Can't connect Linux box to BlinkyTape

talmage

I need help getting my brand new BlinkyTape to work with my Linux box. I bought my BlinkyTape yesterday at RobotFest in Maryland. (Hi, Matt!) It worked for a little while with PatternPaint, then it stopped working. It no longer lights up when I plug it in, although it did for a few minutes when I first plugged it in. PatternPaint says "debug MainWindow::on_tapeConnectDisconnect_clicked: Tapes found: 0" when I press the Connect button.

I've reset the BlinkyTape with a couple of needles per the instructions on the Troubleshooting page. I also removed the modem manager. Neither of those actions appear to have helped me.

Below is some output from dmesg. You can see that the BlinkyTape is recognized for a little while. Then my linux box gives up.

[ 1437.628143] usb 2-1.3: Product: BlinkyTape
[ 1437.628146] usb 2-1.3: Manufacturer: BlinkyTape
[ 1437.628631] cdc_acm 2-1.3:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device
[ 1443.735311] usb 2-1.3: USB disconnect, device number 18
[ 1445.468200] usb 2-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 19 using ehci-pci
[ 1445.562105] usb 2-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=1d50, idProduct=606c
[ 1445.562111] usb 2-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=1, SerialNumber=0
[ 1445.562115] usb 2-1.3: Product: BlinkyTape
[ 1445.562118] usb 2-1.3: Manufacturer: BlinkyTape
[ 1445.562513] cdc_acm 2-1.3:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device
[ 1451.293743] perf samples too long (2523 > 2500), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 50000
[ 1453.209425] usb 2-1.3: USB disconnect, device number 19
[ 1453.409850] usb 2-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 20 using ehci-pci
[ 1453.481868] usb 2-1.3: device descriptor read/64, error -32
[ 1453.657918] usb 2-1.3: device descriptor read/64, error -32
[ 1453.833978] usb 2-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 21 using ehci-pci
[ 1453.906008] usb 2-1.3: device descriptor read/64, error -32
[ 1454.082079] usb 2-1.3: device descriptor read/64, error -32
[ 1454.258117] usb 2-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 22 using ehci-pci
[ 1454.666022] usb 2-1.3: device not accepting address 22, error -32
[ 1454.738230] usb 2-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 23 using ehci-pci
[ 1455.146140] usb 2-1.3: device not accepting address 23, error -32
[ 1455.146292] hub 2-1:1.0: unable to enumerate USB device on port 3

Threeethan

Hi there! Sorry you've run into some trouble.

Matt and I think this sounds like the tape got a bad hex file upload and the reset should help - basically it seems like the board is booting up, then it runs into an issue when it tries to execute the stored file.

I think that the reset procedure is still what you want to do: keep in mind that resetting the board just gives you a few seconds to initiate a firmware upload back onto the controller board - it's just like hitting the reset button on an old computer, so if you don't change the program on there nothing will be different. We recommend that you put the original firmware (Production Sketch) back on there, so when you've successfully performed the reset + firmware reflash you'll see the rainbow pattern as a confirmation that it's been successful. See: https://github.com/Blinkinlabs/BlinkyTape/tree/master/ProductionSketch and the Arduino page if you need help with the initial Arduino setup for BlinkyTape. You'll need to make sure that Arduino is set up for the Arduino Leonardo and your port, /dev/ttyACM0 before you start.

Keep in mind that the timing of the reset + firmware flash can be a bit fiddly - it usually takes me at least 2-3 tries before the the firmware upload takes properly.

Also - feel free to shoot us an email at support@blinkinlabs.com if you need faster feedback.

talmage

Thank you, Threeethan and Matt. It took me many tries to reset my BlinkyTape and load ProductionSketch, but it worked!

Matt Mets

Great! Glad you got it going again!