Syntherrupter - Help and Issues

[tronic]

Unfortunately, I am having great problems rebuilding the great project
and would be happy if someone finds the error

Bought new : EK-TM4C1294XL
Bought new : NEXTION NX8048T050-011

Connected
 red +
black -
yellow PA5
blue PA4

Step 1 :
Download "Syntherrupter_Firmwares_v4.2.0-beta.7.zip".
unzip
LM Flash Programmer installed under Windows 10
Quickset TM4C1294XL Launchpad
Program Syntherrupter_Tiva_1_Coil.bin

-> programming & verifying complete-passed

Step 2
File "Syntherrupter_Nextion_NX8048T050_011.tft on Mico-SD".
Insert SD card into display and switch on
Display performs update, message successful

power off

Nothing, display remains dark

[Max]

Hello tronic and welcome to the forum!


Sorry to hear that your Syntherrupter doesn't work and thank you for the detailed report. Unfortunately I cannot reproduce the issue here. If I flash the files the device powers up fine. Assuming it's not a hardware issue there's only one difference between your setup and mine; your device is all new; meaning its EEPROM does not contain any settings. I'll have a look at that - though I don't think that's the origin of your issues.
Other than that it might be a power supply issue but it seems somewhat unlikely, too...

Couple questions for further debugging:
Do you have a scope?
Any way to decode serial data (to check the coms between the screen and the microcontroller)?
Do you feel comfortable using a tool like Syfoh?


I hope we get this fixed soon!
Max

[tronic]

Thank you very much for your support.
Yes, oscillator with serial coding is available, but no signal comes out of the TX PIN.

[Max]

If you want, we can continue this dialog via PM or any chat platform instead of "spamming" this topic. I'll afterwards report here what the solution was. If you agree, let me know the contact details via PM.
That aside, "TX PIN" is unfortunately unclear... Do you mean tiva's TX pin or Nextion's?

Kind regards,
Max

[Max]

The issue was a bug in the v4.2.0-beta.3 - v4.2.0-beta.7 firmware versions. It has been fixed with the v4.2.0 (stable) release. Unfortunately this is likely not the fix for Mathieu's issue...

Kind regards,
Max

[Cameron Prince]

Hi @Max,

I'm continuing to make progress with my Syntherrupter and have even purchased a second set up to work with on the bench.

I'm trying to get the Lightsaber function working, but having some troubles. There are some inconsistencies with the documentation related to the ESP-01's and I'd like to confirm which are correct. In learning about these boards, I see that others are concerned about possibly needing a level shifter when connecting with the RX/TX of the Tiva due to the 3.3V <-> 5.0V differences.

I have been able to successfully program the ESP's using a USB serial adapter made for them. I have not been able to program through the USB -> ESP bridge in the Syntherrupter, but the Nextion flashes with no problem. The Syntherrupter displays a message on the USB -> ESP bridge screen indicating GPIO0 must be set to ground to flash the ESP, but if you look at the main schematic, it shows GPIO2 being set to ground via the switch: https://github.com/MMMZZZZ/Syntherrupter/blob/dev/Documentation/Wiring%20and%20Schematics/Syntherrupter%20Complete/Syntherrupter%20Complete%20Schematic.png

I've tried grounding both pins (separately) and I see the blue COMM LED flash in unison with me clicking the program button, but the software never shows the QR code or device ID like it does using the USB serial adapter to flash with.

I have flashed multiple ESPs using the USB serial adapter and have made several receivers and senders. They don't seem to ever connect. I don't see the blue COMM LED ever flash on the senders like yours does in the YouTube video. I do see the flashes on the receiver.

It's also unclear to me how the Syntherrupter Lightsaber UI is to operate. I hold down on the buttons to assign an address, but the buttons just darken for a moment and nothing happens.

There are some docs I've read about issuing AT commands to the ESP's via the serial port, I've tried this with the USB serial adapter using PuTTY, but don't get a response.

Please let me know if you have any ideas that might help.

Thanks,
Cameron

[Cameron Prince]

@Max, I just saw your reply in the other post regarding the Lightsabers. Thanks for the info about using the 3.3V on the Tiva. I had concerns about the ESP's needing more current than that circuit could supply, so I've been using buck converters. Once I get it working, I'll try running from the Tiva instead.

Here's a few more photos of my setup:


I'm using a bench power supply to power everything. The Tiva, Nextion and buck converter all have dedicated power connections.


Red and yellow here are 5V and go to VCC and the enable pin on the ESP. Pink and blue are TX and RX, respectively.


This is a test sender. Note the buck converter stacked on the back of the MPU. Not sure if this is a good idea or not.


Here's a sender packed into a toy lightsaber. The buck converter is to the right of the battery and the MPU on the left, both wrapped in heat shrink. The ESP at the bottom, my thought being to have it hopefully below the grip for better signal.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Cameron