Finally got the JTAG USB working. Spark Fun supplied the WRONG cable to start with so I had to go out and purchase a NEW lead costing $14. I have emailed them about this and what they are doing about it but they did not even answer my email, not even to say they will look into it.
After speaking to the technical help line and explaining my problems with the unit not functioning it was suggested to ask in this forum. No replies other than “Is the target AVR connected to the JTAG” and “Are you sure the AVR you are using has the capability for ICE?” I gave explicit and complete instructions as how I had connected the device and what my results were.
Finally in shear desperation I opened the JTAG USB up and flashed the chip…ah ha… a very convoluted process that is… but now it works. It was NOT the connections, NOT the chip I was programming, and it was in fact a problem with the firmware supplied.
May I suggest clearer instructions that cover more than a short paragraph, clear information as to how this device is supposed to act and technical support that know how to use the product?
And now I find 2 emails from Spark Fun saying my order has been dispatched Thursday Jan 26th!!! So who knows what I will receive as my order came on Tuesday 24th!! Maybe it is the lead that I ordered …hmm… I think not… just another mistake by an unprofessional company providing an unprofessional product.
Spark Fun usually does a VERY good job of answering emails. Your email might have gotten treated as spam. Also sometimes your email will get lost when the reciever is getting 300 emails a day! Try a diff. email address prefferably your ISP supplied email. Most of the time they deal with people who are just starting off so they ask questions that most begginers have. What do you mean they sent you the wrong cable? I don’t mean to critisize you but I just want to know.
I am glad that sombody has good experiences of the company.
The cable they sent was a USBA to USBB cable I had ordered the USBA to USBA cable as this is required specificly for the USB JTAG unit.
Most of the time they deal with people who are just starting off so they ask questions that most begginers have
I can appreciate that but I did explain my problem clearly. It was the tech support people who quoted “Post the problem on the forum” & “we are not familiar with the STK500” It was they who requested further information in an email beacuse they could not tell me if the connections were correct or if the unit was operating normaly. I got the distinct inpression that they just sold the products and did not have the expertise to deal with such matters.
By the way I did use an email address from my ISP specificly so that it would not be treated as spam.
I’ve noticed they are not AVR pros so that is why they probably don’t know much about the STK. I’m considering writing a couple of tutorials for Spark Fun on AVRs when school lets off. I’m also considering an Olimex JTAG ICE.
EDIT: What did they say about the cable over the phone?
In there defense they did in actual fact send me a cable (it arrived today). They didn’t notify me via email that the cable had been sent as the whole order was listed in the email so I assumed it was a mistake.
So credit where credit is due, they sent an item (at there expense) in a timely and efficient manor.
drew2006:
Finally got the JTAG USB working. Spark Fun supplied
…
I think not… just another mistake by an unprofessional company providing an unprofessional product.
I have purchased a bunch of stuff from SparkFun, and many of the items were Olimex products. While I can understand your frustration, your experiance has been very different from mine.
For one thing, I would delineate my experiences with SparkFun from those with Olimex products. I have had good luck with all but one of the Olimex products I have purchased. In that one case, it really was ambiguity on the SparkFun cite that lured me down the wrong path, and the answer to the problem turned up on this forum and on Olimex’s own page for the product. Something must have gotten lost in translation from English to American.
On the other hand, your experience with SparkFun’s order fulfillment is a bit like mine. Especially with items listed as ‘included’ on the product page. That aspect of their business still needs some work. I have had some erratic results. But I feel strongly that the variety, usefulness, and reasonable cost of their offerings way outweighs any difficulties I’ve had.
SparkFun is one of the most interesting new small companies I have encountered in a long time, and I look forward to doing business with them in the future. Olimex products generally provide solid engineering. They put real downward pressure on the price of the big chipmaker’s evaluation board products in a way that lowers the barriers to experimentation for all of us. I urge you to give both another chance.
I had ordered an Olimex product before just a few weeks ago and could not be more satisfied. It was from a different supplier but was boxed as an Olimex product. One thing that I do understand is that Olimex are providing products at a fair price.
Something must have gotten lost in translation from English to American
I did find this funny as I am actually English, but have recently immigrated to the states.
I will be man enough to apologie if the post seemed harsh. Maybe it was the frustration I felt that got the better of me. So to Olimex and to Spark Fun please accept my apologies this was just one customers experience which pales into insignificance to the countless amounts of customers who are obviously very pleased with your products and service.
It is a testament to a company that both good and bad experiences can be voiced without being edited or removed altogether. It is also a testament to a company to deliver the correct goods when a mistake has been made.
I wish you all the best for the future, and yes Wittend I will move on and if the time comes I will give both companies another chance.
My email search bot is currently trolling through 4000 customer responses, 2500 replies, and 500 general emails (avoiding the 8311 spam emails in the last 2 months). Our web host is about to strangle us…
You’re completely right. We sent the wrong cable! We are trying to keep up with the growth, and the new package handlers take about 6 weeks to reliably pull the correct parts. We still see about 2-3 problems like this per week.
You sent me the note on 1/25/06. I show a response was sent, but the copy of the response must be on my tablet as I was out of town at the E-Tel conference (answering emails on the road).
Whenever we screw up an order like yours, we always get the correct parts in the mail, free of charge, as quickly as possible.
Yep - we are predominantly PIC/ARM people. I have heard of a few AVR-JTAGs destroying their own firmware. Reflashing them - as you’ve discovered - usually repairs the problem.
I really do appreciate the feedback even if it’s a bit negative. That’s the only way I know to fix things!
In the end what separates the good companies from the bad ones is not how they handle the smooth transactions but how they handle the problems.
I’ve not had any screwups in ordering many times from Spark Fun but I’ve seen lots of posts from customers that have had their problems dealt with quickly and reasonably.
MGP - I agree with you. I've had (have) one problem - still waiting on a PCB I ordered over 2 months ago - new BatchPCB system, US holidays, Chinese New Year, etc. Sometimes response to email is not good but I understand how difficult it is to sort through incoming email - especially after being away for a few days compounded by hugh amounts of spam. I called customer support a week or so ago - they quickly put me through directly with Sparky. He said he'd look into the problem and call back and he did within 15 minutes. I think this is pretty good response for an order that's probably not worth more than a dollar or two in revenue for Spark Fun.
Thanks for the positive waves. We are getting more and more orders (SFE, BatchPCB, etc) but everyone in the office seems to be growing nicely under the load. I’ve found a bit of time to work on the BatchPCB handling. I hope to have a lot of the problems worked out before the first panels hit next week.