DIY Knobster and Arduino Nano clone

[Sebyte]

Hi,

I guess in Canada, like most of the world at the moment it’s difficult to get electronic components. I was unable to find a genuine Arduino and tried a clone which was recommended to me. The board is an LGT8F328 by Logic Green. I have assembled the dual rotary encoder and connected it the Nano. I then tried to flash the board from Air Manager, and it failed to load. Error was avrdude.exe: ser_open{}:can’t open device “\\.\COM3”:Access is denied.

My question is, should the Air Manager loader work like an IDE with clone’s or not? Also can I get a copy of the sketch to load into the clone via the Arduino IDE?

The clone does work and I can upload sketches vie the IDE.

This is my first experience of Arduino and also my first post on the forum. I apologise in advance if I have posted in the wrong place or some other slip in the forum etiquette.

Steve

[Ralph]

Did you turn on the old bootloader checkmark?

[Sebyte]

Hi Ralph

Yes I did. In fact I tried with and without. In both cases I got a screen message saying-

Closed COM port...

avrdude.exe: ser_open(): can't open device "\\.\COM3": Access is denied.


avrdude.exe done. Thank you.

I had removed all other USB connections and the Arduino IDE was not running. So I can’t think of any conflict with the COM port.

The full details of the Board are LGT8F328P-LQFP32 Mini EVB

I have loaded several sketches via IDE without problems.

Steve

[jph]

This board is NOT a NANO, or even a 'clone' as people tend to use the term. It is not even ATMEL, It is not built to the NANO specification. It does NOT use an AT MEGA328 processor !!!
The board uses a maker specific bootloader that requires specific board info and downloads for the Arduino IDE. As it does not use an Atmel format bootloader it will not work with AM.
Throw it in the bin where it deserves to be.
There are pages and pages of perfectly compatible designs that use the nano specification and of course, use a genuine ATMEL processor. They are a few euros. Yet this clearly states it does NOT. Not an AT328, not going to work.

As said above, there are stacks of perfectly compatible units built to the 'nano' open source hardware specifications using ATMEGA328 genuine processors. it is an open source design !. 'NANO' is purely a trademark, nothing more - the name 'nano' is the ONLY part of the design that is protected. It is perfectly fine to copy the design and sell it. You simply cannot use the trademark name without clarification. The thing you parted with your money for is NOT built to any existing open source design and is not 'compatible' with anything at all.

[Sebyte]

Thank you for your your reply which I will take into consideration.

SE

[Ralph]

I never heard of that thing before, but Joe is right. It is some sort of Atmel clone, which they call an 'alternative'
You can use clones, but they at least need to have a genuine Atmel chip.

[Sebyte]

As I said in the original post, at the moment trying to get a genuine Adriano Nano is more or less impossible on Amazon or eBay in Canada. Is there another “Genuine “ Adriano model that can be used to build a Knobster, and you can recommend/guarantee will work? I am ok with electronics and medium on programming but have no experience with Arduino's.

What confuses me is that the board I have will load and run a number of the example sketches provided by Arduino’s IDE. Blink was the first I tested wit. If it is the case that the Board will run a standard sketch, is there a copy of your Sketch available? I can see in the AM package a number of what appears to be sketches for different Boards including the Nano. But, they are Hex files. I can only conclude that your version of the loader is “non standard”.

I am quite happy to buy another board and would welcome your recommendations.

Thanks in advance.

Sebyte

[jph]

A google search on 'Arduino Nano Canada' returned a link to a trademarked Arduino Nano on the first page for around 27 Canadian Rupees. Have you considered using google to locate items for sale in your country? There are, in the EU at least, far more outlets than just 'ebay' or 'amazon'. It (google) can also be used for information regarding your understanding of Arduino boards and processors, setup files, IDE entries for 'boards/hardware' etc etc.
The AM Program for Knobster is NOT a 'sketch'. It is specifically written for the purpose and that purpose only. It is totally proprietary.
And finally, I can confirm that your 'conclusion' is definitely incorrect.

[Crunchmeister]

As I said in the original post, at the moment trying to get a genuine Adriano Nano is more or less impossible on Amazon or eBay in Canada.

I have 2 DIY Knobsters. One is built using this Arduino from Amazon Canada and it works great. It was 1/2 the price when I got it a year ago though. That chip shortage is driving up prices significantly.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0816S ... UTF8&psc=1