Need help, Bricked Chinese Mini Maple

I’ve been struggling to upgrade the Chinese Maple Mini i got off ebay to the new boot loader.
I’ve tried using rogers stm32flash for mac program but I just get failed to init device.

i even tried the sketch method of flashing… Thats where my accident started. Hitting Y i got a warning that it failed to flash… Kept trying got same error. Me being stupid decided to remove the if statement; if (!writeChunk(chunk, size, &bootloader))
So it ran the update and I even got the update completed successfully message so it dumped the bit data…

However on restarting the Mini clone the blue like just came on… no flashing and nothing.

Mac no longer shows a Maple in the connected to USB devices…

Again I tried to run the stm32flash in terminal and still wouldnt init and upload the bootloader…

Have I got a dead for good Maple Mini or can I fix it?

I’ve been using a cheap usb to serial. TX going to RX1 and RX going to TX1 pins 25 and 26… Is there something else I must do to get the flasher to work? Am i missing some thing? (other than a brain)

Please help

Little update. Ive managed to work out how to get it into serial boot mode and the smt32flash program can now start up… But I now get a new error; Can’t initiate chip erase, failed to erase memory.

Actually, I nearly fixed it. Managed to flash the 2.0 bin file on. It coems up as Maple 003 in mac usb hardware list… But I cant upload any sketches to it through the usb from the ide… Any ideas?

Okay went back to the original boot loader, the mini led is flashing again… But not showing up as USB…

So i read that you have to upload a sketch to get back sketch uploading from the ide… So umm.
What sketch and how do you upload it through serial?

Not sure if this will help but you might find this useful. https://github.com/rogerclarkmelbourne/ … from-Linux

I know you managed to flash the bootloader in the end, but just a note for other users…

The Maple Mini does not pull pin Boot1 low ( I forget what pin number that is on a maple mini)

So if you enter the internal bootloader by holding down the button while you reset the board, Its possible Boot1 will float high, and the internal bootloader will put the upload into RAM not flash.

On my board, it seemed random whether Boot1 was high or low, so sometimes it would upload into flash and sometimes into RAM.

So its best to pull Boot1 low when using the internal bootloader

Sadly im not sure that helps…

I have a Uno as well, if I can put a sketch on that that would upload a working bootloader and sketch uploader into the Mini… I mean, I think I read in other threads that you need to install a sketch with the USB modem in the code… but Ive not seen any sketches for it and how can I upload a sketch? I’ve tried doing it with the STM32flash program. But that just leaves the maple mini dead. Doesnt run at all it seems.

Sorry just so I understand right… You say pulled low or high… Do you mean ground the pin for high or leave unconnected for low? Pin marked 2 on my board

Connect Boot1 to GND

Normally you’d do this through a resistor, just in case the code was pulling the pin high

Re: Sketch to upload the bootloader

I think that does exist, but I think it uses Serial (and I can’t remember who wrote it, or where it is. Its possibly written my @jcw of jeelabs)

Thanks Roger… Also i think i found out the problem…

Ive got it working and unbricked and I can upload sketched form the IDE. The DFU util spots it and uploads through USB. A port isnt listed but doesnt seem to stop upload now, i assume thats only required for serial feedback?

I think the issue lied with the maple mini 2.0 boot loader. Maybe its not quite configured correctly? Or this maple mini board doesnt match up to the one that boot loader was made for?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152115041250? … EBIDX%3AIT
thats the one i have. It doesnt say Maple Mini like some of the blue boards, just says BTE14-07. It seems pretty well soloderd on, just 1 slightly wonky micro resistor.

I also dont seem to need to ground boot1 the boot loader installed fine.

Ive installed the maple Rev 3 bootloader. That seems to work…

The LED flashes and when a sketch starts it turns off… Is that how its meant to be?

Mind if I ask whats the real difference between the bootloaders?

Sorry Ill correct myself… A port does now show up o.O straaaaanngggeeness

Which bootloader file did you use ?

The board you linked to looks like a Maple mini clone, but most Maple mini clones are made by a company called Baite
But looking at the photos on eBay , I don’t see the Baite logo. Its normally in the area which is conspicuously empty on the top of that board, near the USB connector.

Currently on the boot loader rev 3 file… Yeah it looks like a baite but yep no baite logo… I guess its a clone of a clone of a clone…………..

It does say;

maple
mini

under pins 14 and 13, sorry the forum keeps autocorrecting the format… the Mini starts where the L in maple is

Ok

Very interesting

I think some boards are not compatible with the new bootloader, but its unclear why this is

As I can see on the photos, I own some of thoose boards. I bought them about 1.5 years ago on aliexpress before the BAITE ones came up. But they are full compatible with the new bootloader.
Everything back! My ones own a smaller LDO, this one uses an AMS1117.
Can you look at the at the imprint of the chip? Most of the minis are using a STM32F103C8T6 but ebay title is about a “STM32F103RCBT6” which does not exists. But on the photo I can read “STM32F103C8T6”
Another question: Do you own another maple mini (clone)? I read, that you are on mac. On some macs (like me 2009 macbook-pro) uploading wont work well. It works about 3-4 times an then I have to do everytime a manual reset (or perpetual bootloader mode) since I reset the mac.

stm32f103cbt6
991uo

is what i got… On a mid 2012 macbook. I had some trouble getting it to work on here but its okay now… I think
Tbh i think I am having some issues. The its running slower than my Uno. and Im wondering if the clocks set slow or if I’ve missed something in the code to make it run faster…

0k, that’s right, I was wrong myself: stm32f103cbt6 is the “good” one, a stm32f103c8t6 would be really a problem (only 48mhz)

lol now you got me worried will double check tomorrow

Deffo a B not an 8… phew

well this is fun… Its dead again.

I can upload a sketch to it. But the sketch wont run. The light flashes like normal and stops and Nothing…

The led doesn’t flash when uploading a sketch which is odd but the dfu util does its thing… But the sketch just doesnt run. Ive tried some simple sketches like blink… And nothing.

I made sure to set the led pin to 33 for this board as well as trying pin 13 just in case. They upload, just dont seem to run.

I also cant seem to flash the boot loaders any more. Failed to init device error…

Maybe its time to throw this one in the bin

Don’t be too hasty, I would check the boot0 and boot1 pins again. Also check the crystal oscillator is actually running. If you have access to an oscilloscope that would make life easier, but even just inspecting the board carefully with a hand lens might help. Look for shorts in the vicinity of the oscillator circuitry. A few clear, closeup, well focused, good resolution photos of the faulty board might also help with the diagnosis.

I would also suggest if this one is a corpse, and you do decide to buy another, get a couple.

They are dirt cheap, but the build quality and testing/QAare the compromises that make them so cheap.

Having said that, I have yet to kill one permanently, despite several well publicised attempts to blow them up by doing stupid things.

hehe thanks andy… and as if by magic the boards alive again… accepting sketches and running… i swear some one is messing with my head. Strangely I think it might have been Mac screwing around. I did try restarting a few times.

At this rate, i was this close to packing in my speedo project because of just random strangness

When my Maple Mini started acting funny, I found that I had joined the “Magic Smoke” club. The symptom was that it worked ok as long as I had an external USB/Serial adapter powering the 3.3v supply but not if it was powered only by USB.

fredbox wrote:When my Maple Mini started acting funny, I found that I had joined the “Magic Smoke” club. The symptom was that it worked ok as long as I had an external USB/Serial adapter powering the 3.3v supply but not if it was powered only by USB.