So I am trying to program my baby orangutan 168 and it is not working. It worked fine most of the day yesterday then I left for a while and came back and it would no longer enter programing mode. I did not change anything on the wiring and have tried 2 differn’t programers. When I am trying to program it looks like AVR studio is able to read the flash memory but not able to enter programing mode. Any ideas what would cause this?
![](http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii12/elmer_fud/programingproblems.jpg)
Brian
Hello,
What two programmers are you using? If you are using the Orangutan USB Programmer, did you notice anything strange the last time you programmed it yesterday? Are there any signs that the last program you successfully programmed the Baby Orangutan with is running (e.g. a blinking LED or an output on a pin)? How are you powering your Baby Orangutan? Can you double check the voltage of your power source and the connections from your power source to the Baby Orangutan? The green power LED should be lit.
I noticed you mentioned that the programmer had succeeded in reading the flash memory, but it actually says “reading FLASH input file,” which means that the computer successfully read the input file from the hard disk.
- Ryan
I have 2 orangutan programmers and neither one of them are working. I am using 5 NiMh cells (6 volts) to power the baby orangutan. I did not notice anything strange last time I tired to program it. The power light is on on the orangutan.
The programmer is acting like it is seeing the baby orangutan. The red led is off on the programmer and the green led is on. When I try and erase the baby orangutan the red led on the programmer flashes but the power led on the baby orangutan doesn’t change.
edit: I think the last thing I did before I ran into problems was erase the baby orangutan so there is no way for me to know if it still has the last program
edit 2: can you try and send order # 1J19886 out today. I ordered a baby 328 in case I don’t get this one working because I am supposed to have this project done by thursday afternoon. This project is for a class. If I get the baby 168 working I will use the 328 in another project at some point.
I have confirmed that salesorder 1J19886 will be shipped out today (4 May 2008).
The problem you are describing can result from the AVR being programmed while not powered. Make sure that you do not use the Orangutan USB Programmer to program an Orangutan with low batteries or one that is not powered.
If you would like, you can send it back to us, and we’ll take a look at it. Please email or call us to obtain an RMA number and instructions for returning your Baby Orangutan.
- Ryan
I will double check the batteries tonight. I measured the input voltage at 6.x volts yesterday so I may send it back to you.
If I cant figure it out I will get a RMA from you.
Sorry if I was not clearer earlier, but once an Orangutan is programmed with the batteries low or not powered it can enter a permanently unusable state. Your description of the problem sounds like your Baby Orangutan is in this state, but we can only be sure once we’ve taken a look at it. Programming it with fully-charged batteries will not solve this problem.
- Ryan