Hi,
First time poster here, I would just like to know if anyone has had any success in programming an LVT3 from Paradise Arcade Shop using the Arduino IDE software. There is a lot more flexibility using this software and I believe the proprietary LVT3 software available on ArcadeUpgrades.com is unusable at the moment. Just looking for any advice or examples of success. Thank you!
This looks interesting.
Its worth taking a look.
@Darksakul Thanks for the link! I have messaged them asking if their application supports the LVT3. I think it should but it’s not called out specifically. It doesn’t look like I will be able to program custom lighting effects from the example themes I saw. Just modify the color of the buttons. I will look more into it and play around a bit more once I can confirm it will work with the LVT3 and will let you know if it gets any more customizable. Thanks again for the response!
@Darksakul Still no word from moledcule. I asked Paradise Arcade Shop( @armi0024 ) if using moledcule on an LVT3 board would work or not. He said he would test it in house.
I am not very experience with the Arduino platform so I can’t really help out with specifics
@Darksakul that’s ok, thanks for the lead though, at least it’s something to go off of. I will check back in this week with PAS. I think he was out of town till the 20th or so.
Oh thanks @Moonchilde for the tag. I might ping moledcule’s site ( @32teeth ) again since I haven’t heard anything yet. Maybe they’ve had some experience writing to the LVT3 and would know if it works or not.
I do not think the moledcule site will work with the lvt3 because moledcule works as an arduino IDE in the cloud with additional features (not to downplay how cool it is). The LVT3 uses propietary software and is only programmable using the drivers and app that are provided. In order to enable programmability through Arduino a change in the product’s internal programming would be required.
@JRDIBBS Thanks for your response. I might have figured as much. However, if you read in this article from 2014, I believe when the LVT3 started coming out, you’ll see it mentions that “Programmable using Arduino open-source software, you can create complex simultaneous effects in three individual channels.” I posted the link below.
From what moledcule’s website said it was compatible with, I didn’t expect it to be directly compatible. But I am holding out hope that there is some Arduino based software I can use since the proprietary software is unusable at the moment.
I think you need to start by looking for what chip is on the lvt3 and what type of leds it has to figure out if its compatible or not. Does it have a 32u4 based avr microcontroller?
@Dubon I don’t believe that it is an AVR spec microcontroller and I don’t think it was made by Atmel. I checked the board originally when I read what microcontrollers would work with the moledcule software.
Unfortunately, I don’t have it in front of me at the moment, so I can’t really assess it’s equivalence by its brand/model. I will check when I can. @armi0024 Would you happen to know off the top of your head?
@Dubon Thanks for your response by the way.
Hi Everyone,
Here is my update after the holidays. @32teeth, Paradise Arcade Shop, and @armi0024 never responded to my questions about the LVT3 compatibility with the moledcule software. So I did a bit of experimentation.
I tried plugging in the LVT3 board and loading a theme from the moledcule application onto the board. The application was not able to recognize any connected devices so no luck there.
My next step was to attempt to load some code via Arduino IDE 1.6.5. I chose this version and this code based on Jasen’s Kaimana Khameleon Youtube tutorial. @Dubon I found out that the microcontroller on the LVT3 is an ATMEL Mega 32u4, the same chip as the Arduino Leonardo. I chose this method because in Jasen’s tutorial, he also writes code to the microcontroller as though it were an Arduino Leonardo, so I assumed they were the same microcontroller or could handle the same programming.
The result was that, the code would upload to the board, and the lights on the board would shut off, as though it were attempting to write a new code. But the compiling fails in the IDE, and the error message I get says to check the COM port or try resetting the board. I switched the USB around to track the COM port listed, and the IDE was tracking the port correctly, so I knew that was not the problem.
Right now I am at the point of attempting to reset the microcontroller. Since there is no reset button on the board, I will have to reset the microcontroller using one of the methods specified in the ATMEL Mega 32u4’s data sheet. Once I have reset it, I will try to upload the kaimana code using the IDE.
I will post an update after this step.
If any LVT3 owners have had any luck in programming their board without the PAS software, definitely let me know.
@32teeth Thanks for your response. I reinstalled the LVT3 drivers as well as the moledcule app just to be sure I had version 1.0.1. The app still does not recognize the device. It reads “No compatible device found”. I am still working on resetting the microcontroller.
@32teeth I’ve been doing some reading about the chip that’s inside the LVT3, it’s the same as the Arduino Leonardo.
This came from the arduino site.
"*However, because the serial port is virtual, it disappears when the board resets, the Arduino software uses a different strategy for timing the upload than with the Uno and other boards. In particular, after initiating the auto-reset of the Leonardo or Micro (using the serial port selected in the Tools > Serial Port menu), the Arduino software waits for a new virtual (CDC) serial / COM port to appear - one that it assumes represents the bootloader. It then performs the upload on this newly-appeared port.
These differences affect the way you use the physical reset button to perform an upload if the auto-reset isn’t working. Press and hold the reset button on the Leonardo or Micro, then hit the upload button in the Arduino software. Only release the reset button after you see the message “Uploading…” appear in the software’s status bar. When you do so, the bootloader will start, creating a new virtual (CDC) serial port on the computer. The software will see that port appear and perform the upload using it. Again, this is only necessary if the normal upload process (i.e. just pressing the uploading button) doesn’t work. (Note that the auto-reset is initiated when the computer opens the serial port at 1200 baud and then closes it; this won’t work if something interferes with the board’s USB communication - e.g. disabling interrupts.)"**
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/ArduinoLeonardoMicro
This seems consistent with what happens when I try to upload code from an Arduino IDE. Now I am trying to find a way to reset the board in place of having a reset button while I upload the code.
@32teeth Thanks for the update to the software. Your support is greatly appreciated.
The moledcule software now recognizes the device, and I am able to click the “Flash” button. However, when the software attempts to reset the board, the board just shuts down and doesn’t reboot. This was the same issue I was having when attempting to upload code from the Arduino IDE. Also, attempting to reset the board using the software’s kaimana reset button yields the same result.
Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Everyone,
I have a small update. I tried resetting the microcontroller again before uploading, but varied the voltage across the RESET pin to try and get the voltage low enough to trigger an external reset per the ATMEL Mega32u4. The results were the same as connecting the RESET pin directly to ground. The board appears to shut off and I get the audio confirmation from the PC that the device has been disconnected. Then, when I disconnect the RESET pin from ground the lights flash back on and run their default colors and I get an audio confirmation from the PC that the device is reconnected.
I wanted to make sure that I was actually performing a reset this way and that the serial port was disappearing and reappearing again like it should in order to properly flash code. When I performed the external reset while connected to the Arduino IDE, the COM port did not disappear and reappear, as the I believe it should according to the above post quoting Arduino’s Leonardo reset conditions.
TLDR; I don’t think I am performing a correct external RESET. I am still trying to figure out how to physically do that without a RESET button. I will update if I figure out anything else.
@32teeth have you had a chance to look at why the board isn’t resetting properly with the moledcule software? Also, @armi0024 have you been able to contact the PAS software developer for an update? Please let me know, thanks.