around, check the voltage at the battery and the voltage at the rails. If all that fails, post some pictures of your setup, or email us at support <at> nerdkits <dot> com, we will take a look, it is possible your cable is just damaged.

Humberto

Nerdkits Staff,

My setup has the same problem as member stevelefevre. I've recheck all steps up to Step 10c. And everything as instructed to member stevelefevre. All voltages are 4.94VDC, switch ok and display is currently running Step 6. Please help.

Hi Invent01,

Go ahead and send us an email with some pictures of your setup, and if you can some screen caps of the command line. We will try to narrow down the problem and get it fixed up.

Humberto

I have a windows 7 os installed on which i am installing the device driver winPL-2303 for my nerdkit. I have few questions and would apprciate if could get the answers.

1. When i unzip, it shows driver installer and vista driver installer. So which one to install. BTW, i tried both and none seems to work or atleast i dont know if its working..
2. How do u verify that this is installed. In device manager, i nowhere saw prolific written
3. I am using AVRStudio ver 4.18. When i try to connect to my kit, it shows many platforms and against each there is a list of ports. So my confusion is which platform to select in this dialog box. I tried all with Auto port and none worked...

Please help..

Hi sharad,

It appears that the prolific drivers for Windows 7 64 bit are still a bit wonky. One customer pointed out a few days ago that the driver mentioned here works oh Windows 7. Go ahead and give that a try, see if you can see the device on the device manager after installing these drivers.

I highly recommend that you do not try to use AVRStudio until after you are familiar with the command line way of compiling and uploading code. Although it is easier, it abstracts away many of the steps that are going on, and unless you understand those getting an IDE like AVRStudio set up is often more trouble that it is worth.

Let us know if you get your cable working.

Humberto

Thanks very much, Humberto. After playing around little bit with the same set of drivers, i was able to get it to work somehow. Now i am facing another problem. I could compile my first program "initialload" using the same make file. Everything got compiled nicely but it threw up following error when it came to transferring the compiled program on the microcontroller memory.

C:UserssharadguptaDesktopnerdkitscode samples>make avrdude -c avr109 -p m168 -b 115200 -P COM4 -U flash:w:mytest.hex:a

Connecting to programmer: . Found programmer: Id = "Huh? Go"; type = ' Software Version = t. ; Hardware Version = '.S avrdude: error: buffered memory access not supported. Maybe it isn't a butterfly/AVR109 but a AVR910 device? make: *** [mytest-upload] Error 1

I tried both my switches which came with the kit and tried the switch in all direction but the error remained same. Tell me one thing, if i am in programming mode then the LCD should not be displaying the default output "Congratulation.. etc". Its no where explicitly written in any manual but this is what my mind says.

Another related question is (may be very basic but pardon me) does this microcontroller only store and run one program at any given point in time. I mean to ask if i compile another program say "hello.c" then can "hello" and "initialload" coexist...

Anyways, I just want to thank u from the bottom of my heart for putting together such a wonderful kit for ppl like us to get initiated into this. I curse myself for not finding u earlier and having wasted so many years of my life without it...Keep up the good work...

When in program mode, the LCD will not display the "Congratulation..." text. Typically it will show two black bars all the way across the 2nd and 4th rows. If you are getting text on the lcd, then the micro-controller is not in program mode. I would check the position of your switch at pin 14 and the wire going from the ground (blue) rail to your switch.

There are 3 posts on the switch, the outermost should be in the same row as pin14, the center one should be off the chip and in the same row as the wire going to the ground rail. If you have it wired this way, when you slide the switch toward the micro-controller, then disconnect and re-connect the power, the lcd should no longer display the message and the chip should be ready to program.

To answer you question about two programs on the chip co-existing... yes and no... In reality, there are currently two programs on the chip. The bootloader, and the congratulation program. You could also have two other programs, they would however have to reside in the same code. For instance, you could write a program that would have a menu to select two other programs. However the code for the menu and the two others would all be within the same c program and sent to the micro-controller as one. Sorry if thats a bit confusing... It's still early :)

If you are still having problems, take a overhead photo of your setup and post it. It can often help diagnosis.

Rick

Hey Rick, thanks very very much for your quick reply.. i got my understanding correct after your reply....And yes i am able to get my first program written... It worked.. Actually i missed puting the wire from the 25 no slot to gnd.. Stupid me!!!

Once again i would like to add that you are wonderful bunch of people selling a wonderful product... Your customer support system is amazingly fast and infact i would go onto say that you are the fastest and most responsive when it comes to customer support... I truly wish all of you at nerdkits the best of everything!!!!!

