Help making a Soarer's controller with a ProMicro

[Jaki1122]

Hi everyone, first of all, thanks for reading!
Well, some time ago (6 months ago or so) I made a Soarer's adapter for a Model F XT and it works flawlessly. Now I got a BigFoot, so I'm trying to do the same, but I'm running with a little issue.

If I didn't understood badly, making a controller or a converter is really easy, just flash the correspondent .hex file (the one that ends with atmega32u4) with avrdude and then you check with scinfo that all is at it should before proceeding to load the configuration. Well, I flash the Soarer_Controller_v1.20_beta4_atmega32u4.hex, I can read on the terminal (I'm working on Linux) that all has gone well, then try to check and... Soarer's converter not found. Well, I'll try again (yes, yes, I'm shorting RST with GND 2 times to get into the right mode, and yes, avrdude returns exactly what it should) but no luck. I don't give up that easily, so I tried with another Pro Micro, same luck (I bought 2 for this, just in case), so I went ahead and booted up a Windows to try doing it in anther SO just because... I don't know why... But same, again, cmd returns everything is ok, but is not. I also tried to make a converter instead, but even using the same files I had from when I made my original converter, it wouldn't go, Windows doesn't recognise what is plugged in after flashing the .hex (either of them). If I test scinfo with my functioning converter, it does work, and of course, Windows doesn't complain it doesn't recognise what has just been plugged in.

Just to be clear, my goal is to do a controller for the BigFoot, the converter part is just some troubleshooting I made

My only 2 hypothesis are that either I'm stupid or that those Pro Micro are not exactly what they say they are. Clearly written on the MCU is "MEGA32u4 -MU 1821E PH 1821RGY". I noticed that my working Pro Micro, despite being identical in shape color and everything, the MCU says "MEGA32u4 -MU 1821E PH A9QZ6A". The only other thing to add is that I shorted J1 to prevent the voltage drop on this boards and that I already have my BigFoot hooked up to one of the Pro Micros, so I got some work already done.

I purchased both of Pro Micros here: https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B07FQJ ... =UTF8&th=1 (it was on sale, I paid like 3,5 euros each couple of months ago).
The other one came way before, from another seller.

So... ideas? Thanks!

[kelvinhall05]

I use those exact Pro Micros, they work fine for controllers. Can you post AVRdude terminal output on Pastebin and link here?

[purdobol]

They're finicky when it comes to flashing. It's good you're familiar with linux though. Since it's way easier to do it on that os.
All necessary steps are here: viewtopic.php?t=8448

I do it this way:
1. Pro Micro connected to check the device name in terminal.
2. Disconnect the device and enter the flashing command in the terminal to get it ready.
3. Connect Pro Micro again and immediately short Rst and Ground. I do it once but for longer time (around 1-2 seconds)
4. Then hit enter on the terminal. Led on pro micro should light up, and flashing should complete.

Experiment with the timing and it will work.

[Jaki1122]

They're finicky when it comes to flashing. It's good you're familiar with linux though. Since it's way easier to do it on that os.
All necessary steps are here: viewtopic.php?t=8448

I do it this way:
1. Pro Micro connected to check the device name in terminal.
2. Disconnect the device and enter the flashing command in the terminal to get it ready.
3. Connect Pro Micro again and immediately short Rst and Ground. I do it once but for longer time (around 1-2 seconds)
4. Then hit enter on the terminal. Led on pro micro should light up, and flashing should complete.

Experiment with the timing and it will work.

Thanks but... I did know this, I made sure that it was flashing like it should.
I'll try again to get the output of avrdude and post it here, I don't think it's gonna work, but hey, you never know!
EDIT: no, it didn't work
You can check what AVRDude has to say about this in the pastebin link below.

[Jaki1122]

I use those exact Pro Micros, they work fine for controllers. Can you post AVRdude terminal output on Pastebin and link here?

Sure!
Here you go. Still doesn't want to work.
https://pastebin.com/Dvj4JfHJ

[kelvinhall05]

I use those exact Pro Micros, they work fine for controllers. Can you post AVRdude terminal output on Pastebin and link here?

