EtherDongle programming

[Segull]

Hi everyone,
I finally finished my etherdongle and axiously went to program the PIC, but instead got the message
"No device detected". I have searched over and over for answers here but have to ask for help 
I have looked for cold solder joints, bridges, any suggestions where to look greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your help 
Joe

attached is a pix of my soldering.

[drlucas]

Have you programmed any pic chips in the past?    Want to confirm before pointing the finger at the build.

[Segull]

Yes, 4 LE, Dongle, Clock. I have both Pickit 2 & 3. I tried the Pickit3 on one of my LE's & read the Pic just fine. When I check voltage LED comes on. I have read some of your posts also & tried ones that looked like possible solution.

Thanks
Joe

[tbone321]

We need a bit more information than this.  What are you using to program the pic?  I would hope that it is the Picket3 but what software are you using?  Did you put the header connector on the right way.  Did you select the correct pic family?  The pickit3 can't detect what family of pic is connected to it s if it is st for the wrong one, it will not detect the device.  Also make sure that the software is set to tell the pickit to supply power to the Pic or once again, it will not detect it unless you have the board powered up with its supply.  I would suggest not powering up the board until the Pic is successfully programmed.  Also, make sure to use the standalone pic programming software and not MPLAB.  MPLAB is a complicated piece software that can trash the Pic if you tell it to and that's easier to do than you might think.

[Segull]

tobone, I am using the pickit3, added the .dat file to select the PIC32MX795F512L, installed on XP & Win 7, with same results, only used MPLAB to program the PICKit3.
I have only tried what I have found on the post here on DLA.
Here is the app I am using.

[jnealand]

For me I would be reheating the solder joints on the ICSP pins.  Unfortunately, I had the same experience on my etherdongle after I bent the pins 90 deg to make it conductor ready.  I suspect I cracked a solder joint and that was all it took.  Once I reheated all six pins I was able to program the etd to put the conductor firmware on the chip.  This error is just like the one I had.

[caretaker]

Try checking the "on" box under VDD PicKit 3 . I know I have had a couple PICs that weren't detected till I checked that box.

[Segull]

Jim, just tried it, still no go   

Joe

[Segull]

Caretaker, check box. When i go to Write the status light on pickit3 just blinks. And still shows "No device detected".

[MrChristmas2000]

Do you have power applied to the dongle?

If not connect the power supply. Sometimes the PIC kit does not quite give enough power to the PIC.

[Segull]

MrChristmas, just tried that, same result.

[keitha43]

Look at the top side of the board and make sure your solder has flowed through to the top as there are circuit traces on the top side of the board also.

[Segull]

Yes keitha, i looked those over. I'll post picture maybe i have missed something.

[MazdaFan]

Segul,
  First step is to eliminate the soldering on the board.  If you look closely at the traces you'll notice small pads that are test points.  If you start at a pin and follow the trace to a test point you will be able to do a continuity check with your meter.  If you leads are too large to fit on the test points, you can tape a needle or pin to one of them to allow you fit on the pad.  If you can confirm that all the soldering at the ICSP connector is good then you can check the continuity all the way back to the chip. (you'll need to find the spec sheet on the web to see which pin to connect to)  According to the sparkfun page I was looking at, the ICSP connector header signals are Vpp, Vdd, GND, RB7 and RB6.  The last appears to have no signal.
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While that particular tutorial doesn't apply to the PIC32MX795F512L, I'm sure that if you look at the spec sheet you will find (most of) those signals present on pins.

Once you eliminate the board, you are left with the programming device or the chip itself.  I'd check the programmer on another board that you know is good.  Once you've eliminated that, its time to learn about "reworking". 

Here's hoping you find a bad solder joint.

Jamie

[tbone321]

The board looks ok from what I can see.  Make sure that you are connecting the ICSP connection correctly on both the Picket and the header.  It can get real easy to have one of them flipped over.