New BDC-COMM Version 88

[dyanoshak]

Hello everybody,

There is a new version of BDC-COMM on the Jaguar Microsite. The current version is now version 88.

There is no update to the Jaguar Firmware, both are still 87.

The new version of BDC-COMM has an added feature to recover a "bricked" Jaguar. The cause for this is flashing the wrong firmware; (Gray) Jaguar firmware on a Black Jaguar and vice-versa.

So, your Jaguar LED does not light up when you give it power after a firmware update... here is what you do:

1) Make sure that the messed up Jaguar is the only messed up one on the network.

2) If you've messed up a Black Jaguar, connect it to the computer with your RS232 cable. If you've messed up a Gray Jaguar, use a working Black Jaguar to connect to the computer, and connect the non working Gray Jaguar to that working Black Jaguar.

3) Power on the Jaguar(s).

4) Open bdc-comm-88.exe. It should automatically connect and enumerate any working Jaguars on the network. If there are none, don't worry.

5) Go to File->Recover Device and select the correct firmware. Be sure to read the warning!

6) Click Update. If all goes well, your Jaguar should start blinking after the update.

Please spread the word about the new version.

Good luck!

-David

[erichahn525]

Thank you very much, I will try this as soon as I CAN.

[FRC4ME]

We just tried this and, unfortunately, it still didn't work. We get an "unable to contact bootloader" error. At this point I think we're just going to have to get a new Jag. Was worth a try, though!

[computerish]

Is the Recover Device feature a GUI version of the boot command or does it make furthur efforts to unbrick the jaguar?

Thanks!

[dyanoshak]

Originally Posted by computerish

Is the Recover Device feature a GUI version of the boot command or does it make furthur efforts to unbrick the jaguar?

This is a different feature than the boot command. It pushes out firmware to any Jaguar stuck in the bootloader regardless of ID. This is why it is important to recover one "bricked" Jaguar at a time. If there are more than one on the bus, you can really brick your Jaguar and the only way to recover would be use a JTAG programmer or replace the Jaguar (this might be why some teams cannot get recover to work).

The Jaguar firmware detects the hardware it is deployed on. If the firmware doesn't match the hardware, it will branch to the bootloader (no LED, so it looks bricked) and wait for an update.

-David

[JasonStern]

Is it possible to use the BDC-COMM tool on a pure CAN network? We only have Gray Jaguars and are using the 2CAN adaptor. Thanks!

[Radical Pi]

as far as I know the only way to interface with a 2CAN network is the web interface of the 2CAN. I might try to link the 2CAN comms and the serial plugin to allow BDC-comm with 2CAN, but our team is using a black jag so I can't test if it works

[Mike Copioli]

Originally Posted by JasonStern

Is it possible to use the BDC-COMM tool on a pure CAN network? We only have Gray Jaguars and are using the 2CAN adaptor. Thanks!

What exactly would you like to do?

[EricVanWyk]

Originally Posted by Mike Copioli

What exactly would you like to do?

I think he wants to update the jag firmware using the 2CAN.

[Mike Copioli]

He does not need BDC comm for that he can do it via the 2CAN.

[JasonStern]

Originally Posted by Mike Copioli

What exactly would you like to do?

We just managed to brick two of our Jags updating the firmware to 89 via the 2CAN, so accessing the recover function would be nice. (The lights no longer turn on.)

It would also be nice to be able to use the tool for troubleshooting purposes and to try different PID values.

Thanks,
Jason

[Mike Copioli]

Originally Posted by JasonStern

We just managed to brick two of our Jags updating the firmware to 89 via the 2CAN, so accessing the recover function would be nice. (The lights no longer turn on.)

It would also be nice to be able to use the tool for troubleshooting purposes and to try different PID values.

Thanks,
Jason

These features will be avaiable in the 2CAN web dash in future releases. We just have not had a chance to make these changes. In the mean time I do not see any reason why you could not connect bdc com to a black jag that is on the CAN bus.

[JasonStern]

Originally Posted by Mike Copioli

These features will be avaiable in the 2CAN web dash in future releases. We just have not had a chance to make these changes. In the mean time I do not see any reason why you could not connect bdc com to a black jag that is on the CAN bus.

We would do that if we had a black jag

We will be at the DC Scrimmage today, so we will try to find another team there with a black jag we could borrow.

-Jason

[JasonStern]

We forgot to to recover our Jags at the Scrimmage :-(. Is there any other way to recover them without a Black Jag?

[Mike Copioli]

Try loading the firmware again using the 2CAN interface. Make sure that the problem Jag is the only one connected to the CAN bus. I have noticed that once in a while the firmware update does not take the first time and the Jag gets stuck in bootloader(no LED). A re-flash after a power cycle has always fixed this for us. If this does not work then you may need to re-flash the bootloader using the JTAG interface.