Common VCI-100 Firmware Questions

[EanGolden]

as long as you have connected the firmware upgrade piece to your circuit board then the vci should start up in boot mode.

make sure you have the USB cable disconnected.
Attach the firmware cable to the mother board
connect the serial cable to the computer
connect the USB (for power)
now try turning on the vci-100 (it should be in boot mode)

[EanGolden]

The store says "The VCI-100 upgrade kits will be on sale in mid September" does that mean I have to wait? Or is the page outdated?

Sorry, miss-leading wording. The upgrade kits are on sale now and ship same day. The graphic overlays (for labeling) will be on sale in sept.

[B33SON]

as long as you have connected the firmware upgrade piece to your circuit board then the vci should start up in boot mode.

make sure you have the USB cable disconnected.
Attach the firmware cable to the mother board
connect the serial cable to the computer
connect the USB (for power)
now try turning on the vci-100 (it should be in boot mode)

Uh oh. Then it's possible that the kit I got is defective. I'm 100% sure the thing is connected properly. I'll re-try it again tonight but as the video says, the kit fits on there perfectly, so I'm sure I got that part right.

[midifidler]

Hi Mycole,

When you switch the VCI on with the firmware update cable connected do the jog wheels change color when you touch them?

I have tried to reproduce what you are describing and if I start the VCI with the update PCB in place, but without connecting the serial cable, then some lights come on but the unit is not functional.

When you attempt to flash the VCI what error message do you get?

Cheers,

[B33SON]

I performed the steps Ean outlined exactly as described here:

• make sure you have the USB cable disconnected.
• Attach the firmware cable to the mother board
• connect the serial cable to the computer
• connect the USB (for power)
• now try turning on the vci-100 (it should be in boot mode)

Once I perform the last step, the jog wheels light up blue. When I touch them they turn red.

At this point, I tried to flash the unit using Renesas. This is the output:

Flash Development Toolkit and flash programming components
are provided without support

OS: Windows XP [Admin]
FDT API initialised: version 4, 02, 00, 008
Clock Frequency (External) = 24.0000MHz, Clock Mode = 0, CKM = 1, and CKP = N/A
Connecting to device 'H8/3052F' on 'COM1'
Configuration:
'BOOT Mode' connection - using emulated interface
Opening port 'COM1' ...
Loading Comms DLL
Loaded Comms DLL
Initiating BOOT SCI sequence
Attempting 9600
Attempting 4800
Attempting 2400
Attempting 1200
Error No 15024: Boot failed

My best guess is that I have a problem with the flash kit itself, the serial cable I'm using, or my com port. I'm going to do some more troubleshooting over the next few hours and I'll post my results soon.

[midifidler]

Ok, from what your describing I think it is a case of you either haven't quite seated the upgrade kit properly, or less probably there is a soldering fault with the black connector.

You can check that by inspecting the 6 solder points along the top edge of the upgrade kit. Each pad should be well coated with solder and you should be able to see a point from the pin protruding from the solder on each pad.

[MicPhono]

I'm able to get into boot mode, but I'm getting the same thing as mycole:

Clock Frequency (External) = 24.0000MHz, Clock Mode = 0, CKM = 1, and CKP = N/A
Connecting to device 'H8/3052F' on 'COM1'
Configuration:
'BOOT Mode' connection - using emulated interface
Opening port 'COM1' ...
Loading Comms DLL
Loaded Comms DLL
Initiating BOOT SCI sequence
Attempting 9600
Attempting 4800
Attempting 2400
Attempting 1200
Error No 15024: Boot failed

I think the black connector could be ok since the vci seems to detect the pcb and puts itself into boot mode and all the soldering points look ok. Could it be an issue with the soldering points with the serial connection?

[midifidler]

@MicPhono

If it is in boot mode (no LEDs on) then you are a step ahead of Mycole.
After you get this error try power cycling the vci with everything connected by removing the USB from the PC then plugging it in again, then try to flash it again.

Also confirm that COM 1 is the com port is definatley the serial port you have connected the uprgrade kit to. Though if you are using COM1 you probably only have 1...

[sgb]

Another issue trying to upgrade.

Looks like I get into boot mode, then erases the firmware, and cannot upload some kernel for flashing. I gave the pcb a thorough inspection for open circuits, and everything was fine there. I checked for documentation as to what that error really meant, no luck on the Renesas site. I'm stuck right now, still trying to find more information on the error codes everybody is getting.

log from flasher
===================
OS: Windows XP [Admin]
FDT API initialised: version 4, 02, 00, 008
Clock Frequency (External) = 24.0000MHz, Clock Mode = 0, CKM = 1, and CKP = N/A
Connecting to device 'H8/3052F' on 'COM3'
Configuration:
'BOOT Mode' connection - using emulated interface
Opening port 'COM3' ...
Loading Comms DLL
Loaded Comms DLL
Initiating BOOT SCI sequence
Attempting 9600
Received immediate response from device: 0xAA
Using micro-Kernel : 'C:\Program Files\Renesas\FDT4.02\kernels\ProtB\3052\Renesas\1 _2_00\uGen3052.cde'
Downloading and verifying micro kernel...
Device is erasing...
Erase Timeout value set to 21 seconds
Erase Successful
micro-Kernel download successful
Sending inquiry for getting line size
Buffer size has been set to default (128 bytes)
Sending selection of device command
Selection of Device - Device selected, code 0302
Sending selection of clock mode
Sending selection of clock mode
Selection of Clock Mode - Clock selected, code 0
Changing baud rate to 38400 bps
Set baud rate value = 38400
Downloading main kernel 'C:\Program Files\Renesas\FDT4.02\kernels\ProtB\3052\Renesas\1 _2_00\Genm3052.cde'
Error No 15005: 'COM3' read time out
Unable to get acknowledgement after the download main kernel

[sgb]

Error No 15024: Boot failed

My best guess is that I have a problem with the flash kit itself, the serial cable I'm using, or my com port. I'm going to do some more troubleshooting over the next few hours and I'll post my results soon.

I'm speculating here (based on "prolific" in some foreign pages that relate to H8) that the problem you could be experiencing is because of the USB-serial cable. Have you tried a serial cable?