Arduino Not Responding -- NEWBIE Help

[JonnyDev13]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the very first phases of trying to build some mysensors. Among other things, I purchased the 10pcs Arduino Pro Mini Compatible 5V and the FTDI USB to TTL Serial Adapter from the store page of the site.

I am running Windows 8.1.

I don't have the ethernet hardware I need to build a gateway yet, but in the meantime I have been trying to do really basic things with an arduino, like get a sketch to upload to it and run. I've tried on both codebender and Arduino 1.6.10 installed on my machine and neither work.

I have connected the FTDI USB to TTL Serial Adapter to my USB port, and a new COM3 port shows under Device Manager as "USB Serial Port (COM3)". I originally had a sensor wired into a breadboard with an arduino to see if I could get some readings, but since then I pulled the arduino out and connected it only to the FTDI adaptor and nothing else. When the adapter is connected to the arduino, I get one solid red light and one that flashes on briefly every second or so.

On the desktop IDE, I tried using the BareMinimum example, which consists of this:

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:

}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

}

In the IDE, I've selected
Board: Arduino Pro or Pro Mini
Processor: ATMega328 (5V, 16MHz)
Port: COM3

And I get the following message when I try to upload:

Build options changed, rebuilding all

Sketch uses 444 bytes (1%) of program storage space. Maximum is 30,720 bytes.
Global variables use 9 bytes (0%) of dynamic memory, leaving 2,039 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2,048 bytes.
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 1 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x25
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 2 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x25
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 3 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x25
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 4 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x25
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 5 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x25
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 6 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x25
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 7 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x25
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 8 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x25
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 9 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x25
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 10 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x25
Problem uploading to board.  See http://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Troubleshooting#upload for suggestions.

On codebender, I created an account and tried to run through the Getting Started guide. I installed the Chrome extension, I downloaded and installed some drivers, and now I'm stuck on Page 4 of 5, which is trying to run a basic sketch on my Arduino. Using the same options as above for the local IDE, it gives me the error "An error occurred while connecting to your device. Please try again."

I've tried what troubleshooting steps I can find for this issue, but most of the advice I see says to select the correct board and correct serial port in the settings. As far as I know, I have done that. For good measure, I even tried one of the other Arduino boards I received in my 10 pack in case the one I was using had problems. The 2nd one didn't work either.

What do I need to do to get past this issue and be able to upload a sketch to the Arduino? What am I missing?

[mfalkvidd]

@JonnyDev13 welcome to MySensors!

From what you are describing, it seems like you have done everything right.

Codebender and MySensors 2.0 don't play nice together so focus on getting the Arduino IDE working.

The solid red led is the power indicator. Since it is on, it means the Arduino is getting power from the ftdi adapter. The flashing led blink is the default blink sketch (commonly preloaded on Arduino clones) so this means the Arduino is working.

The "Sketch uses..." and "Global variables use..." messages confirm that you have installed the MySensors correctly, so no error there either.

Could you try the following?

1. Press upload in the Arduino IDE
2. When the text "Uploading" is shown in the IDE, press the reset button on the Arduino briefly.

Some ftdi adapters are unable to reset the Arduino automatically (reset must be done to upload new code). So hopefully this helps.

[Honk]

make really sure that the pins are connected right

yours seems to be mixed around. turn it around

[JonnyDev13]

Thank you for the responses!

@Hermann-Kaiser, I confirmed that the pins are aligned properly. The FTDI board needs to be upside down in order for the proper pins to line up. But I have VCC->VCC, and the Tx->Rx and Rx-Tx pins matching between the two boards. I assume that is correct since the board is being powered, and one board's transmit would be the other's receive. Is that correct?

@mfalkvidd, thanks, I'm excited to be here! Ok, I closed all browsers with Codebender and disabled the extensioin for good measure. Just to clarify, BareMinimum is one of the Arduino 1.6.10 examples I'm trying to use without even including MySensors yet. I don't think that matters at this point, but just want to be sure we're on the same page. I tried hitting the reset button two different times. The first time, I just clicked it after "Uploading" appeared. Still got the same error. The second time, I clicked upload again, and when "Upload" appeared, I held the arduino button down for about two seconds and then released. Once again, I received the same error both times.

Any additional thoughts?

[mfalkvidd]

Thanks for the clarification.

I agree that the pins should be fincw since vcc and gnd line up.

Bad usb cables have been a source of problems before. Do you have another cable you can try?

If you have access to another computer it might be useful to see if switching computers makes a difference.

[JonnyDev13]

Thanks for the additional suggestion.

I tried two additional mini USB cables that I had, and neither worked at first. Then, the last one I tried just started working and successfully uploaded the sketch. I tried the other cables that weren't working before and they worked too. Then I tried the first Arduino that I couldn't upload to, and it worked as well!

All that to say, I don't know what the problem was before, but it seems to be ok at the moment...

One more quick question. I'm using some of the headers that came with my Arduinos to connect the FTDI adapter, and they don't seem to be in there very firmly or with a consistent connection to the contacts. With all the tests I tried before, I made sure that the power light seemed to have a constant on-state as I attempted to upload. I don't think the physical contact was the issue, but I want to make sure I'm doing things in the best way I can.

See the attached image. Is this a good way to be connecting the arduino and adapter?

Thanks!

[JonnyDev13]

I got a test circuit wired up yesterday afternoon with one temperature sensor and the arduino. It didn't work. I got out the multimeter and there was not voltage coming through the wire connected (through the breadboard) to the VCC contact in the arduino, even though there was voltage if I touched it to the arduino contact directly. Apparently something I'm doing with the headers is not quite right. I'll research and try to figure it out, but I'd be happy if anybody here has suggestions.