Hey we all make mistakes so don't beat yourself up. Wiring mishaps are some of the most common problems people have. It's very easy to do. I'm glad to hear you got it going though. That's one of the good things about problems, the spark the trouble shooter in all of us and from that we learn. That's one of the great things about this kit. It gives you enough info to get into it and get your feet wet, but also leaves enough open to help you "teach yourself".

I do agree with your statements about the NK guys. They are wonderful people with a great product.

Rick

Humberto,

After rereading on how to compile. All is working fine. Thanks for the help.

I cannot turn off my display. I have checked the wiring, changed switches and nothing works. I am a 68 year old n00b taking electronics courses and enjoying every minute. I am running Win7 and have loaded the USB to serial driver but cannot compile code until the display is turned off. Thank you

The display being on shouldn't prevent you from compiling code or uploading it to the microcontroller. What sorts of errors are you seeing?

Hello I have the same problem as jkelly15. Same message and everything. I know that the com port is changing when I change it in the makefile. I also know that when I plug the usb to serial into another usb port my computer recognizes this and the port number changes. I have made the changes in the make file to the changed port but it still gives me the same message. I also get a make: *** [initial-upload] error 1 message. My computer runs windows xp.

There's a loop back programmer test on here somewhere, did you try that?

Newbie, I'm not really sure what the problem is you are experiencing. It is hard to tell exactly what error messages it is you are getting. If you can, please send us an email at support <at> nerdkits <dot> com, and include good close up pictures of your setup, as well as screen shots, of the command line errors you are getting. That will help us get to the bottom of this one.

Humberto

hello Thanks for the responce this is the message I get when I try to down load;

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600] (C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:Documents and Settingsleo bahr>cd; C:Documents and Settingsleo bahr

C:Documents and Settingsleo bahr>cd; C:Documents and Settingsleo bahrDeskto pCodeCodeinitialload

C:Documents and Settingsleo bahrDesktopCodeCodeinitialload>make avrdude -c avr109 -p m168 -b 115200 -P /dev/ttyUSB3 -U flash:w:initialload.hex:a

avrdude: ser_open(): can't open device "/dev/ttyUSB3": The system cannot find th e path specified.

make: *** [initialload-upload] Error 1

C:Documents and Settingsleo bahrDesktopCodeCodeinitialload>dir Volume in drive C has no label. Volume Serial Number is A45B-35D6

Directory of C:Documents and Settingsleo bahrDesktopCodeCodeinitialload

03/29/2010 08:09 PM <DIR> . 03/29/2010 08:09 PM <DIR> .. 03/25/2010 08:41 PM 969 initialload.c 03/29/2010 08:09 PM 21,945 initialload.hex 03/29/2010 08:09 PM 22,212 initialload.o 03/31/2010 07:18 PM 660 Makefile 4 File(s) 45,786 bytes 2 Dir(s) 126,348,300,288 bytes free

C:Documents and Settingsleo bahrDesktopCodeCodeinitialload>make avrdude -c avr109 -p m168 -b 115200 -P /dev/ttyUSB3 -U flash:w:initialload.hex:a

avrdude: ser_open(): can't open device "/dev/ttyUSB3": The system cannot find th e path specified.

make: *** [initialload-upload] Error 1

C:Documents and Settingsleo bahrDesktopCodeCodeinitialload>

Some of this is just me trying to get to the file. Is this correct?

When I first tryed to download and switched the proggramming switch to put the ground on pin 14 the display showed basically no letters just like bars over the screen. Now it is displaying the words for the first program that the controller came with but the "your nerdskit hardware is ok" is not scrolling along. When I take the pin 14 off ground and cycle power the pprogram goes back to normal?? I'am sure I have all the wireing correct.

hello again

found a ground problem and fixed so at least the display is correct and controller is ready for programming as per rick_s suggested. I still cannot down load and get the same error as previous message.

newbie

You need to edit your makefile to represent the COM port your USB adapter is on. (Change the /dev/ttyUSB3 to COMX where the x would represent the com port windows assigned to your adapter.

This is an example from one of my make files:

AVRDUDEFLAGS=-c avr109 -p m168 -b 115200 -P com5

That should be a step in the right way.

Rick

Hello

Thanks for the help!! It worked and programm down loaded. This is fun and a big learning curve. Thanks again.

Newbie

My, aren't we the early nerds, how's the coffee boy's. Nothin like gettin the ole micro fired up first think, eh?

I get up around the same time every morning Grant... 5:10AM CDT. My internal alarm wakes me almost every day then...

That would be right about now, mst. Good Saturday to ya. I got my drivers installed for the signalyzer but am still baffled by winavr, my other tool chains use winarm, same dude so my computers don't want me programming anymore. So have a good one, I'll do ok. Oh, I'm the night owl.

I'm the exact opposite, early to be, early to rise.... still waiting for the healthy, wealthy, and wise!!! :)