I tried one last time to flash the firmware, and I reset the board also. i don’t really have a windows machine that I can use. Should I just buy a new board? or is there any other hope for this board.
I am very tired of trying for 5 hours different things, and them not working.
There is a significant probability that you damaged your board if you connected 12V to the two pins you specified. But if you didn’t, and you purchase a new board and have the same issue… I know I’d feel pretty angry at the whole situation if that happened to me. That is why I suggested you make sure it was the board before purchasing a new one.
If you purchase a new board from V1 with the appropriate firmware installed, you get around the issue regardless of what is wrong. You won’t have to flash new firmware to get up and running.
Okay, I’ll ask the silly question: In your pictures there is nothing connected to the USB type-B port. That is the power source for the Arduino part of the board as well as the cable that programs the board. I assume you were using a USB cable to that port, but you didn’t mention it.
I have the same board and haven’t had any problems with it.
Do you have a screen TFT, or some other?
Mike
The arduino only gets power from 12V. The usb to serial chip gets powered from the usb, but not the arduino main processor, which you are trying to flash. You need to power the 12V while flashing.
I had the usb and 12v power conectes while flashing.
I also bought the FTDI board that one of you recommended for bypassing the usb. So when I get, I’ll try it.
If it doesn’t work with that, I might see how much it costs to at least check the board by a professional. If there is something wrong and if it’s worth it, I’ll get it fixed.
If not I’ll just buy a new one
As mentioned before, using a windows machine with a new cable and XLoader will likely tell you more than anything else. Even taking it into a professional, having the XLoader and the binary on a USB stick or SD card that they could test would be a quick way to eliminate most of the potential issues besides a damaged board.
With that said, if you want to try the FTDI board, it hooks up here:
I believe the TX of the FTDI board goes to the RX of the Rambo board, and the RX of the FTDI board goes to the TX of the Rambo board, but I’m not 100% sure. It may be that TX goes to TX and RX to RX. You would hurt anything by trying it both ways. In addition since the DTR pin of the FTDI board will not be hooked up, you will have reboot your Rambo board as you attempt to flash the firmware. This reboot is only required if you are using the USB to flash the board. For general use such as with g-code sender, it is not required.
I would not recommend messing with ftdi. You can bypass the bootloader and then you can only flash from the bootloader from then on.
You can bypass the bootloader
Interesting. I use an FTDI module to program Arduino Pro Mini boards and have also use one to program Arduino Nanos where I’ve damaged the USB connection. I’ve never had an issue with overriding the bootloader.
On the other hand, it is highly unlikely that this will be the fix for his problem. If he applied 12V to the 5V aux out pins, he likely damaged more than just the USB port. Note my idea that the board is potentially salvageable is based on his statement that the old version of the firmware is running on the board, and I’ve never received information on how he makes that determination.
The reason I know the old firmware is running, and I know it is because I have managed to power on the machine and move some of the axis, but since it is for the series connections, some of the axis don’t move since they are in separate ports
Move the axes how? Through the display? By sending g-code commands somehow? If you are using a USB connection to send these commands, then your USB is working and an FTDI module will not help. Plus if your board is taking commands, then you have a much greater chance that the board is okay and that you have some sort of setup issue flashing the firmware.
I am moving the axis through an LCD not through a usb cable
So the issues appear to be either you damaged the USB circuitry when you connected 12V to the 5V rail, or there is some problem in your Mac setup that is preventing USB from communicating…something like setting the right baud rate for example. Since the board is alive for commands, I’d probably try to send some commands through USB. I don’t use a Mac, so I’m not sure what software is available as a USB g-code sender for the Mac. Universal GCode Sender is available for the Mac, but I believe it is for GRBL, not Marlin. Anyone know of a g-code sender for the Mac?
Repetier host should work. Or cncjs.
Based on Jeff’s comment, I looked, and RepetierHost has a Mac version, so I’d give it a try. If you can get RepetierHost to connect, you know you have some PlatformlO settings problem.
Some marlin firmwares are 115,200 instead of 250,000. If it isn’t flashed, you might want to try both speeds. The v1 firmware is 250,000
I am trying to connect the FTDI board, but the pins don’t seem right on we’re you told me to put them
The pins are both male connectors, so how do I connect this?
Also here is a picture of the board
Typically you would use female/female dupont connectors like these to connect the FTDI board and the Rambo board. You are using the serial pins near the middle of your Rambo board picture you provide.d Note that your picture and my connections image are rotated 180 degrees from each other.
On the board, the pin marked VCC goes to the pin I marked as 5V. The GND’s connect together. The RX on the FTDI board goes to the pin I marked as TX0, and the TX pin goes to RX0. These are the only four pins you have to connect
After hooking it up, use Repetier-Host to test your connection. I would make sure I had a working connection with Repeteir-Host before attempting to upload new firmware. The USB cable to the old USB connection cannot be connected when you use the FTDI board. Note if you haven’t already, test your board with the Repetier-Hoist and the USB cable before hooking up the FTDI board. If you can get Repetier-Host to work, then you know the USB is okay and won’t need the FTDI board.
A bit of background. Using serial connections: having TX go to RX is typically, as one board Texts and the other Receives. The DTR pin is used to force the board to reboot. As an arduino board reboot (the Rambo board uses the same microprocessor as an Arduino Mega), it checks to see if it should go into a mode to upload new firmware using something called a bootloader. After checking for a short time, if it does not find anyone trying to upload new firmware, it executes the firmware. Since the DTR pin of the FTDI is not connected to the Rambo board, you will have to reboot your Rambo board by hand. So after you have PlatformlO start to upload the firmware, reboot the Rambo board.
Hi, I downloaded repetier host, but I have no idea how to use it or give commands; could someone please help me on the steps that I need to follow to check if the old usb port will work?
Repetier-Host is not my usual way to communicating with my machine, and I don’t use a Mac, so it is possible I’m missing a detail with these instructions.
To start with, you need to get the settings right. See the V1 suggested setup here.
The second step is to get it to connect. On windows you need to select the correct port and get the baud rate right. The baud rate for communicating with Marlin is 250,000. After connecting the first time Repetier-Host will remember the connection for the future.
After you get it to connect, you can go to the manual tab and use the arrows to move your router. Or you can type commands into the G-Code field to send those commands to your Rambo board.
As mentioned, you should try this first before installing the FTDI board. If you can get it to connect, then you don’t need the FTDI board. If you cannot get it to connect, then you try the FTDI board using Repetier-Host. If you cannot get Repetier-Host to connect using the FTDI board, then I think you will need a new board.
Again, using a Windows machine with XLoader would be really telling. Since the board is still alive using the LCD, I cannot help but think that something we don’t understand about the Mac may be at the root of the issue instead of a hardware issue.
Thanks so much, I’ll try this and upgrade you on how it went
