Cyton dongle disconnecting after a while
Hello
I'm using Cyton Biosensing Board and I'm facing an odd problem with the dongle. The dongle works fine when I connect it at first but it keeps disconnecting (Doesn't show up as a COM port anymore) after a while. I'm not sure how long but it got disconnected after 2 hours the last time and sometimes way less than that.
It starts working again after a while (like the next day) but it still goes all wrong after a while of using it (being connected).
I'm using Windows 10 and I tried the dongle on both USB3 and USB2 ports and they both seem to have the same problem (Never tried on USB2 before it stops working because I don't have regular access to a USB2 port).
Also worth mentioning that when it stops working, It doesn't work on another PC/Laptop either.
And by disconnecting I mean that the dongle does not show up as a COM port. When it shows up, everything works fine and I'm able to connect to the board get the data from it.
I'm wondering if this is a known issue and if there is any way to avoid it or fix it.
Comments
Navid, hi.
Because you have tested on two different Windows 10 machines, that eliminates an issue with the usb port hardware on the laptop. Your dongle is probably flaking out. One thing you can try is to reflash the dongle firmware. If this is a flash memory glitch, that may resolve it. Otherwise you may need to replace the dongle. When did you purchase your Cyton?
https://docs.openbci.com/docs/02Cyton/CytonRadios
Regards, William
Hi,
Thanks for your response
I don't know the purchase time since I didn't purchase it myself and I just have to make some work done but I'll ask.
Replacing the dongle is probably impossible since I live in a country that has no relation to the US and we got the board indirectly and anything involving getting a new dongle and sending this one back might take months which I don't really have.
I checked the link you mentioned. Do you mean I should upgrade the firmware if the one I have is the old one or just reflash the dongle which is only calling the code
radio.flashNonVolatileMemory()(if I'm not wrong) and nothing more?And is it safe to do it or there might be some serious problems if I mess something up? (I'm not an expert in anything related to hardware)
OK, my suggestion about the re-flashing, would probably NOT address what you are seeing. To be specific, you are seeing that the COM port sometimes disappears for minutes at a time. Even such that you cannot see the COM on another computer.
This behavior could not be caused by a bad flash memory, but is likely a sign of the dongle's onboard usb serial port chip becoming marginal and failing intermittently. That chip is an FTDI FT231XQ,
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/FTDI/FT231XQ-R?qs=Gp1Yz1mis3VkAf3iW%2BkumQ==
This is a SMT (surface mount chip) with 20 leads, 5 on each side. If you have an electronics / EE department there with a technician proficient in SMT rework (heating, unsoldering, solder-paste-flux, re-solder) -- then he could replace that chip.
Otherwise your best bet assuming this is not under warranty, (recent purchase), is to email contact at openbci.com and ask how you can purchase a replacement dongle and get it shipped to your location. You would not need to send the bad dongle back. Only to receive the new replacement. If there are import issues, you might ship to a friend in a country that accepts US shipment. Cost should be relatively inexpensive, but I don't know the exact figure.
William
Thanks a lot for your help.
COM port disappears for hours rather than minutes (maybe a day or two even) but I think it's the same.
We did order two ganglion boards and waiting for them to arrive through a friend. We will probably try to order a separate dongle for cyton too. I'll try to avoid using the current dongle for long runs to see if I can avoid running to this problem for now.
Thanks again for your help.