That looks very promising. AVRDude has successfully established a connection to the ATtiny. Now you could try flashing one of the prepared images. Go to the "Programmable" directory and call AVRDude like this:
avrdude: Device signature = 0x1e9007
avrdude: NOTE: FLASH memory has been specified, an erase cycle will be performed
To disable this feature, specify the -D option.
avrdude: current erase-rewrite cycle count is 18088202 (if being tracked)
avrdude: erasing chip
avrdude: reading input file "BLF-VLD.hex"
avrdude: input file BLF-VLD.hex auto detected as Intel Hex
avrdude: writing flash (1024 bytes):
As long as you don't set any lock bits and don't disable serial programming, the chip can be reprogrammed a few thousand times. Just make sure you get the fuses right (that's what '-Ulfuse:w:0x79:m -Uhfuse:w:0xef:m' does).
I got the clip. It's true not the greatest build quality, but it's pretty standard "pomona soic clip 5250" sold at digikey, etc. If any of the pins are short, you can push them out from inside the clip near the hinge.
My problem is that DX won't ship out the drivers. I should probably order some at KD.
This is my first post in the forum, and I just want to thank Tido for his work on the flashlight driver.
Using the soic clip listed in this thread and an arduino board as a very cheap avr programmer, I have now reprogrammed my BLF AA-Y4E to have exactly the modes I like.
It has also been great fun to play around with the driver software "inventing" highly unusable modes :-)
It's encouraging to hear people are having some success with this. I'll tinker around with mine some more this weekend and see if I can get it working. Nice that it works with the BLF AA Y4E, Nicolai! I always wonder how many people like you are lurking here, reading the threads, buying stuff, and yet we never know. Glad you've shown yourself.
brted - I found the following things a bit challenging:
1. My clip was of bad quality - some of the pins were pulled back a bit, making it hard to make proper contact with the pins of the chip
2. The right wires need to be connected from the AVR programmer to the connector of the soic clip. Your post with the images and tables helped me do that - thanks brted
3. Using Mac/OSX I had to download and set up a compiler environment (I chose CrossPack-AVR, http://www.obdev.at/products/crosspack/index.html) - this was easy :-)
4. Lastly I had to use the correct avrdude command line to program the chip. Tido and sixty545's comments above in this thread, helped enourmously - thanks guys.
None of the above are real showstoppers - I just had to take it easy and be careful - so good luck when you get to the tinkering :-)
Thanks for giving the BLF-VLD a try, sixty545 and nkildal. I'm very happy that finally someone else can test out my driver. It would be great if you guys could give me some feedback on the mode programming UI. I've got a new version with some new features ready, but I'm reluctant to push out a new release unless I know I won't have to rewrite the whole UI.
nkilda, have you tried using a PWM level of 1/255? I'd really like to know if the boost circuit stabilizes at such low PWM rates and if it's still running efficiently. Could you measure the current drawn from the battery?
Yes - I have tried 1/255 and it seems very stable and usable (I like an ultra low low).
When using two different 14500 Li-ion cells I measure the following current at the tailcap, but please keep in mind, that my multimeter is a cheap one, so the PWM probably fools it:
DX Trustfire "Blue", sku 19626 @ 4.14V: 0.52A
DX Trustfire "Flame", sku 26124 @ 3.75V: 0.58A
I wanted to take a reading with a NiMH cell, but I just discovered, that the light does not come on at all, with any of my NiMH cells (even fully charged ones)...
I use the BLF-VLD with only 5 modes and no memory ( 255/255 -> 32/255 -> 1/255 -> Strobe -> "Soft Beacon").
Can you think of a possible explanation for the light not turning on with NiMH ?
Yes. Actually, that is exactly what I dreaded. When using Li-Ion, the driver is most likely in direct drive and not boosting. On NiMH it needs to boost, but the "on" periods are probably too short to allow the boosting circuitry to start up. Have you tried if it works with higher PWM levels?
Also, could you post a picture of the PCB's component side? Maybe there is no special driver chip and the ATtiny was used to switch the coil. In that case you're screwed when it comes to using NiMHs.