How to update firmware

[gfh]

Gosh, there is a lot of information here. But it is hard to find stuff that I am looking for

I finally got my Fignition up & running (It's been stashed under my dining room table with the rest of my incomplete projects).

But more than one firmware update has occurred while waiting to "get around to" plugging in my Fignition.

What I need help with is how to update my firmware.

(I am using a Windows 7 computer.)

Any guidance ?

[Julz]

Hi Glen(?),

Glad to hear you've finally got your FIGnition up and running :-) Any chance of a photo?

Firmware upgrades happen from time to time, but the upgrade mechanism is still the same and you can upgrade directly from firmware as old as 0.5.0 to 0.9.9 in one step! My original instructions were here:

https://sites.google.com/site/libby8dev/fignition/documentation/use-it#upgrading

They're taken from the Lady Ada website.

William Marshall from RS Components recommends using Burn-O-Mat, a Java GUI application which works with Windows 7 (it works with 64-bit Windows 7 too). It can make uploading fairly straightforward.

http://avr8-burn-o-mat.aaabbb.de/avr8_burn_o_mat_avrdude_gui_en.html

The third technique is to run Linux on top of Windows and run avrdude through that:

http://retrotext.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/ssh-perfect-for-avrdude.html

Finally, you could try getting Win AVR:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/winavr/

This supports Windows 7 and Avrdude comes as part of the package.

I hope this helps!

-cheers from Julz

[Neil Macmillan]

Thanks for the new release. Absolutely brilliant.

I checked out the original instructions for using avrdude with Linux. I'm usually a bit unlucky when it comes to updating flash on PIC, Android and BIOS but Fignition worked right-first-time!

Avrdude was already installed on my Linux Mint machine, maybe because I'd previously installed Arduino or the Terasic FPGA tools.

[gfh]

OK, so I tried tp download and WINZIP wants me to pay for WINZIP. 

When did this start happening ?

Are there other un-zip programs for windows that are free ?

[JESSON SEAN]

You're likely to get 101 different opinions if you ask about software for a particular task.

My suggestion is IZArc - http://www.izarc.org/. I've been using it for years without problems.

Cheers,

Sean

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[gfh]

March 26 '14

I tried to install the firmware using the instructions for avrdude here:

https://sites.google.com/site/libby8dev/fignition/documentation/use-it#upgrading

The directions say:

"you would type:

ATMEGA168-20PU	ATMEGA328-20PU
avrdude -c usbasp -p m168 -u -U flash:w:FirmwareRevx_y_z.hex	avrdude -c usbasp -p m328p -u -U flash:w:FirmwareRevx_y_z.hex

(the actually name of the .hex file should be the one you downloaded, but don't press Return yet).
Now, while keeping the button pressed switch back to the command window and finally press Return. FIGnition should be recognized as a usbasp device and should download a firmware upgrade. Windows users may find they have to wrestle with the notifications to say Windows has found an unknown device first."

Then I get a message: avrdude: error: Could not find USB device "USBasp" with vid=0x16c0 pid=0x5dc

This happens using both:

avrdude -c usbasp -p m168 -u -U flash:w:FirmwareRev0_9_9.hex (like the directions)

                           &

avrdude -c usbasp -p m168 -u -U flash:w:FirmwareRev0_9_9NTSC.hex (because that is the name of the downloaded file)

Note that I did not put a space between the -U and the flash - Should I ?

On Saturday, March 15, 2014 9:46:55 PM UTC-7, gfh wrote:

[Julian Skidmore]

Hi Glen,

Firstly, yes you do need a space between -U and "flash...".

Secondly, it does look like you have avrdude running on your system. It's possible that it's Windows getting in the way of avrdude being able to access your FIGnition since the error message in effect is saying it can't find a suitable device on the USB. However, it could also be that you have an AtMega328 FIGnition instead of an AtMega168 FIGnition. The name of your AtMega will be on the chip itself. If you have the AtMega328 you should have typed:

avrdude -c usbasp -p m328p -u -U flash:w:FirmwareRev0_9_9NTSC.hex

(Note the m328p instead of m168).

-cheers from Julz

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                  The DIY 8-bit computer from nichemachines™

[dla...@gmail.com]

I had the same problem trying to run avrdude on Windows to upgrade the firmware.

On Windows you need to install the USBasp drivers and have Windows properly recognize/verify it.

