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Check you've done all the setup steps on here:  http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Windows

Yes you can treat it as an Arduino Uno,

on the "Tools Programmer" what are you using to connect the EmonTx to your PC?

Thanks

in the Uno environment Under Tools Programmer I have selected the AVRisp Mk2

I have followed the link you sent and I think I have done everything OK - as it is for a standard uno it's not exactly the same as for the emonTx

My drivers I downloaded from '' http://www.silabs.com/products/mcu/Pages/USBtoUARTBridgeVCPDrivers.aspx''

and they seem as though they are installed OK.

if i pull the usb from the pc the com 3 vanishes from device manager and re-appears when plugged back in.

I have the board plugged in the right way up! a picture would have been helpful but I made sure i got that right ;)

I didn't try the blinking lights sketch as I don't even know if that should work as it's not a standard uno?

so I'm a bit stuck.

Oh I didn't solder the board myself it was bought pre-built.

I have checked the soldering on the programmer board. The ground looked as though it might be dodgy but i re-soldered it and it made no difference.

mike

sorry on a train :-)

so you now know that the arduino ide should be setup right.

no the blinking led wont work.

have you looked at the emontx pages under "get started" above & top left?

Yes a good few times.

doesn't mean I have absorbed or understood it all yet though but I am trying.

From what I remember/know of Windows 7, the instructions for Windows 8.1 here http://openenergymonitor.org/emon/node/3727 are fairly close, and if you know W7 reasonably well, you should be able to follow them.

Did you install the SILabs drivers or did you allow Windows to install the default ones? If the latter, that's wrong and, if I remember correctly, they don't work; hence you still need to manually install the SILabs ones.

The clue for connecting the programmer is to look carefully at the non-component side of the emonTx PCB and identify the Ground pin (connected to the ground plane), and line that up to the GND on the programmer. (We weren't the ones who chose a reversible connector - it's unfortunate that it is so, but we have to live with it. I recommend putting a blob of paint on the ends of the connectors.)

(I've never owned a W7 machine so I'm not very familiar with it - I went straight from XP to W8.1 dual-booted with Ubuntu, I use W8 only when forced to.)

Thanks Robert

I have read and followed the instructions for installing the drivers and I am certain that I have the programmer plugged in the right way. The board faces down in  relation to the main board, ground to ground etc.

I have tried various tricks that I have read on the Arduino forums but nothing seems to work.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Sorry to hear your still having trouble. What output do you see when you try and upload? You should see 'done uploading'. Have you selected 'uno' under the 'board' menu in the IDE?

If you have a multimeter to hand it would be good to check to see if the emonTx V3 is getting power, you should be able to measure both 5V and 3.3V on the terminal block as shown below when powering from the programmer : 

If after all this your still having trouble it might be the case that you have a faulty programmer. Drop us an email and we'll send you a replacement. 

Do you have an ac-ac adapter and a c.t. plugged in to your emonTx? (Or if not a c.t., an empty 3.5 mm plug?) What happens when you power your emonTx via the adapter (without the programmer being connected)?

(This is because what the emonTx default sketch does depends on what it sees when it powers up.)

When you then connect the programmer between your USB port and the emonTx, and you run the Arduino IDE, what happens when you open the serial monitor (the magnifying glass icon top right)?
If you get "Serial port ******* [in my case it's  '/dev/ttyUSB0'] not found. Did you select the right one from the Tools > Serial Port menu?" that means it cannot connect to the Programmer. If an empty window appears, you are talking to the programmer but not necessarily to the emonTx.

I do not have any other power supply at the moment as my 9v ac wall wart decided not to work am going to order new one.

I have been powering via the programmer. (i asked Glynn if that was Ok) the red led flashes ok so I didnt check voltages.

It seems like I have a good 5v but 1.76v on the 3.3 terminal

I get 3.3v if I disconnect the programmer and test the voltage from that.

I have

I have selected the right serial port (com3) and the serial monitor does open although it shows no traffic.

I do have a ct plugged in but I have been trying to upload other sketches as well to try to test the board.

oh and I have selected uno from the boards menu,

I don't see ''done uploading'' now but I am sure the first few times I tried it I did?

thanks

I just wrote a very quick program in .net to send a string to the port every half second and rigged up an led on a breadboard.

from the output of the programmer:    the led is flashing.

I would imagine that this means the problem lies on the board?

mike

To follow up I did a loopback test rx to tx and all data was writing and reading ok.

This is within my program with some test data , have not tested output from arduino ide.

perhaps I should try that next

just tried that with the led again and while it flashes quite nicely with my data being sent it doesn't even glimmer when i am uploading the program from the arduino ide.

which makes me suspect a possible set up problem - although the 3.3v on the board is not right so ...

hope that is informative.

mike

The new output I am getting is this:

avrdude: Version 5.11, compiled on Sep  2 2011 at 19:38:36
         Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Brian Dean, http://www.bdmicro.com/
         Copyright (c) 2007-2009 Joerg Wunsch

         System wide configuration file is "C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino/hardware/tools/avr/etc/avrdude.conf"

         Using Port                    : COM10
         Using Programmer              : arduino
         Overriding Baud Rate          : 115200
avrdude: Send: 0 [30]   [20]
avrdude: Send: 0 [30]   [20]
avrdude: Send: 0 [30]   [20]
avrdude: Recv:
avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00

avrdude done.  Thank you.

Been trying all day with no luck . I'm sure it's got to be something simple ?

one thing I said earlier was wrong I'm not getting 1.76v on the 3.3v terminal ;

I was reading the voltage difference between 5v and 3.3v !!  what an idiot :)

When you did the loopback test, did you use the Arduino IDE or another program?

I used a program I knocked up in VB.net .

I used the arduino IDE serial monitor after I'd realised that was an easier way.and that worked as well.

well I can't think of anything else to try myself so it looks like the board will have to go back.

It looks as it you can get as far as the output of the programmer and back, and  the voltages now appear to be right. You're fairly convinced you've done everything right, and I can't think of anything else (and apparently neither can anyone else!) I think it's time to get back to Glyn. Before you do that, where are you in the country? (Just in case there's someone within reach who might be able to help.)

Thanks Robert that's a very nice thought.

I am in west Norfolk near Kings lynn and Downham market

Sounds like the emonTx is faulty, I've been in touch with Mike to organize replacement.  Thanks to everyone who's been helping on this thread