MightyOhm » Arduino

Alternative software for the HV Rescue Shield

Jeff — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:18:08 +0000

Dennis writes…

I thought I’d share with other users of the HV Rescue shield an enhanced Arduino script I have written, based on Jeff’s original software v212.

…

The new software retains the look and feel of the original, it can still be run in interactive and non interactive mode and starts by requesting the AVR family as before. The existing fuse settings are then printed along with the device signature and lock bits. After this the user is presented with a menu of functions.

The E command allows the user to erase the AVR.

The F command allows the fuses to be set as before. OK or fail will be printed depending on the success of the operation.

The R command allows a block of the flash memory to be dumped to screen. The user has to input the required start address in hex.

The P command is similar to the R command but operates on the EEPROM

The W command performs a simple test of the flash by writing a small block of data to it and checking it programs correctly. The user has to input the required start address in hex, which must be the first byte of a page (see device datasheet for details about page size). The user can view the test pattern written by using the R command to read it back.

The T command performs a similar test on the EEPROM but with a different shorter 4 byte pattern as EEPROM page sizes are smaller.

…

Dennis posted a link to his alternative software in the HV Rescue Shield support forum.

Thanks, Dennis!

Geiger Counter and HV Rescue Shield kits are back in stock!

The Amp Hour #43

Jeff — Tue, 17 May 2011 13:58:04 +0000

The Amp Hour #43 — Audacious Arduino Arguments

Our first four-way podcast! Listen to me, Chris, Dave, and Jeremy chat about Arduino, high altitude balloons, hackerspaces in universities, the Google ADK, and the Maker Faire Bay Area.

Kudos to Skype for enabling us to actually pull this off!

HV Rescue Shield now works with the Arduino Mega

Jeff — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:38:38 +0000

Thanks to John, of the ATX Hackerspace, who loaned me his Arduino for testing, the HV Rescue Shield now works with the Arduino Mega.

I had to create new byte read/write functions for digital lines 0-7 because they are implemented very “differently” (and I don’t mean that in a good way) in the hardware for the Mega. If you’re interested in how I did this, check out the new version 2.12 Arduino sketch and the new mega_data_read and mega_data_write functions.

To use the HV Rescue Shield with the Arduino, first download the revised sketch here. Set the MEGA #define to 1 and compile/upload the sketch to your board. Make sure you have the Arduino Mega selected in the Arduino Board menu, or the sketch won’t compile.

The Mega has more pin headers than the Rescue Shield, so be sure to install the shield all the way to the left, as shown here:

If you experience any problems with the HV Rescue Shield and the Arduino Mega, please report them in the support forum.

New Product: HV Rescue Shield 2.0

Jeff — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:03:28 +0000

The HV Rescue Shield 2.0 is a high voltage parallel mode fuse programmer for Atmel AVR microcontrollers.

It currently supports a wide variety of AVR chips, including the 28-pin ATmega48/88/168/328 series, the 20-pin ATtiny2313, and many 8-pin ATtiny devices (such as the ATtiny25/45/85 and ATtiny13A). A list of supported devices is in progress, but the Rescue Shield supports many more devices than those listed on the wiki.

The HV Rescue Shield 2.0 is in stock and ready to ship today! Scroll down to place an order.

New in release 2.0:

Support for 8-pin ATtiny devices that use High Voltage Serial Programming (HVSP) mode!
Mode selection at startup so you don’t have to recompile the Arduino sketch to change parts.
More reliable HFUSE burning on all HVPP targets.
Numerous minor bug fixes and speed improvements to the code.
Reduced price, kit is now only $19.95 (was $24.95). This means the kit is lower cost, but with more supported parts!

Requirements:

A working Arduino (tested with Arduino Uno, Duemilanove and Arduino NG)
A computer with USB and the Arduino IDE installed (tested with Arduino 0021)
A soldering iron and basic electronics assembly skills

What you get:

A high quality printed circuit board with the DC-DC converter preassembled, as shown below.
All other components needed to build the kit
An Arduino sketch, assembly instructions, Eagle schematics and layout files.

Here is a snapshot of the components included with the kit.

How to Order:

Visit the HV Rescue Shield 2.x product page to place an order.

HV Rescue Shield 2.0 update

Jeff — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 00:56:40 +0000

Version 2.0 of the HV Rescue Shield (I decided to drop the ‘AVR’ from the name) will add support for high voltage serial programming (HVSP) and 8-pin parts like the ATtiny13A.

Boards are due back next week, components are on order, but there is still code to write.

Back to work!

Arduino Oops!

Jeff — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 22:50:20 +0000

That’s a closeup of resistor R1 on my new Arduino Uno board. See how the left terminal isn’t touching the solder bump on the land pad? That’s not good.

Surprisingly, my Arduino seems to work just fine with one side of the resistor open. Arduino, don’t let the cost reduction guys see this one, or they’ll eliminate it in the next rev!

More photos of the tombstoned resistor on my Arduino Uno.

The Arduino team has responded to other claims of manufacturing defects (most of which seem fairly trivial) in their blog post “One bad Arduino doesn’t spoil the barrel“. I have already contacted my reseller and will do everything possible to help Arduino improve their manufacturing process and quality control.

AVR HV Rescue Shield works with Arduino Uno

Jeff — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 22:42:54 +0000

I’m happy to report that the AVR HV Rescue Shield has been tested and works with the new Arduino Uno.

This isn’t too much of a surprise, but it’s always good to check that seemingly innocent changes to a hardware platform don’t cause unexpected problems in existing applications. (That is the voice of experience talking, can you tell?)

AVR HV Rescue Shield Code Update 1.2

Jeff — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 07:03:24 +0000

Version 1.2 of the Arduino sketch that powers the AVR HV Rescue Shield is now available for download.

The revised sketch now displays the target AVR’s existing fuse settings before asking you for new ones.

I also cleaned up and reworked the code in a couple places, but these changes shouldn’t affect the existing functionality.

If you have any issues or questions about the new code, post them in the support forum or contact me directly.

Sale: 20% off AVR HV Rescue Shield

Jeff — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:49:39 +0000

Now through July 9th, order an AVR HV Rescue Shield kit and get 20% off!

AVR HV Rescue Shield Kit – $19.95

Minor updates to the AVR HV Rescue Shield

Jeff — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:26:10 +0000

This week there have been a couple minor updates to the AVR HV Rescue Shield:

I just uploaded version 1.1 of the Arduino sketch, which fixes an issue with garbage being printed in the serial monitor between burn cycles. I also made some minor changes to try to reduce the likelihood of getting serial gibberish upon opening the monitor window, although I’m not 100% sure what is causing this. The sketch was compiled and tested with Arduino 0017.
I have verified that the shield works with the Atmel ATmega328P AVR microcontroller.