The latest Windows USBasp driver is at: http://www.fischl.de/usbasp/ as:
  http://www.fischl.de/usbasp/usbasp-windriver.2011-05-28.zip

Then, I used these instructions at Robogyan:
  http://www.robogyan.com/installing-drivers-for-usbasp-on-windows-7-or-vista.html

If you're using Windows XP:
  http://www.robogyan.com/installing-drivers-for-usbasp-on-windowsxp.html

The important step is to verify the publisher (of the driver).

Once I verified the driver, the instructions for upgrading worked like a charm.

Donald.

[Carl Attrill]

I have noticed that Windows complains when sw 1 is released, when its pressed AVRdude can run properly. When performing multiple uploads, the errors seem to lag and clog/interrupt the windows OS.  I have managed to get AVR dude working on win7, but it dislikes FIGnition running outside bootmode and insists I find a driver for it. Of course I just ignore the advice ;-) 

Carl.

--

[Julian Skidmore]

Like!

[gfh]

My Fignition works (older firmware) and works with FigKeys.

(Question: How does one determine which firmware version is in the Fignition ?)

I had a driver problem so and then -

I connected the Fignition (sans FigKeys) to a USB port on my Windows 7 laptop.

Having previously downloaded and extracted file folder usbasp.2011-05-28,

I followed the advice of DLakwi (3-27-14) and used the instructions at Robogyan:
http://www.robogyan.com/installing-drivers-for-usbasp-on-windows-7-or-vista.html.

Step 2 says "connect your USBasp programmer to the USB port of your PC/laptop".

As I have no USBasp programmer, I connected my Fignition instead.

I observed a Windows 7 "USB Device Not Recognized" message

(The small mini-window at the bottom right):

I clicked on it and was advised to reconnect the device (Fignition).

I did so to no avail.

I don't know what to do next.

 Any guidance ?

[Julian Skidmore]

Hello gfh!

I'm sure others will chip in, but just one thing; did you remember to hold down SW1 when you plug it in and keep SW1 pressed?

Cheers julz

--

[Carl Attrill]

Julz and GFH 

Hi there, I think there is a command you can type into to the FIGnition to find out what firmware you are running, but I cant find it, I know its out there as I used it on mine. :)

I could have a go at a video to demonstrate hoe to load in firmware using windows 7, what say you?

Regards.

[G.Frank Humiston]

Carl,
 
Please hold off to allow me a few more attempts.
 
Thanks.
 
                      Frank

 

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Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 17:51:42 +0100
Subject: Re: How to update firmware
From: carl.a...@gmail.com
To: fign...@googlegroups.com

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[Julian Skidmore]

Hi guys, if you download The command reference from here:

https://sites.google.com/site/libby8dev/fignition/fuze/usermanual

There's Kern vector which tells you the version.

-cheers Julz

[gfh]

4/28

I finally got experimental... The reason that I could not make it work was indeed the lack of a driver.

Also, I had trouble installing the drivers because using the the instructions at Robogyan:
http://www.robogyan.com/installing-drivers-for-usbasp-on-windows-7-or-vista.html, the first two pop-ups

never appeared. I slogged thru it, installed the driver on my computer, updated my firmware to 0.9.9, connected my Fignition with FigKeys attached. plugged it all in and,..... voila. a normal fignition display.

But I couldn't pop anything off the stack and display it. It was a case of RTFD (Read The Fine Directions).

One must RFTD, in this case note that SHIFT RETURN must be pressed to execute forth code.

Now it all works fine.

Many thanks to all for so much hope.

On Saturday, March 15, 2014 9:46:55 PM UTC-7, gfh wrote:

[Julian Skidmore]

Hello Glen,

I'm really glad you've managed to make it work. Yes I changed the way you execute lines so that command lines can have multiple text lines in them*... perhaps Linux and Windows will catch up one day ;-)

So what were the details of how you installed your driver?

-cheers from Julz

*(although it really originates in the use of <shift+enter> to insert <cr> in Facebook messages with <enter> to send the message - though I have reversed it).

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[gfh]

I used the instructions at Robogyan: http://www.robogyan.com/installing-drivers-for-usbasp-on-windows-7-or-vista.html - beginning at step 3 (ignoring the fact that the first two pop-ups did not appear).

I note that the Computer Management window did not look exactly like the one presented in Robogyan. Look for USB and USBasp.

Continue with steps 4 and 5 and you have now installed the driver.

=-=

On Saturday, March 15, 2014 9:46:55 PM UTC-7, gfh wrote: