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No connection to the ArduPilot via the USB port - solved!

Posted by jaron on May 2, 2009 at 4:06am

Setup- Windows XP / Windows Vista (Virtual COM port Driver 2.04.16)- Arduino 0015 IDE (Arduino Duemilanove w/ Atmega328)- Sparkfun FTDI Basic Breakout - 5V- ArduPilot with ATMega328Problem- No connection to the ArduPilot board via the USB port-> Error: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00Facts- The connected FTDI board shows up as COM4 but there is no LED activity at all- The FTDI board's pins to the ArduPilot's pins are: GND->GND, CTS->VCC, 5V->GRN, TXO->TXO, RXI->RXI, DTR->CTS (differs from what is described here)Questions- How did those of you who own the Sparkfun FTDI board connect it to the ArduPilot (pins->pins)?- Shouldn't there be some RX/TX LED activity on the FTDI board when I manually send some characters via the Arduino IDE (115200 baud)?- What should I do next to localize the problem?

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Replies

Jerry LeDrew May 14, 2009 at 6:47pm

My FTDI board shows up as com 9 and XP found it without putting in drivers ...Not sure what the baud rate was but the two LEDs on the FTDI light when up-loading the software ...
jaron May 2, 2009 at 8:11am

Thanks again. I figured it out and I could upload the code.

I added a blog post about How to connect a Sparkfun FTDI board to the ArduPilot. I know it's so easy but it showed me how hard even the simplest things for a beginner can be. I mean like GND = BLK because ground is black...
Reto May 2, 2009 at 7:49am
Reto May 2, 2009 at 7:49am

FTDI GND is going into BLK near GPS connector. So both +current Vcc together (5v on your FTDI and Vcc on ArduPilot are connected. FTDI Tx is on AP Rx, FTDI Rx is on AP Tx.
It's simple, the FTDI goes next to GPS connector. If the oupload doesn't work, turn the FTDI 180° and it should be ok. In fact when plugged, my FTDI chip is on the side of the AP chip
I think now your code is going straight into your board?
jaron May 2, 2009 at 6:41am

Thanks Reto, I didn't get it when I first read Chris' post.

So the next question is, where can I find the DTR pin on the ArduPilot?
Reto May 2, 2009 at 5:26am

Hi Jaron, why do it differently from Chris's explanation? If you plug your FTDI so that the FTDI Rx is on ARDUPilot Tx, everything shall go smooth. When two are talking at the same time, nobody is listening!!!