1/3 of my Digisparks can be programmed

[fraguada]

Hello,
I am on a late 2009 Mac Book Pro 13" running Windows 7 x64.  When I got my digisparks I went through the getting starter tutorials, but was never able to program the one I opened.  I would always get to uploading the code, and the programmer would just stay there saying

Running Digispark Uploader...
Plug in device now...

So I put it away for a rainy day.  I thought I would need to try and get a powered hub or something.  Today I tried again, starting from scratch, but was getting the same behavior.  So I thought to try the other digisparks.  The second one, same behavior.  Windows does not recognize that it is plugged in.  They are both powered, wait a bit, then start blinking.  Third time was a charm.  This third digispark is recognized by Windows, and is recognized by the programmer.  I was able to upload code and test some things out.

So, my question is, whats up with that!?  Why would one work and the two others not?

Any suggestions on what I could try?

Thanks!

[Bluebie]

On Mac's there is an issue where for some reason no status information is printed out until the upload has completed or failed entirely, so you need to plug the digispark in and then just wait five seconds or so. If nothing happens after that long, there might be an issue. Try opening up 'Console' from Applications/Utilities and see if any USB related errors come up when you plug the digispark in.


And just to confirm you are plugging the digispark in when instructed, not leaving it plugged in and just pressing upload at some random time after?

[fraguada]

Hello Bluebie,

Yes, I am plugging in the Digispark when insructed by the Arduino console, unplugging when I go to do the upload again.

I am doing this through boot camp, not in OSX.  Windows does not even recognize the two digisparks, only the third digispark gets recognized.  They all light up and get power, but only one can be programmed.

[XtremeIN]

I have a similar situation. I have three DigiSparks, two of them work great. The third one does not get recognized by Windows (32 bit Vista)

Micheal

[Mark]

Michael

Couple of questions.
Extension cable or direct to the PC?
What else is plugged into the USB sockets?

I'm picking the second and third are being plugged into the same port, so that leaves connection issues. (or failed hardware)

Mark

[digistump]

In addition to Mark's questions -


Can you look and see if the pads on the USB end of the Digispark are aligned the same as the good Digisparks you have?


Try same port, try different ports, and try a hub or extension cable - also make sure the Digispark is sitting snuggly in the port, some can be a tiny bit thinner and that can cause issues (which are easily solved with some tape on the bottom of the USB end)

[Bluebie]

Could you try doing an upload in Mac OS X? The program which handles uploading files in to the digispark was developed primarily on two Macs in 10.8 "Mountain Lion", and generally speaking the USB drivers in Mac OS X and Linux are just more reliable and predictable than the ones included with Windows. Another advantage is that I think the Digispark software on non-windows platforms uploads twice as quickly, unless someone figured out how to fix that timing bug I never discovered a good fix for. You don't need to install any special drivers in Mac OS X - it should all just work out of the box.


It's probably a dead end, but I'm just a little curious if the behaviour is at all different.

[XtremeIN]

Once again thank you everyone for quick and quality responses. The pad alignment looks the same on all five (received two more today). I am directly plugging them into various USB port built within the laptop.  I do not have any cables or hubs (which would you suggest me trying). But, after a bit of wiggling and holding the DigiSparks at different angles I have gotten all of them to work !!!!

[Mark]

Well done.

I would suggest that the purchase of a quality extension cable that features sprung pins on the contacts.
ie the four pieces that make contact with the gold plated contact points on the Digispark.

This ensures a reliable connection every time.
Mine was a NZ $20 at the expensive store.


After a few insertions, you may wish to look at the gold plating on the digispark.
You should notice marks where the socket makes contact.
Mine are on target but not dead centre.



I'll try to get a photo tomorrow of the extension cord to show what I mean.

I suspect that some of the USB Outlets need the metal outer pieces to help hold them in place and tight.

Mark

[fraguada]

Being the OP I just wanted to follow up on this.  I was able to finally program everything.  I am on a 2009 MBP running Windows 7 x64 on Boot Camp.  The one digispark worked fine, no prob.  The other two, were not behaving...windows not noticing them, but reveiving power.  After trying some wiggling, I got the other two to take the code by rotating them (normal to the USB port hole) once in the USB port.  This works fine for both the USB port or with a USB cable.