Orangutan X2 Released TODAY

[rgcustodio]

If I understand the schematics correctly, the answer to your question might be near the bottom of page 6 on the schematics (ox2_quickstart.pdf).

- Rommel

Another quick question about the X2, does it have some sort of reverse polarity protection, like the big diode on the original Orangutan? If so, is there protection for both the power connections (on the motor controller board and on the main microcontroller board)?
Thanks,

-Adam

[Ben]

Quick question though, is there a way to check what version of the firmware I am running, just to verify that the upgrade, well, upgraded? I reentered bootloader mode expecting to be greeted with a 1.1, but it still tells me 1.0. After rereading the firmware update procedure I see that this is the bootloader version, not the firmware version.

You can send a Get Firmware Version command to the mega168. The prototype for the SPI.c wrapper function is:

void getFirmwareVersion( unsigned char *vMajor, unsigned char *vMinor );

A really easy way for you to confirm your firmware version is to download the Orangutan X2 test code and load the included hex file (ox2m644_test/default/ox2m644_test.hex). I recently changed it to display the firmware version on the LCD splashscreen below the “Pololu O r a n g u t a n X 2”.

- Ben

[jan]

about the X2, does it have some sort of reverse polarity protection, like the big diode on the original Orangutan?

Kind of. The H-bridges have the reverse-protection MOSFETs, but the big capacitors across the input supply do not. The main regulator has reverse protection, and the power that goes to the I/O headers goes through a diode, so if you do plug in power backwards, the only things you should need to replace are those caps.

- Jan

[nexisnet]

Thanks both of you for the quick answers!

I would have discovered the version feature in the new test code, but I’ve been using the melody demo as my standard test code, since its so hilarious and awesome.

-Adam

[Ben]

I just upgraded mine using the the free Br@y Terminal, which I would personally recommend as being a little more user-friendly than Tera Term. Anyone who has read “C Programming for Microcontrollers” should already know about this little gem: it’s a standalone windows executable terminal with all the protocol options and TX/RX/macros/Logging called out to the single main window (with nary a pull-down menu). It doesn’t give you the option to send a file in a non-binary way, and I got a bunch of periods and an * back and startup noise at the end, so I’m assuming my upgrade worked.

I just tried out Br@dy Terminal and I like it, however it didn’t quite work for me. It sends the first 65537 bytes of the firmware upgrade file and then stops. What do I do to get it to send the entire file? Are there some settings beyond port and baud I need to worry about?

- Ben

[nexisnet]

Yeah, I always keep a copy of Br@y terminal on my pocket thumbdrive. I think my favorite feature is the timestamped data logging. Great for data acquisition!

All I did was follow the Firmware Update Procedure document, and with the new test program I see that I am running Firmware version 1.01.

Going across the top my settings are:
COM Port: COM8 (of course, that’s just for me)
Baud rate: 115200
Data bits: 8
Parity: none
Stop bits: 1
Handshaking: none

I had to plug the X2’s usb cable in, power it up, and hit “ReScan” on the terminal to get COM8 to come up. I now hit ‘Connect’ on the terminal, and hold down the reset button on the X2 until I see “1.0?” in the receive box. I type “loads” into the transmit window (characters you type in the gray space are sent immediately), and when I get a capital S back, I click ‘Send File’ and select “ox2m168_v1_01.ox2”. It’s off and running now, flashing its little red light and sending me back lots of periods.

::waiting::

There’s the asterisk, and the test program shows me version 1.01 again. Well, still. I don’t think I’m doing anything special, maybe you just had a fluke.

By the way, playing the character values as tones as the OrangutanX2 scrolls across is a very nice touch.

-Adam

[benedict]

I’m wondering if I’ve got an old copy of Br@y. I downloaded it when I got my Butterfly and book. When I tried it I had the same problem Ben did. Partial flash (which at that point meant a dead X2.) A quick download of TeraTerm got me going again.

Adam, which version of Br@y are you using?

You know, your mention of your flash drive brings up a whole 'nuther subject, but rather than derail this thread I’ll start a new one…

Tom

[nexisnet]

Weird. I posted a link to what appears to be an older version of Br@y terminal on the SmileyMicros website (although it’s still v1.9B, or more precisely v1.9b - 20040714). It doesn’t even support above COM7, and my Orangutan is currently on COM8!

The version I successfully upgraded with is v1.9b - 20060920B. It has a drop-down com port menu over the pushbutton menu, and a “ReScan” button which the older version lacks. The home site of the program seems to be down (bray.velenje.cx/avr/terminal/), and I’m not sure where I got it, nor can I seem to find it again. The file size of Google’s latest cache of the directory listing is the same as mine, so I’m assuming I have the latest version.

I’m really sad that it isn’t readily available, and that the version that is has issues. I’m not clear on the large-scale legal implications on mass-distributing this, but it has an information menu that says its a free program, so I would be happy to send a copy of this later version to anyone who wants one.

-Adam

[rgcustodio]

OT:

The current WinARM Test-release (WinARM 20070505) includes Br@y Terminal v1.9b 20060920. It seems that there is support up to COM10.

siwawi.arubi.uni-kl.de/avr_p … ts/#winarm
(Its in the “Updates and Add-Ons” section)

[Ben]

Thanks, rgcustodio!

[nexisnet]

Wow, nice find. That is in fact the version I have, which works for updating the X2 firmware. It’s a pretty big download for a 338k application, but totally worth it once to have a copy forever.

You’ll find the newer version in:
"WinARM/utils/bin/Terminal_beta.exe"
Don’t be fooled by “Terminal.exe” in the same directory, that’s an older version.

Links:
118 meg self extracting zip
180 meg regular zip

-Adam

P.S. Woah, page 3! Am I crazy, or is there no way to tab directly between pages without going back to the main topics page?

[Ben]

Nope, there’s no way I know of to navigate between thread pages without first going to to the main topics page. We will be improving this forum as we improve our web site in general.

[Ben]

I just tried out both of the Br@y terminal programs in that ARM package and they both worked. Interestingly, the newer beta version was much, much slower than I was expecting. Tera Term usually takes a few seconds to upload the new firmware whereas Br@y beta (20060920) took more than a minute. The upload time using the non-beta version (20041226) was more like what I was expecting, on the order of a few seconds. The only complaint I have about the non-beta version is that it doesn’t give progress feedback until the file upload is complete (i.e. no periods appear on the screen during the upload). Is this in line with what you see when you use Br@y or is mine doing something weird?

- Ben

[nexisnet]

Yeah, my experiences are the same:

V 20040714 (smiley micros version, shows com ports 1-7) - goes quickly, periods show up at end, incomplete update
V 20041226 (arm version, shows com ports 1-10) - goes quickly, periods and * show up at end, complete update
V 20060920 (arm beta version, shows com ports 1-10 and drop-down menu) - goes slowly (very), periods and * show up in real time, complete update

-Adam

[nexisnet]

If anyone’s still interested, and not that we couldn’t just send the file around amongst ourselves (it is “free” software after all), but someone is hosting the last version of Bray Terminal, the one that works to update the X2 (just the program, not a huge zip file like WinARM). I found it as a link from this, uh, interesting project.

-Adam