Hello there,
I intend to program software serial communication on all the pins of a ProMini, but I did not have an FTDI, so I am trying to use a DueMilanove (that I have from a past project) to program the ProMini. What would be my settings on the programmer? I can choose the Board (as DueMilanove?) but the Port setting is not active! I would appreciate any help.
My pin to pin connection from DueMilanove to ProMini is as follows:
Ok, now to your point, I disconnected all the other wires going away from DueMilanove, and realized one of the USB ports on my laptop does not recognize it. Now I changed and moved on to another USB port and it sounded like it did recognize the board. However in the device manager Other Devices it says (with an exclamation mark): "FT232R USB UART"
When I open Arduino, the manu "Port" from "Tools" is off. However it says at the bottom of the window: "Arduino Duemilanove or Diecimila, ATmega328 on COM1".
Now when I try to run a sketch (AnalogReadSerial, for instance) it gives me the following error:
Arduino: 1.6.5 (Windows 8.1), Board: "Arduino Duemilanove or Diecimila, ATmega328"
Sketch uses 2,366 bytes (7%) of program storage space. Maximum is 30,720 bytes.
Global variables use 200 bytes (9%) of dynamic memory, leaving 1,848 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2,048 bytes.
avrdude: ser_open(): can't open device "\.\COM1": The system cannot find the file specified.
You may need to load FTDI drivers to get that exclamation mark in device manager resolved. I don't know much about Windows drivers, so if you run into difficulty with that you may need to do some googling and perhaps post in the installation and troubleshooting forum, and return to this thread later after the Duemilanove is working.
Strongly suggest you just get an FTDI adapter. They're cheap and plentiful on ebay and almost everywhere else (I recommend CH340G ones with the 6-pin FTDI connector, since many FTDI chips are counterfeit and have driver problems - see many other threads elsewhere on this).
In fact, get a couple. I keep a drawer of them at the ready.
OK, while you were writing here (I guess), I checked and downloaded the driver for FT232R USB UART. Now the "port" tool is ON and active, and I have moved to COM4 now. It seems that I have the DueMilanove working now.
So going back to my original question:
What would be my settings on the programmer? I would appreciate any help.
My pin to pin connection from DueMilanove to ProMini is as follows:
Which of the sketches should I be using? There are a few different sketches and I want to use one that provides me with multiple soft serial connections.
Remove the ATmega328P chip from the Duemilanove. Select the Duemilanove port on the Tools, Port menu. Select Pro Mini on the Tools, Board menu. It does not matter what you have selected in the Tools, Programmer menu. Upload your sketch and it will go to the Pro Mini.
The Duemilanove is now working. In order to disconnect its normal functions, you must carefully remove the ATmega328 chip.
This means it is no longer a Duemilanove, it is a Pro Mini (of whichever clock speed), so you set the board accordingly to that.
If you cannot, or do not wish to remove the ATmega328 chip, then it becomes somewhat more complex.
And before you do any of this, order a couple of adapters on eBay. (Note that the one I cite is not exactly the same as the FTDI pins, you have to ignore the 3V3 connection, using only a 5-wire jumper ribbon.)
OK I did just that, and it worked. I uploaded the sketch (Arduino ISP) into the ProMini. Now I am intending to transform the allowable pins of the Mini to serial pins. I am trying to find information about which ones are already taken for other purposes but nothing so far! Would there be anything you may know of? What type of testing method should I implement to make sure all 6 (soft) serials are working well? I know that I need to listen to one object (event), then another one, is this correct?
Thank you,
Karim.
I'm glad your uploading is working ok. I don't know enough about software serial to help with that. I have been looking at your discussions about a swarm of hot-pluggable sensor-reading Arduinos connected via serial. It sounds ambitious and interesting.
Thank you very much!
Would you suggest me posting my question somewhere more specific?
I was hoping to have one of the application engineers to help me out with the sketch, to make some minor changes to the code and let it work for any two (allowable) pins. I wired pins 2 and 3 of the first one to 3 and 2 of the second.
Not sure, if/how I can initialize the two RX/TX on either sides.
Karim.
