Init timeout (64 bit Linux) - error reading from Serial/COM port

drudru
in OpenBCI_GUI
I can't connect to a Cyton board with the dongle. I have tried on two computers, both running 64 bit Linux, kernel 4.13.0-36-generic.

Steps:
1) Plug in the dongle. It's set to GPIO 6, and the blue light comes on.
2) Switch the Cyton board from "off" to "pc". The blue light also comes on. It says "V3 - 32" on the board itself. The batteries are new.
3) Try to connect with various software, and watch it fail (repeating step 1 and 2 between attempts, in order).

The port is ttyUSB0, and I'm in the dialout group and have appropriate permissions to use it.

% ls -lh /dev/ttyUSB0
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 188, 0 Mar 27 16:40 /dev/ttyUSB0


% dmesg
[1297915.238859] usb 3-6: new full-speed USB device number 10 using xhci_hcd
[1297915.385303] usb 3-6: New USB device found, idVendor=0403, idProduct=6015
[1297915.385305] usb 3-6: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[1297915.385306] usb 3-6: Product: FT231X USB UART
[1297915.385307] usb 3-6: Manufacturer: FTDI
[1297915.385308] usb 3-6: SerialNumber: DN00965Y
[1297915.388287] ftdi_sio 3-6:1.0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter detected
[1297915.388316] usb 3-6: Detected FT-X
[1297915.388509] usb 3-6: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0

I can't send '?' to the board.

cu claims it can connect (but claims that even for ports where it clearly can't), but I can't send anything, and it doesn't show any info beyond claiming to be connected:
 % cu -l /dev/ttyUSB0 -s 115200
Connected.

Screen shows nothing.

I'm happy to paste full 'check status' or 'start system' output from the OpenBCI gui, but they're not particularly enlightening. From check status:







Radios_Config:
connect_to_portName: attempting to open serial port:
/dev/ttyUSB0

Radios_Config: connect_to_portName: port is
open!

Error reading from Serial/COM port

'Start system' leads to the gui showing "Init timeout. Verify your Serial/COM Port. Power DOWN/UP your OpenBCI & USB Dongle. Then retry initialization."


What is a reasonable next troubleshooting step?

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Comments

  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    Did you try running as root / superuser?
  • drudru
    I did. Same result.
  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    https://www.google.com/search?as_q=error+com+port&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=openbci.com

    Did you use the search boxes in right column?

  • drudru
    Yes, I read every even slightly related post I could find before posting.
  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    Does the Cyton work on Windows or Mac? If so, this looks like some glitch with your Linux distro. You mentioned the kernel, but what distro? Have you tried Ubuntu?

    You could also try another terminal emulator.
  • drudru
    They're both Ubuntu 17.10. I've tried cu and screen as terminal emulators, as well as the arduino IDE. I downloaded the newest openbci GUI and arduino IDE today.
  • drudru
    I get an identical "init timeout" message under OS X 10.12.5 with FTDI 2.4.2.

    I also ran check status on all 8 of the ports that were options under OS X, with identical negative results.
  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    Has this Cyton ever worked on ANY system? Is it possible the dongle got glitched? You can try reflashing it.

  • drudru
    I believe it worked briefly in 2016, but I only had wet sensors at that point so didn't use it very extensively (I've now built an ultracortex headset, hence trying it out again).
  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    I've seen rare cases in the past where the dongle needs a reflash. Might be your situation.
  • drudru
    Unfortunately, reflashing the firmware isn't working.

    I've followed the instructions, using version 1.5.8 of the IDE. Trying to upload it gives this result:

    Sketch uses 26,432 bytes (20%) of program storage space. Maximum is 131,072 bytes.
    Cannot open port.  Is the right port selected, the cable connected, and power applied?
    fail.......fail.......fail.......

    The board type is set to RFduino, and the port is ttyUSB0. The dongle is plugged in with the switch in the reset position and has its blue light on.

    dmesg confirms that the port is ttyUSB0. Trying to use the only other port available in this version of the IDE, ttyS0, fails identically when trying to upload code (as expected).

    (For anyone else on Ubuntu, the instructions around RFDLoader are a little bit scant. You also need to install wine-binfmt, and to run sudo update-binfmts --import wine.)
  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    There are a whole slew of posts on the "fail..." scenario, did you look through those?

    Use the Google search box in right column.

  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    So the IDE can't open the port either. That is bad news. It could be the FTDI chip is blown.
  • drudru
    Yeah, at least 4 programs on 3 computers on 2 operating systems haven't been able to open the port.
  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    Send an email to contact at openbci.com and ask if they have any other suggestions. You may need a new dongle. Mentioning @openbci.
  • drudru
    I've done so. Thank you for all your time in troubleshooting this today!
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