Sure!
Here you go. Still doesn't want to work.
https://pastebin.com/Dvj4JfHJ

Ok so yeah it does seem like it's flashing fine, but one thing to keep in mind is that the Bigfoot needs a controller, not a converter. I believe that requires a special .hex file/firmware, but I might be wrong.

[Jaki1122]

I use those exact Pro Micros, they work fine for controllers. Can you post AVRdude terminal output on Pastebin and link here?

Sure!
Here you go. Still doesn't want to work.
https://pastebin.com/Dvj4JfHJ

Ok so yeah it does seem like it's flashing fine, but one thing to keep in mind is that the Bigfoot needs a controller, not a converter. I believe that requires a special .hex file/firmware, but I might be wrong.

You are not wrong, that's the file that is supposed to work. However, I also attempted to flash the same .hex I used for the normal converter (just to test if it was the .hex) and it doesn't work: is not recognised in either Win 10 and Linux. It should work in that case, but no way, and I've got no idea why. Maybe this Pro Micro clones have HID disabled or something, it's my only guess.

[kelvinhall05]

Sure!
Here you go. Still doesn't want to work.
https://pastebin.com/Dvj4JfHJ

Ok so yeah it does seem like it's flashing fine, but one thing to keep in mind is that the Bigfoot needs a controller, not a converter. I believe that requires a special .hex file/firmware, but I might be wrong.

You are not wrong, that's the file that is supposed to work. However, I also attempted to flash the same .hex I used for the normal converter (just to test if it was the .hex) and it doesn't work: is not recognised in either Win 10 and Linux. It should work in that case, but no way, and I've got no idea why. Maybe this Pro Micro clones have HID disabled or something, it's my only guess.

I dunno, but I bought literally that exact same one (four of them, actually) and they all work fine as converters. Are you wiring it correctly? Maybe there's a short somewhere and it's resetting itself constantly, or yours is faulty.

[Jaki1122]

Ok so yeah it does seem like it's flashing fine, but one thing to keep in mind is that the Bigfoot needs a controller, not a converter. I believe that requires a special .hex file/firmware, but I might be wrong.

You are not wrong, that's the file that is supposed to work. However, I also attempted to flash the same .hex I used for the normal converter (just to test if it was the .hex) and it doesn't work: is not recognised in either Win 10 and Linux. It should work in that case, but no way, and I've got no idea why. Maybe this Pro Micro clones have HID disabled or something, it's my only guess.

I dunno, but I bought literally that exact same one (four of them, actually) and they all work fine as converters. Are you wiring it correctly? Maybe there's a short somewhere and it's resetting itself constantly, or yours is faulty.

If you plug a Pro Micro with either the controller or converter firmwares running, the PC should detect it as "Soarer's converter", it doesn't matter if you have no cables on it (and I checked with my working converter this is the case). With my problematic Pro Micros, this doesn't happen, the computer can't recognise them. However, if I flash something like the famous "blink" example code from Arduino, it flashes and works fine, so it can only be either the MCU not being exactly what is says it is or its partially defective.

[kelvinhall05]

You are not wrong, that's the file that is supposed to work. However, I also attempted to flash the same .hex I used for the normal converter (just to test if it was the .hex) and it doesn't work: is not recognised in either Win 10 and Linux. It should work in that case, but no way, and I've got no idea why. Maybe this Pro Micro clones have HID disabled or something, it's my only guess.

I dunno, but I bought literally that exact same one (four of them, actually) and they all work fine as converters. Are you wiring it correctly? Maybe there's a short somewhere and it's resetting itself constantly, or yours is faulty.

If you plug a Pro Micro with either the controller or converter firmwares running, the PC should detect it as "Soarer's converter", it doesn't matter if you have no cables on it (and I checked with my working converter this is the case). With my problematic Pro Micros, this doesn't happen, the computer can't recognise them. However, if I flash something like the famous "blink" example code from Arduino, it flashes and works fine, so it can only be either the MCU not being exactly what is says it is or its partially defective.

I might be wrong but I don't recall it showing up as "Soarer's converter". Does it show up when you run lsusb?

Try connecting a keyboard to it and seeing if it works. I think it will.

