Spark Photon not connecting to serial and touch screen unresponsive

anadrol1 · October 12, 2015, 1:26pm

Hi, I just received by new Brewpi Spark Photon and it white screened out of the box (no beeps). I have just installed and updated the Brewpi software to the latest versions via the script on my raspberry pi. I have put my controller in DFU mode and launched the flashDfu.py script. It updates the firmware and then it Resets the EEPROM to defaults. At this stage it try’s to open a serial connection and hangs.

The controller itself is in stylus setup mode but I cannot click on cross as the touch screen is unresponsive. What do I do now? Output from the script is posted below.

Release contains updated system firmware for the photon
First updating system firmware for the Photon

dfu-util 0.7

Copyright 2005-2008 Weston Schmidt, Harald Welte and OpenMoko Inc.
Copyright 2010-2012 Tormod Volden and Stefan Schmidt
This program is Free Software and has ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
Please report bugs to dfu-util@lists.gnumonks.org

Filter on vendor = 0x2b04 product = 0xd006
Opening DFU capable USB device... ID 2b04:d006
Run-time device DFU version 011a
Found DFU: [2b04:d006] devnum=0, cfg=1, intf=0, alt=0, name="@Internal Flash /0x08000000/03*016Ka,01*016Kg,01*064Kg,07*128Kg"
Claiming USB DFU Interface...
Setting Alternate Setting #0 ...
Determining device status: state = dfuIDLE, status = 0
dfuIDLE, continuing
DFU mode device DFU version 011a
Device returned transfer size 4096
No valid DFU suffix signature
Warning: File has no DFU suffix
DfuSe interface name: "Internal Flash "
Downloading to address = 0x08020000, size = 248764
.............................................................
File downloaded successfully
dfu-util 0.7

Copyright 2005-2008 Weston Schmidt, Harald Welte and OpenMoko Inc.
Copyright 2010-2012 Tormod Volden and Stefan Schmidt
This program is Free Software and has ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
Please report bugs to dfu-util@lists.gnumonks.org

Filter on vendor = 0x2b04 product = 0xd006
Opening DFU capable USB device... ID 2b04:d006
Run-time device DFU version 011a
Found DFU: [2b04:d006] devnum=0, cfg=1, intf=0, alt=0, name="@Internal Flash /0x08000000/03*016Ka,01*016Kg,01*064Kg,07*128Kg"
Claiming USB DFU Interface...
Setting Alternate Setting #0 ...
Determining device status: state = dfuDNLOAD-IDLE, status = 0
aborting previous incomplete transfer
Determining device status: state = dfuIDLE, status = 0
dfuIDLE, continuing
DFU mode device DFU version 011a
Device returned transfer size 4096
No valid DFU suffix signature
Warning: File has no DFU suffix
DfuSe interface name: "Internal Flash "
Downloading to address = 0x08060000, size = 150432
.....................................
File downloaded successfully
Now writing BrewPi firmware /home/brewpi/utils/downloads/0.2.11/brewpi-0.2.11-photon.bin
dfu-util 0.7

Copyright 2005-2008 Weston Schmidt, Harald Welte and OpenMoko Inc.
Copyright 2010-2012 Tormod Volden and Stefan Schmidt
This program is Free Software and has ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
Please report bugs to dfu-util@lists.gnumonks.org

Filter on vendor = 0x2b04 product = 0xd006
Opening DFU capable USB device... ID 2b04:d006
Run-time device DFU version 011a
Found DFU: [2b04:d006] devnum=0, cfg=1, intf=0, alt=0, name="@Internal Flash /0x08000000/03*016Ka,01*016Kg,01*064Kg,07*128Kg"
Claiming USB DFU Interface...
Setting Alternate Setting #0 ...
Determining device status: state = dfuDNLOAD-IDLE, status = 0
aborting previous incomplete transfer
Determining device status: state = dfuIDLE, status = 0
dfuIDLE, continuing
DFU mode device DFU version 011a
Device returned transfer size 4096
No valid DFU suffix signature
Warning: File has no DFU suffix
DfuSe interface name: "Internal Flash "
Downloading to address = 0x080a0000, size = 57432
...............
File downloaded successfully
Error during download get_status
Error during download get_status
Programming done, now resetting EEPROM to defaults
Opening serial port
Oct 10 2015 18:48:48 Opening serial port

KarlBernard · October 12, 2015, 2:06pm

I have the exact same problem with the Photo I received last Wednesday…

Can’t get a serial connection and after flasdfu, screen is displaying the stylus setup mode but unresponsive.

