Hi,
I know this is a common problem which has been dealt with on the forum before many times but I’d really appreciate any help you could give me with programming a PIC 08 chip. I've read as much as I've been able to find on the forum about this problem and I hope I haven't missed something obvious. The equipment I’m using is all bought from Tech Supplies; an AXE021 proto board kit, serial cable AXE026 and the Picaxe chip PIC 08 (12F629). I am also using the latest Programming Editor software version 5.3.1.
When I connect up the cable to serial port on my PC and connect the 3 x AA battery pack (giving 4.84 V) I get the following error message with the 5 possible reasons for the error:
Error- Hardware not found on COM1
I am using a PC with a serial port on COM1. Operating system is Win XP with service pack 3, with 4 GB RAM and Intel CORE DUO 2.66 GHz CPU.
I have used the kit before to program a PIC 08 and had absolutely no problems. I lent it to a person who connected a 9v battery to the kit and of course blew the chip. He says he just replaced the chip and it worked fine when he connected the proper power supply but I'm not sure that can be believed. I have of course replaced the chip and I’m not sure if this could has anything to do with my current problems.
As I have said I have searched the forum and read all the articles dealing with this problem but I still must be missing something. Here’s what I’ve done to try and fix the problem.
1. I checked in my Device Manager to see if there was a problem with COM1. No problems reported and “This device is working properly” appears in properties.
2. Under Options in the programming software under Serial Port I’m getting COM 1 Serial Port ready for use. I then tested the port with the following results:
the voltage between the PICAXE serial input pin and 0V (leg 2 and leg 8 of chip) was -0.562v. When I clicked on the green LED the voltage changed to +5.46v.
I’m hoping this means that there is nothing wrong with my PC and that the problem is with the cable or the proto board. I should add that I tried to program the chip with a laptop as well and had the same error message. The laptop had Win7 and I used the serial to USB adapter which I got from Tech Supplies also. I also tried it on an older laptop with a serial port and still no luck.
3. I then checked the serial cable for continuity according to the pin out diagram which was available on the forum and there didn’t appear to anything wrong there either. That seemed to rule out the cable.
4. I checked the proto board as best I could (see attached photo) and while the soldering wouldn’t be considered great there was continuity between all the tracks and I checked that the solder joints were still making good electrical contact.
5. I bought a fresh supply of PIC 08 chips from Tech Supplies just in case I got a bad batch before or in case I mishandled them. Still no joy.
6. I tried resetting the chip by disconnecting the battery and downloading the program and then reconnecting battery etc as described on the forum.
7. Lastly I made sure that the jumper was in the correct programming position.
I presume the way to tackle this problem is by a process of elimination. I would like to eliminate the PC in the first instance. Is there a way I can do this?
Thank you.
Dermot
I know this is a common problem which has been dealt with on the forum before many times but I’d really appreciate any help you could give me with programming a PIC 08 chip. I've read as much as I've been able to find on the forum about this problem and I hope I haven't missed something obvious. The equipment I’m using is all bought from Tech Supplies; an AXE021 proto board kit, serial cable AXE026 and the Picaxe chip PIC 08 (12F629). I am also using the latest Programming Editor software version 5.3.1.
When I connect up the cable to serial port on my PC and connect the 3 x AA battery pack (giving 4.84 V) I get the following error message with the 5 possible reasons for the error:
Error- Hardware not found on COM1
I am using a PC with a serial port on COM1. Operating system is Win XP with service pack 3, with 4 GB RAM and Intel CORE DUO 2.66 GHz CPU.
I have used the kit before to program a PIC 08 and had absolutely no problems. I lent it to a person who connected a 9v battery to the kit and of course blew the chip. He says he just replaced the chip and it worked fine when he connected the proper power supply but I'm not sure that can be believed. I have of course replaced the chip and I’m not sure if this could has anything to do with my current problems.
As I have said I have searched the forum and read all the articles dealing with this problem but I still must be missing something. Here’s what I’ve done to try and fix the problem.
1. I checked in my Device Manager to see if there was a problem with COM1. No problems reported and “This device is working properly” appears in properties.
2. Under Options in the programming software under Serial Port I’m getting COM 1 Serial Port ready for use. I then tested the port with the following results:
the voltage between the PICAXE serial input pin and 0V (leg 2 and leg 8 of chip) was -0.562v. When I clicked on the green LED the voltage changed to +5.46v.
I’m hoping this means that there is nothing wrong with my PC and that the problem is with the cable or the proto board. I should add that I tried to program the chip with a laptop as well and had the same error message. The laptop had Win7 and I used the serial to USB adapter which I got from Tech Supplies also. I also tried it on an older laptop with a serial port and still no luck.
3. I then checked the serial cable for continuity according to the pin out diagram which was available on the forum and there didn’t appear to anything wrong there either. That seemed to rule out the cable.
4. I checked the proto board as best I could (see attached photo) and while the soldering wouldn’t be considered great there was continuity between all the tracks and I checked that the solder joints were still making good electrical contact.
5. I bought a fresh supply of PIC 08 chips from Tech Supplies just in case I got a bad batch before or in case I mishandled them. Still no joy.
6. I tried resetting the chip by disconnecting the battery and downloading the program and then reconnecting battery etc as described on the forum.
7. Lastly I made sure that the jumper was in the correct programming position.
I presume the way to tackle this problem is by a process of elimination. I would like to eliminate the PC in the first instance. Is there a way I can do this?
Thank you.
Dermot
