Tag Archives: hvrescue

Kits, Microcontrollers

HV Rescue Shield 2.0 status update

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Just before the holidays, an issue with the Rescue Shield 2.0 (which I have at times referred to as “2.x”) was identified.  The issue involves problems reading/writing to parts that have certain startup timer (SUT) fuse values set.

There is some more information about the issue on the forums and in a previous post here and I created a Known Issues page on the wiki.

While this issue will not affect most users (this is why no one, including me, noticed it until now), I am currently working on a fix.  Initially I had hoped that I could fix the problem in software, but after spending far too much time pursuing that approach, I have decided to address it with a hardware change instead.  This should make for a much more robust solution.  I’m in the process of revising the hardware this week and hope to release a new version of the shield in the near future.

As soon as I heard about the issue in December, I stopped taking orders for Rescue Shield kits.  Kits and PCBs will show up as out of stock until I release the new version.

I’ll post another update when I have an estimate of when kits will be available again.

Thanks for your patience!

Microcontrollers

Issue with Rescue Shield and targets with SUT = 0ms

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HV Rescue Shield 2.0 customer Matthew Beckler has uncovered an issue that affects all variants of the Rescue Shield.

Long story short, if the target AVR is configured for a fast internal clock and zero startup time (eg. LFUSE=0x62 on the ATtiny13A gives a 9.6MHz clock with 14CK +0ms startup delay), then a slow rising edge on the 12V RESET signal from the Shield results in the target not entering or dropping out of HVSP or HVPP mode.  The symptom is that regardless of the fuses stored on the target, the Rescue Shield fuse reads return 0xFF.  In addition, the fuses can’t be changed.

I am currently investigating a solution.  There is more information about the issue and updates regarding debugging in the HV Rescue Shield support forum.

Kits

HV Rescue Shield 2 and ICSPOV Shipping Update

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HV Rescue Shield 2ICSPOV

This week I’ve been busily shipping orders for the HV Rescue Shield 2 and the ICSPOV.  Some folks have been buying one of each kit and building their own mightyohm sampler pack.  Cool!

A couple notes about shipping:

  • While the shipping notes on the product pages say to allow 1-2 weeks, this is really the worst-case scenario (parts shortages, I’m on travel, etc.).  Typically I ship within 3 business days max, and often I ship the next business day if possible.   Domestic customers, you will typically receive your order within 5-6 business days.  International shipping takes quite a bit longer because of the shipping time and customs delays.
  • I will not be shipping orders between Dec. 23rd and Dec. 30th, so if you place an order during this time, you’ll get it sometime after Jan 1st.   If you want kits sooner, order before 12PM CST on Dec 22nd.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has placed orders this week.  Thank you!

Happy Holidays everyone.

– Jeff

Microcontrollers

New Product: HV Rescue Shield 2.0

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HV Rescue Shield 2.x

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.

parts

How to Order:

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