I'll pay you to fix my Zeigler-style programmer! (Page 1 of 3)

What if I just hate having useless half-finished projects lying around?

If you really, really care about getting this board diagnosed/fixed you could send it to me. Qualifications: Working on a new flasher project on my own, nowadays quite comfortable soldering even the smaller SMD variant used for the FTDI chip on the newer programmers.

First I need to ask, has it ever worked, to any capacity? Exactly how does it not work? When you plug it in, do you see a USB device n the device manager? Exactly which FTDI chip is that? Have you programmed the AVR chip? Using which method?

My first reaction is that it's indeed the soldering around the SMD chip which is the main problem. The first problem is that some of the pins may lack enough solder to make reliable contact. The second more serious problem is the flux residue. The flux, depending on type - needs to be cleaned off. What appears to be happening is corrosion from the flux residue is starting to eat the tracks. In particular the ground connection to the FTDI chip (the middle connection on the left side of the image, going out to the big copper lane.) I'm not sure from the image whether that's just dirt or if it's corrosion that has eaten all the way through.

nitro: I may just send it to you. And include the Gowin cart from the other thread.

I don't recall the device ever being recognized by any computer in any way. It has never worked - except for the power indicator lighting up.

I programmed the AVR using this thing I finagled:

The software programmed it successfully and was able to verify.

I can confirm the type of FTDI chip when I get home.

Haha thanks for the reminder Jazz!

The FTDI is an FT282BL. I have two more in a bag.

Most of the label on the chip installed on the programmer is unreadable, which is interesting and maybe related to the flux-caused corrosion you were talking about, nitro?

*FT232BL

The chip labeling is usually made using laser engraving. If it less readable on the chip that is on the board, this may be due to corrosion, but also just to a layer of flux residue sitting on top of the chip. Try cleaning the top of the chip using a q-tip and some rubbing alcohol if you care, and see if that makes it more readable. And anyway, I'd be more worried about the pins than about the top of the chip case.

Yeah 232, brain fart. I was trying to type that with a toddler crawling on me.

I can give this stuff a try! maybe if I clean around the traces as well, I'll be able to get a better idea of whether they've corroded beyond use or not.
I do know that I continuity tested all the traces after I first built it and it failed to work, and they were all good from chip leg to wherever they were going. Still worth a shot though!

Honestly working on this is the only time I've programmed a microcontroller that wasn't attached to an Arduino. I understand what you mean by programming the fuses, but I don't actually know how to do it or how they should be set! I can probably figure it out, but if you have a moment to explain, that would make it go faster!

For this version it's more like L: 0xEE and H: 0xD9. Especially for the low fuse.