I’ve used my SVP-328 for approximately one year without any issues, have been very satisfied to be honest. I have been using it for controlling a “homebrewed lawn mover” which has experienced some navigational difficulties, as I didn’t want to use a boundary wire. Using Ultrasonic sensors, and digital distance sensors for navigation.
Recently though, I made a severe misstake whilst trying to get the new 3DOF accelerometer working. Whilst having the AVR-programmer plugged in somehow the MOTA or MOTB connections managed to get shorted (at least that’s what I think). Some white smoke emerged from the ISP header. I only assume that the motor ports got shorted as that’s the only part of the SVP-328 that’s currently not working.
Considering an upgrade to an X2 or maybe a SVP-324/1284 system, but first I want to be 100% sure that the SV-328 is beyond rescuing.
Any additional steps I can take to troubleshoot this, I have visually inspected both sides of the 328 without seeing any discoloration.
I will of course not throw it away (until I’ve fried it 100% that is), build some small toy for the kids to play with maybe.
As a side note; for the cutter engine I use a separate motor carrier board with higher power output.
Unfortunately, if there was smoke, the unit is probably damaged beyond repair. If only the H-bridge is damaged, then you still can use the MCU and other peripherals, but I suggest you make sure that the H-bridge didn’t fail in a way that is drawing excessive current.
If the motor drivers on the Orangutan SVP meet your power requirements, I recommend it over the older Orangutan X2. We have more examples and documentation available for the SVP than the X2, and in general, the Orangutan SVP is easier to use.
SV-328 has been replaced by a SVP-1284 now, works like a charm… almost…
I’m not able to program it (Atmel AVR Studio 6.0) with the build in AVR-programmer. The ISP-programmer used for the SV-328 works fine, but the build in one doesn’t work.
I’ve upgraded the fw to 1.03. I can see the ports in devicemanager, i’ve tried changing portnumbers (now use both COM9 for the external ISP and the built in ISP programmers).
AVR Studio complains that it cannot communicate with the STK ISP programmer. I can see the tool under “view available atmel…” and the port and everything seems fine.
Could you try following the troubleshooting section in the AVR Programmer User’s Guide? If you continue to have problems, could you tell us your configuration settings and post the errors you are getting? You might also try updating your Atmel Studios 6.1.
