Open Panzer
Open Panzer Help & Info => Open Panzer Help => Topic started by: Code501 on July 13, 2017, 01:51:46 PM
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I installed the FTDI Drivers and updated OPConfig. Now I'm connecting the TCB to my computer and I get a "USB device not recognized" message.
When connecting the TCB the red and green leds begin to flash rapidly for a couple of seconds, and the blue led keeps blinking continiously. The two (2) yellow leds closest to the usb port areflashing once when connecting the usb cable.
Dipswitch #5 is ON.
Only thing that is connected to the TCB is the FS-iA10B RX in S-Bus Mode.
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It sounds like you've followed all the steps correctly, thanks for reading the Wiki. The LED behavior you've described is what we would expect and tells me the board is working properly.
Windows can be finicky about USB connections. The message you got seems to indicate that Windows thought it detected some error, maybe the cable was inserted/unplugged too fast and it got confused, or maybe it didn't install the driver correctly. It can get into a state where it disables that port for safety reasons and won't re-enable it until you go through the process again.
If you are using a USB hub, try plugging instead directly into your computer. Some hubs can work but it's best to rule that out as an issue. You can try also a different USB port and a different USB cable. Rebooting is also always a good thing to try in any kind of situation like this.
I would go to Device Manager (with the TCB plugged in) and see if an entry appears under "Universal Serial Bus controllers" or potentially under "Ports (COM & LPT)", and look for an entry with a yellow exclamation mark next to it, meaning there is a problem with that connection.
Try re-installing the driver (right-click on the item and select Update Driver Software). This could fix the issue, or it may say the driver is already correct and nothing will happen.
If that doesn't fix it try uninstalling the driver (right-click the item and select Uninstall). Then disconnect the TCB. Then reboot your computer (preferably do a complete shut-down, then re-start). Then plug the TCB back in and go through the driver install procedure again (refer to the Drivers page in the Wiki (http://)).
Let me know how you get on.
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Thanks for your reply!
TCB was already plugged in directly into my PC. Tried a different USB port and different cable, but no cigar.
No yellow exclamation marks in Computer Management and Devices and Printers.
OP Config shows the correct COM port and when clicking connect(115200 Baud rate) it attempts to connect and then gives me the "Disconnected from device" message.
Reinstalled the drivers about ten times already and I'm thinking about starting fresh tomorrow!
I'm using Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit.
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Weird thing I noticed; I can use the snoop function and flash firmware........ :o
When I go to a different screen (Driving, Radio etc.) The COM port closes and I can't connect using top right.
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So I'm a little confused. In your first post you listed a Windows error that presumably occurred when you plugged in the USB cable to the TCB. Has that Windows error now been resolved, or is it still happening? If there are multiple issues we want to isolate a single one and deal with them one at a time.
The Snoop feature automatically disconnects when you leave the Firmware tab, that is by design. However if you are able to connect, you can remain connected across all tabs (even the firmware tab). Try going to the Firmware tab and clicking Connect (not Snoop) and see what shows up in the console window. You should see some outgoing commands that look like "<- OPZ" repeated multiple times, this is OP Config trying to connect with the TCB. What we're looking for is if the TCB gives any response back (they will look like numbers preceded by "->").
The screenshot you posted last shows that the TCB is functioning, it recognized your receiver, and the serial chip on the board is communicating with the PC correctly for you to even see those messages. The issue appears to be on the Windows side of things.
Another thing to try is to hold down the Reset button on the TCB, click the Connect button in OP Config, then release the Reset button. This shouldn't be necessary normally but if it works might give a clue as to the issue.
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So I'm a little confused. In your first post you listed a Windows error that presumably occurred when you plugged in the USB cable to the TCB. Has that Windows error now been resolved, or is it still happening? If there are multiple issues we want to isolate a single one and deal with them one at a time.
That error has been resolved by disconnecting my XBox 360 controller from my PC. I forgot to mention that indeed. :-[
I use a USB 3.0 port to connect to the TCB.
I'm seeing this when trying to connect on the Firmware tab:
<- OPZ
<- OPZ
<- OPZ
<- OPZ
<- OPZ
<- OPZ
Reset button method doesn't seem to work.
However, IF I flash the firmware I can connect manually to the TCB afterwards.
<- OPZ
<- OPZ
-> 133|133|0|27641
<- 129|129|0|-11428
etc.
This method only works once though......
