Problems uploading to pro mini using ftdi232

[abdulsamaddabu]

hey i was trying to upload a code to my new arduino pro mini (328p,3.3v,8Mhz) by using FTDI 232RL USB to Serial converter
but is giving me an error of programmer not responding
what is the problem with it

[abdulsamaddabu]

i have connected VCC of converter to vcc of arduino, ground to ground, RX to TX, TX to RX and DTR to DTR

[Avacee]

Is the USB to Serial converter the 3.3V version?

From: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/ArduinoPro
The board comes without built-in USB circuitry, so an off-board USB-to-TTL serial convertor must be used to upload sketches. For the 3.3V Arduino Pro boards, this can be a FTDI TTL-232R-3V3 USB - TTL Level Serial Converter Cable or the SparkFun FTDI Basic Breakout Board (3.3V). For the 5V Arduino Pro boards, use a TTL-232R USB - TTL Level Serial Converter or the SparkFun FTDI Basic Breakout Board (5V). (You can probably also get away with using a 5V USB-to-serial convertor with a 3.3V board and vice-versa, but it's not recommended.)

Also, if you've connected the 5V Vcc of a 5V converter to the 3.3V Vcc of the Arduino then you've gone beyond the input voltage range.
From: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/using-the-arduino-pro-mini-33v
There are three different power-related pins: GND, VCC, and RAW. GND, obviously, is the common/ground/0V reference. RAW is the input voltage that runs into the regulator. The voltage at this input can be anywhere from 3.4 to 12V. The voltage at VCC is supplied directly to the Pro Mini, so any voltage applied to that pin should already be regulated to 3.3V.

[abdulsamaddabu]

yes i am powering it with 3.3v circuitry of converter

[joshtyler]

It sounds like you need to swap TX and RX, and maybe you're missing the ground connection as well.

Tx means transmit, and Rx receive. So Tx of the FTDI cable needs to connect to Rx of the arduino, and vice versa.

Using this diagram:


Connect DTR (Arduino) to DTR (FTDI), TX (Arduino) to RX (FTDI), RX (Arduino) to TX (FTDI), Vcc (Arduino) to Vcc (FTDI),  Gnd (Arduino) to Gnd (FTDI).

If that doesn't work, disconnect the DTR wire, and manually press the reset button just as the Arduino IDE finishes compiling.

[abdulsamaddabu]

nope not working tried all you said

[kripton2035]

is it a GENUINE ft232 chip, or did you buy it from china seller ?
if so it may be your pc driver that is bricked by fdti to prevent counterfeit chips.

[joshtyler]

Do you own/have access to a multimeter, and either an oscilloscope or logic analyser?

[abdulsamaddabu]

already checked its not bricked

[abdulsamaddabu]

i have mutlimeter

[joshtyler]

Okay, here are some things you can check:

• Check that the vcc pin is 3.3V with respect to ground pin when programmer is connected (the regulator inside the cable could have blown up)
• Press the reset button on the arduino and verify that both the TX and RX lines are 3.3V for a couple of seconds (with the FTDI cable connected to the Arduino). This implies that the FTDI chip and Arduino are driving the serial lines. Ideally connect something like a 1k resistor between the pin and ground at the same time, to check it's not the internal pullups of the Arduino that you're measuring.
• Unplug the FTDI cable from the arduino, install RealTerm, open RealTerm, open the port corresponding to the FTDI cable, and type on the keyboard. You should see nothing on the screen. Now connect a wire between TX and RX on the cable. You should see the text you type appear on the screen.
• Visually check for good solder contact between each pad and each pin of the ATmega. Verify that there are no solder bridges

If none of that works, it could be a bad PCB/chip, or the ATmega doesn't have the bootloader installed.

Edit: Clarified no.3 and added no.4 to the list.

[joshtyler]

One obvious thing that I've just thought of:
Are you sure that the FTDI drivers are installed, and that you have selected the correct serial port in the Arduino IDE?

[abdulsamaddabu]

yes i have selected right port and my drivers are up to date

[sleemanj]

Put 100nF cap in SERIES between the DTR (of FTDI) and RESET (of Arduino)

IN SERIES

Screenshot from my standard Barebones Arduino schematic, imagine CP2102 says FTDI

[abdulsamaddabu]

and its pins are also giving 3.3v volts
i think problem is with boot loader

[nbenm]

Hi,

I know this is an old topic, but I'll try.
I have a bootloader issue.
One of my Arduino Pro Mini refuses to upload sketchs. I MUST press reset button to make it upload.
So I have flashed the bootloader.
After that it worked. But at next upload, I had the same error.
In fact, after flashing the bootloader, I can upload a sketch only once!
I always need to reflash the bootloader before.
I use IDE option "Burn bootloader". It uses the 2 following commands:

/Applications/Arduino.app/Contents/Java/hardware/tools/avr/bin/avrdude -C/Applications/Arduino.app/Contents/Java/hardware/tools/avr/etc/avrdude.conf -v -patmega328p -cusbasp -Pusb -e -Ulock:w:0x3F:m -Uefuse:w:0xFD:m -Uhfuse:w:0xDA:m -Ulfuse:w:0xFF:m

/Applications/Arduino.app/Contents/Java/hardware/tools/avr/bin/avrdude -C/Applications/Arduino.app/Contents/Java/hardware/tools/avr/etc/avrdude.conf -v -patmega328p -cusbasp -Pusb -Uflash:w:/Applications/Arduino.app/Contents/Java/hardware/arduino/avr/bootloaders/atmega/ATmegaBOOT_168_atmega328_pro_8MHz.hex:i -Ulock:w:0x0F:m

Any idea?

[sleemanj]

When you upload using programmer the process by necessity erases the bootloader, this is correct operation, uploading using programmer means you can use the entire flash space for your program instead of wasting some kb for the bootloader.

Once you burn bootloader, disconnect your USBAsp programmer and connect to normal USB-Serial instead for further programming.