- Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:26 pm
#178430
I recently purchased the blue 7-segment serial display for a temperature controller project. My intent was and still is to connect it to an AVR via I2C. However, I first tested it with basic serial and it worked great. My initial tests were on an Atmega32 with the hardware UART, but I plan on using an Attiny84 for the project. Anyway, I downloaded two different AVR I2C software libraries (the tiny84 doesn't have built in hardware TWI support) and tried both on the tiny84. No luck. I then switched back over to the mega32 and tried both software libraries as well as the hardware TWI and again, no luck. I've checked the connections multiple times and everything is hooked up properly. I've connected the display both with and without pull up resistors. All I can get on the display is "0000".
So I came here and searched. It would seem that this is a common problem, although mostly with SPI and it stems from the wrong display type being defined in the firmware. So, basically, I bought a broken component. :doh: What I want to know is if it is possible to update the firmware without the FTDI board or cable. I simply refuse to pay for another product that I do not want or need, one that costs more than the broken part, to fix a problem that I did not cause. I will go another route with another manufacturer before I'll do that.
How do I fix this? The tiny84 doesn't have a hardware UART and I could just write a software UART, but if I ever decide to repurpose the display, it would be nice to know that it has full functionality. Ignoring the problem and using the serial connection is not acceptable.
No, I am not using the AVR as an Arduino, nor do I have any desire to do so.
So I came here and searched. It would seem that this is a common problem, although mostly with SPI and it stems from the wrong display type being defined in the firmware. So, basically, I bought a broken component. :doh: What I want to know is if it is possible to update the firmware without the FTDI board or cable. I simply refuse to pay for another product that I do not want or need, one that costs more than the broken part, to fix a problem that I did not cause. I will go another route with another manufacturer before I'll do that.
How do I fix this? The tiny84 doesn't have a hardware UART and I could just write a software UART, but if I ever decide to repurpose the display, it would be nice to know that it has full functionality. Ignoring the problem and using the serial connection is not acceptable.
No, I am not using the AVR as an Arduino, nor do I have any desire to do so.