[Jaki1122]

I dunno, but I bought literally that exact same one (four of them, actually) and they all work fine as converters. Are you wiring it correctly? Maybe there's a short somewhere and it's resetting itself constantly, or yours is faulty.

If you plug a Pro Micro with either the controller or converter firmwares running, the PC should detect it as "Soarer's converter", it doesn't matter if you have no cables on it (and I checked with my working converter this is the case). With my problematic Pro Micros, this doesn't happen, the computer can't recognise them. However, if I flash something like the famous "blink" example code from Arduino, it flashes and works fine, so it can only be either the MCU not being exactly what is says it is or its partially defective.

I might be wrong but I don't recall it showing up as "Soarer's converter". Does it show up when you run lsusb?

Try connecting a keyboard to it and seeing if it works. I think it will.

It doesn't appear when running lsusb, but it does appear on the emergent notification on Win10 and in certain commands / tools on Linux, like Kinfocenter (I use KDE), as you can see in the screenshot attached.
That of course, is with my working one, the others don't appear or are not recognised.

PD: don't think less of me, I'm not using a "gaming keyboard"! seems to be the name of one the cheap AT to USB adapters I got, I'm actually typing on a Northgate Omnikey 101!!

[kelvinhall05]

If you plug a Pro Micro with either the controller or converter firmwares running, the PC should detect it as "Soarer's converter", it doesn't matter if you have no cables on it (and I checked with my working converter this is the case). With my problematic Pro Micros, this doesn't happen, the computer can't recognise them. However, if I flash something like the famous "blink" example code from Arduino, it flashes and works fine, so it can only be either the MCU not being exactly what is says it is or its partially defective.

I might be wrong but I don't recall it showing up as "Soarer's converter". Does it show up when you run lsusb?

Try connecting a keyboard to it and seeing if it works. I think it will.

It doesn't appear when running lsusb, but it does appear on the emergent notification on Win10 and in certain commands / tools on Linux, like Kinfocenter (I use KDE), as you can see in the screenshot attached.
That of course, is with my working one, the others don't appear or are not recognised.

PD: don't think less of me, I'm not using a "gaming keyboard"! seems to be the name of one the cheap AT to USB adapters I got, I'm actually typing on a Northgate Omnikey 101!!

Hm, maybe something is wrong with your specific Pro Micro. Sadly, I don't know if I can diagnose it more. I would still just try connecting it to a keyboard and seeing if it works...it's worth a shot.

[Jaki1122]

I might be wrong but I don't recall it showing up as "Soarer's converter". Does it show up when you run lsusb?

Try connecting a keyboard to it and seeing if it works. I think it will.

It doesn't appear when running lsusb, but it does appear on the emergent notification on Win10 and in certain commands / tools on Linux, like Kinfocenter (I use KDE), as you can see in the screenshot attached.
That of course, is with my working one, the others don't appear or are not recognised.

PD: don't think less of me, I'm not using a "gaming keyboard"! seems to be the name of one the cheap AT to USB adapters I got, I'm actually typing on a Northgate Omnikey 101!!

Hm, maybe something is wrong with your specific Pro Micro. Sadly, I don't know if I can diagnose it more. I would still just try connecting it to a keyboard and seeing if it works...it's worth a shot.

Thanks for the help, I'll let you know if I manage to fix it. No, it doesn't work if hooked up to the keyboard (in either case, converter or controller). Serial comunication work on the Pro Micro though... Anyway, I'll probably get another Pro Micro and try again, see what happens.

[Jaki1122]

Hello everyone! Yes, its been a very very loooooong time since last time I posted, but as you know, I had to order new Pro Micros (mine was apparently busted) and when they finally arrived I was already on something else. Now I took out of the box the BigFoot and give it another try. Now the Pro Micro does speak to the computer and it does appear as Soare's Controller. The keyboard however still doesn't do anything. I think it may be due to faulty wiring from my side (yet it's been checked a couple of times) or a faulty board of the keyboard (yet it seems right, without shorts, and still with a couple of apparently healthy capacitors. Anyway, it's late today, I'll continue tomorrow.