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Ok, we are making progress. At least we know the hardware works and theoretically so does the firmware/software, at least in some circumstances. But obviously re-flashing is a slow process so you don't want to have to do that every time.
This may sound stupid and you've probably tried it one hundred times already, but just to cover all our bases, when you try to connect and it fails, can you just try again immediately right away again, perhaps multiple times? Apologies if that's already what you've been doing the last two hours!
I have not encountered this particular problem before. I may need to create an option for manual connection that bypasses the handshake, for cases where you can successfully Snoop but not "connect." If you've already made it to Snoop, we should be able to go directly into connection mode. This will take me a little time to write and I probably won't complete it for you to test before this weekend.
If anyone else is encountering something similar please post in this thread.
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Ok, we are making progress. At least we know the hardware works and theoretically so does the firmware/software, at least in some circumstances. But obviously re-flashing is a slow process so you don't want to have to do that every time.
This may sound stupid and you've probably tried it one hundred times already, but just to cover all our bases, when you try to connect and it fails, can you just try again immediately right away again, perhaps multiple times? Apologies if that's already what you've been doing the last two hours!
I have not encountered this particular problem before. I may need to create an option for manual connection that bypasses the handshake, for cases where you can successfully Snoop but not "connect." If you've already made it to Snoop, we should be able to go directly into connection mode. This will take me a little time to write and I probably won't complete it for you to test before this weekend.
If anyone else is encountering something similar please post in this thread.
I can (try to) connect again right away. But every time I do that I get the same "<- OPZ" six times. (Only the yellow RX flashes on the TCB)
BTW the method of flashing and manually connecting afterwards works as long as you don't disconnect the TCB AND don't close OPConfig.....(I can connect/disconnect multiple times, unless I disconnect the TCB usb OR close OPConfig)
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Ok, I've published a firmware update for OP Config. Open OP Config, go to the Help menu and click "Check for Updates", it should find the new update, go ahead and install it.
What this update does is allow you to create a communication connection after you've already started a Snoop connection. Previously if you were Snooping the "Connect" button was disabled. Now it remains enabled. In your case, you are able to successfully connect to the TCB via Snoop, so do that first.
Now wait until the TCB is done spitting out whatever it's going to spit out (it will be a lot of stuff if the radio receiver is on, or probably just a single line "Waiting for radio..." if not).
Now try clicking the "Connect" button. If all goes well, the full communication connection should be established. Let me know if it works.
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That works! It's kind of roundabout way of getting there, but it's progress! Thank you!
I do hope my PC isn't haunted or something, as this might be a unique case lol
Connecting normally without Snoop still doesn't work.
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Thanks for your patience, and I'm glad at least you now have some means of connecting. I haven't heard of this issue from anyone else yet so it could be something odd about your particular setup - maybe some other driver or software, who can only fathom the ways of Microsoft Windows. Frankly it's a miracle this thing works at all.
In terms of code, the way OP Config connects via Snoop or via the actual "Connect" button is exactly the same, only with the Connect button we are sending the handshake signal right away and with Snoop you are waiting a little bit. But even with the actual Connect button as you can see the handshake attempt is sent multiple times so we allow the TCB ample time to respond. For whatever reason I suspect Windows is holding your TCB in reset during the connect attempt (one indication may be that the Red LED on the TCB remains steady during the entire connection attempt).
If I think of anything else to try I will let you know, but for now I think you'll have to use this alternate method to connect.
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Code, a new update of OP Config has been posted. It includes a small change that may assist in your connection issues, I would appreciate if you could give it a test.
This particular update will cause all saved settings on your TCB to be erased, so you should save an OPZ file before updating, otherwise you will have to go through Radio Setup all over again.
After saving the OPZ file, update OP Config first (Help->Check for Updates), then flash new firmware which is also required (Firmware tab->Get Latest Release->Flash). Now load your saved OPZ file. You will get a message that not all variables were imported, this is normal because your old OPZ file doesn't have the new additions. It will still import just fine. After importing you can can save a new and now complete OPZ file with all variables.
Ok, now see if you can connect using the regular Connect button instead of the Snoop work-around. Given your symptoms I expect the first connection attempt will still fail, but I hope on subsequent attempts it will work.
Let me know how it turns out...
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That's great news and I'll try it somewhere in the weekend.
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After more than ten tries I can say that it didn't work using the connect button directly.
The Snoop method is still the best method.