Elco · October 12, 2015, 6:47pm

I think this unfortunately might be related to a bad batch of enclosures. They are too tight and put too much pressure on the touch screen, resulting in constant touch input or even breaking the screen.
It hangs on opening serial port, because it is stuck in touch screen calibration.

I test all BrewPi Sparks before they go out, but perhaps it was shaken during shipment and that broke the screen.

If you press the screen, does it respond? does it log coordinates?
I could send you a new screen, but if you guys also think that the enclosure is too tight and might contribute in breaking the screen, then it is better to take the whole controller back and ship you a new one.

anadrol1 · October 13, 2015, 12:09am

No the screen does not respond when pressed. How would I tell if the enclosure is to tight? Are there some measurements that I could take of the enclosure to prove this? Do you have a print with tolerances that you could send me, or something that shows the critical dimensions with tolerances if intellectual property is an issue. I work in manufacturing so can make decent measurements of my current enclosure.

Elco · October 13, 2015, 10:41am

If the electronics do not go in nice and flat, without one side wanting to come up, it is too tight. Actually the position of the connector holes is the main problem, and the reason the whole batch needed to be redone.

I’ll send you a new display today anyway and when the new batch of enclosures is ready, I can send you one if needed.

anadrol1 · October 13, 2015, 1:11pm

Ok, no worries. I’ll check out the enclosure tonight when I get home from work. I’ll post some images.

Elco · October 13, 2015, 10:56pm

I have already sent you a new screen When it arrives, let me know if it solves your problem.

anadrol1 · October 14, 2015, 12:08am

Here are some images of my enclosure. It looks fine. The board will fall out under gravity so it’s not jammed in there.

Elco · October 14, 2015, 8:30am

That’s good. Then I think when you receive your new screen all will be sorted.

anadrol1 · October 23, 2015, 12:03am

Received screen today and installed it. Everything is working now. Now I just have to button a few things up on my fermentation chamber and should be brewing a larger for the first time. Thanks for the support.

a2hill · November 20, 2015, 7:52am

Not to bring up a dead thread, but I can’t seem to figure out how to create a new post.

I’m having an issue where I plug the Photon in and everything comes up, but when I touch it to enter calibration nothing happens. It continues to load and when the test screen comes up touching the buttons doesn’t seem to do anything. Could this be related to the issue stated here?

Jellyhawk · November 20, 2015, 3:53pm

I have the same issue with my photon. I didn’t realise the screen is supposed to be touch sensitive when I got it and just set it up via the web interface. Not a big issue for me but I guess it would be useful if the raspberry pi falls over though.

Kev.

anadrol1 · November 20, 2015, 4:12pm

That’s strange as mine would not get past the calibration screen. I needed to replace the screen before the interface would come up. At this stage the touch screen is not used for user input I believe.

anadrol1 · November 20, 2015, 4:18pm

Are you trying to re-calibrate it? If so then I’m not sure if it will actually work as I haven’t tried. My issue was it would boot to the calibration screen and I couldn’t complete the calibration (ie clicking on the cross hairs) and it would just sit waiting for user input. If it is booting into the interface then I would say your screen is functioning correctly. As I said I’m pretty sure the touch screen is there for future functionality but is currently unused.

a2hill · November 20, 2015, 4:37pm

Yeah see I never actually get to see the crosshairs because it isn’t registering my touch to actually enter calibration mode. It’s not a huge deal as I can set it up via the web interface, I was just interested in using the test mode buttons to test my relay wiring.

Elco · November 20, 2015, 4:39pm

If your touch screen is entirely unresponsive, it might need to be replaced.
I do go through the calibration before the units are shipped, but the touch screen might be unreliable or damaged during shipping. If you send me your order details, I can ship you a replacement.

anadrol1 · November 20, 2015, 5:23pm

Oh OK, I never used the test mode, that sounds cool though that you can toggle stuff on and off with the touch screen.

a2hill · November 20, 2015, 5:25pm

Thanks! I’ve sent the order details via the contact form on the website (not sure how to PM on here).

jgilbs · December 22, 2015, 6:19pm

If we have a custom shield and do not include a touch screen, will this cause the Spark Photon to hang?

I am currently testing out a hacked together brewpi setup before I get a custom PCB printed to fit in my fridge’s thermostat slot. However, I cannot get the brewpi to work reliably. 99/100 times the script cant connect to it, on the one chance it can, it then hangs up after a min or so.

Could this be due to the fact that there is code to talk with a touchscreen (and one-wire controller), and I dont have these peripherals yet connected?

Elco · December 22, 2015, 11:38pm

Yes, that could very well be.

At startup it waits for touch screen calibration until it is completed. It also expects to communicate with the OneWire bus master. If you are running your own code, I highly suggest getting a hardware debugger so you can step debug through the code.