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1. 

   iamtr3s
   Member

   Hello guys!

   I'm new around here, but spent the last couple of months reading this forum!

   I'm working on a micromouse and i am using the STM32F103 as a microprocessor. I found the Maple mini and it seemed to be a great starting devboard for this project :) .
   I gathered as much information as i can and finally made my microumouse's board.
   It is identical to Maple Mini in terms of conections, it has the same USB DISC circuit, the same LED pin, etc.

   Here's my circuit:

   http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff159/super-mascarada/uMouse/vertigoschematic.png

   The Problem:

   Right now i've been able to flash the bootloader without problems, already used 3 different tools to do it and all of them were sucessfull! Connect the FTDI board to RX, TX, 3v3 and GND and tied BOOT1 to GND, exactly as it would be done with Maple Mini.
   The problem is that after reset (and connecting the board's usb) nothing happens! :( The status led doesn't blink, Windows doesn't detect any DFU or device whatsoever :S

   Do you have any idea about what could be happening? The fact that i can flash the bootlader, read and write the STM32 via FTDI sucessfully assures me that the microcontroller and supply circuit, are all working as they should.

   Thank you all in advance ;)

   Posted 2 years ago #
2. 

   gbulmer
   Moderator

   iamtr3s - Welcome! Would you please read the posting guidelines http://forums.leaflabs.com/topic.php?id=994
   Would you please confirm which bootloader you are using? There are several, so this may be an easy explanation for the problem.

   Also, would you tell us the version of the IDE, Windows, etc?
   Can you confirm that you can't put the board into perpetual bootloader mode? http://leaflabs.com/docs/troubleshooting.html#perpetual-bootloader-mode

   Did you prototype all of your circuit using a Maple mini?
   Did you make a Maple mini using your own PCB layout to ensure that part works?
   Did you partly build the micromouse PCB, using the bare minimum of a Maple mini and test that to ensure it works?
   What other tests did you do, and what were the results of those tests?
   Do you have test points to get at signals on the board? Do you have an oscilloscope?

   Your circuit is relatively complex, and so there is a possibility that some parts of it aren't functioning correctly, causing problems.
   So, I'd recommend you write some programs to test subsets of the hardware. One of the first thing to test would be blinking the onboard LED. If that works, you can use it as an indicator for other tests. Have you already done this?

   I assume you have enough knowledge to write embedded C programs.

   You could try uploading test programs, without using the USB bootloader. Unfortunately, libmaple does some quite complex things 'under the covers'. Also, IIRC ordinary Maple programs assume the bootloader has set things up (I'd need to double check this, but I feel 95% sure). So these complications may make the defect hard to find using Maple programs (sketches). Hence you may usefully scan through the initialisation for libmaple, and maybe the bootloader, to simplify it.

   You might also examine an ordinary STM32 test program, for example at
   http://www.st.com/stonline/stappl/resourceSelector/app?page=resourceSelector&doctype=FIRMWARE&SubClassID=1169
   you will find
   http://www.st.com/internet/com/SOFTWARE_RESOURCES/SW_COMPONENT/FIRMWARE/stm32f10x_stdperiph_lib.zip
   which has some programs designed for a 'raw' stm32f. Use the GPIO test to exercise different parts of your circuit.

   Posted 2 years ago #

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