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Ok, thanks for checking and letting me know. In further testing on my end I found some unintended problems with my attempted fix, and since it doesn't fix your issue anyway, I think I'm going to roll it back in the next OP Config release.
I think you are probably just stuck using the Snoop first, then Connect method.
But I will continue to ponder this and maybe in time a new solution will strike me.
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Just for the record... I have just started playing with my board and see the same behaviour as the OP. If I connect with snoop first I can connect after with the connect button and read and write configurations.
Thanks,
Drew.
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Drew, what version of Windows are you using?
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When either of you guys have time, give this version of OP Config a try and see if it makes any difference.
Test version: OP Config Installer
EDIT - See later post
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I'll take a look tomorrow. Will let you know how it went ;)
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Hi folks.
New member, but been on rctankwarfare for yonks, been discussing an issue with Luke over there and i managed to find a fix which i believe Luke is going to post over here as it may assist someone else with the same issue as i had when he gets time.
So just to say hello and Luke i managed to get over here thx.
Sub.
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Hi Sub, welcome to the forum. I've moved your post over to this topic so we can have this entire discussion in one place.
Here is the testing version of OP Config that you can try: 2019_05_22_OPConfig_Setup_0-93-49_TEST (http://www.openpanzer.org/downloads/opconfig/testrelease/2019_05_22_OPConfig_Setup_0-93-49_TEST.exe)
To download right click the link and select "Save Target As" and save it to your computer. When you install it will overwrite your existing version. This one is 0.93.49 TEST (you can confirm in OP Config by going to Help->About and it should read Version 0.93.49 [TEST]).
To reiterate, this version is intended for users who have to use Snoop before connecting. There is only a very minor change made and it probably won't make any difference, but it would be good for someone with that issue to test. See if you are able to Connect with this version by clicking the Connect button directly, rather than going through Snoop first.
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Also, Sub encountered a different issue not related to the Snoop/Connect conundrum. You can read more about his problem over on RCTankWarfare (https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?p=266077#p266077) along with the solution he found. His problem was that he couldn't get the connection to work ever when starting with Snoop. He found that Windows defaulted to turning off some USB functionality as a power-saving measure, and by disabling that Windows feature he was then able to connect (albeit he has to use Snoop first).
I've posted this information in the Wiki on both the Troubleshooting page (http://openpanzer.org/wiki/doku.php?id=wiki:tcb:operation:troubleshooting) and the Connection page (http://openpanzer.org/wiki/doku.php?id=wiki:opconfig:gs:connectto), in case anyone else has that same problem in the future.
Thanks Sub for figuring that out!
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Hi Luke.
Thanks for taking the time to make the test version for me to try.
I am a great fan of the Open Panzer TCB and if my efforts have helped you or any one else with a similar issue then its my pleasure, the TCB has opened up so much for me in tanking, and the scale driving characteristics and functionality are excellent.
I will download the test version as soon as i get the chance and will try it and report back.
Thx.
Sub.
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Hi Luke.
I downloaded the TEST version and you were correct still cannot log in without going through snoop first, but I still can do that each time so will have to just keep doing it that way, at least I can now log in whenever I want which is a massive improvement than before.
Thx
Sub.
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Thank you anyway Sub for testing, at least now we can put this test to rest after almost 2 years of wondering!
I have several computers at home running Windows XP, 7, and 10 and for me the TCB almost always connects directly with the Connect button, probably 95% of the time. Every once in a while I will need to use Snoop but for me to really test a fix I would need to have a computer that requires Snoop every single time. Otherwise, I can make some firmware change, but then when it connects with the Connect button I don't really know - would it have connected anyway, since it usually does? Or did I fix something?
In fact there may not be a good fix for this problem. I understand what is going on, Windows is deciding to hold the device in reset mode when we connect and immediately start communicating (this is what happens when we use the Connect button). When we Snoop, we connect but don't immediately start communicating until later you hit the connect button.
I could eliminate entirely Window's ability to reset the device, but in fact this ability is necessary in one situation - when we are flashing new firmware. So if I made that change your Connect would always work, but you would not be able to update the device without manually resetting it during a very brief window of a few seconds by pushing the Reset button on the board. This would probably be inconvenient or impractical for most people, especially after the board is mounted in the model.
So it's kind of a conundrum, but at least the Snoop method works.
Thanks again for testing and reporting back, and especially thank you for figuring out the USB power saving issue earlier.