DS Death - How to recover

[rfolea]

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CAUTION: This is NOT yet approved by FIRST
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We bought the USB Clip from KwikByte that is supposed to allow you to re-flash the DS. (here)

We have had our share of problems with killing DS's (see DS_DEATH thread) so we thought we would share our resolution with you too.

We also happened to have a virgin DS on hand.

Here is the suite of tests we ran:
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1. Boot Virgin DS - Booted to OTB screen.

2. Setup KwikByte cable per instructions on their website
(used Hyperterm)

3. Re-Flashed unit per instructions. Worked fine.
Unit booted to OTB screen
Note this takes a good 20-30 minutes ....

4. Tried to screwup DS via power 'failure'. I couldn't do it.
I tried removing power 15 secs and 60 secs into process.
Both times the DS recovered.
I don't know how teams are messing this up, but I couldn't figure it out.
Gave up on this step.

5. Intentionally re-flashed the DS using a Thumb Drive and BETA DS
image because I KNEW that would destroy the DS (from first hand
experience, unfortunately ..). That worked great - DS is now dead.
(Only get KwikByte Screen)

6. Re-Flashed DS using the KiwkByte adapter - OTB operation was
re-established. No Problem. Again - this takes a good 20-30
minutes to complete and is not for the faint of heart (embedded
programmers are pre-qualified).

Observations: It appears to me that this special USB adapter is really just a USB to RS232 adapter. BUT, since the Competition port pin out is SUPER SECRET (ie we are not supposed to know what all of the pins do) we can't really make that assumption. Maybe someday we'll be allowed to use a generic RS232 to USB cable that we can run out and buy at Radio Shack of the office store, but for now the KwikByte adapter works fine and is reasonably priced.

Special Thanks to KwikByte for making this available so quickly.

- Rick

p.s. KwikByte tells me there may be some neat new features available in the future that take advantage of this cable ... maybe let you play with the linux OS? Hmmm ... We'll have to wait and see ...

******************************************
This Re-Flashing of the DS is NOT officially approved by FIRST.
Proceed at your own risk. The names have been changed to
protect the innocent. Nobody on this planet will cover your butt
if you screw this up. I deny all responsibility and won't even
admit having written this. Good Luck!
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[laurarhodes]

Rick,
Thanks for posting this information.

Our team also inadvertently used a memory stick containing a beta test driver station image to update the firmware on our brand new advance ship control system's unit. This left our Driver's Station non-functional - only displaying the KwikByte logo and never finishing the bootup sequence.

I sent an email to QuikByte late in the afternoon on the Friday before Christmas and received a reply almost immediately. QuikByte offered me the choice of sending my unit back to them to be reflashed or purchasing their FRC DriverStation USB Adapter Clip. I received the Adapter clip earlier this week. The clip attaches to the Competition port on the DS and its use does not require opening up the box. QuikByte has posted the instructions on their website, http://www.kwikbyte.com/DriverStation.html:// . The instructions are 10 pages long, require the downloading of some files from the web, and knowledge of the use of HyperTerminal. I agree that the process is not for the faint of heart. However, I followed the directions to the letter and revived my Driver's Station.

Bottom line- be careful when updating your Driver's Station firmware - done improperly, it can leave the device non-functional and without a Driver's Station, the robot is also non-functional. AndyMark sells a replacement DS for a reasonable cost. The folks at KwikByte are very responsive. The DS USB adapter clip works but one must follow the required sequence exactly.

Laura Rhodes
mentor, FRC Team 100
member of Beta Test Team 668/254/100

[otherguy]

I was a little bothered by the lack of answers available in the past could weeks on how to recover from a dead DS. Our team was basically left stuck waiting for a solution.
In KwickByte's defense they did provide very prompt responses... And their PDF on reflashing is everything you need to get back on your feet.
But it just doesn't seem right to require teams to purchase hardware they don't really need to get a broken DS back up and running.

For whatever reason KB isn't willing to supply the pinout for the Competition Port, luckily it's not difficult at all to hook up to.

As many people probably noticed KB is selling a USB --> Serial Dongle witch just emulates a serial port on your PC. This is fine for people who don't have a serial port on their computer, but for the majority of people who do have a PC with this hardware available it doesn't make sense to force them into buying a cable and wait for it to be shipped.

I successfully reflashed our bricked DS tonight using some spare wires I had lying around, and the provided PDF instructions on KB's website.

The RX and TX lines on the "Competition Port" are at their standard locations for a DB9 serial connector.
Simply follow the wiring diagram for a dumb null modem cable.
Note: there is other non-standard hardware connected to the Competition Port on the DS, I'm not sure if this could affect communications if an off the shelf NULL Modem Cable were used (i made my own cable so i haven't tested this)

Once the connection between the computer and DS is made, simply follow the DS_Utility_Loader.pdf instructions starting at 2.1 step #5

Hope this helps someone else out. And as always be careful and read through and understand all the instructions in the PDF before attempting the flash so you dont dig yourself a deeper hole.

[rfolea]

Rick,
Thanks for posting this information.

We'll add you to the cRio Survivors Club ...

[Joe Hershberger]

We'll add you to the cRio Survivors Club ...

cRIO?

[jross]

I was able to reflash the DS using a radioshack (vex) USB serial adapter and the following null modem adapter:http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

Since the DS outputs 9v on pins 6 & 7 of the competition port, I removed those pins from the null modem adapter.