- Q1. The rotation of the P.O.V. is too slow
- Q2. The screws for Stands A and B are too tight
- Q3. How to check the free space on the hard disk (for Windows)
- Q4. The installation runs slow (for Windows)
- Q5. A warning message appears
- Q6. The Japanino isn't recognized
- Q7. Lighting of the LEDs on the P.O.V. is unstable
- Q8. Possibility of Japanino operating failure
- Q9. Missing or defective parts
- Q10. An error occurs when trying to write a sketch for Mac
- Q11. The battery-box gets hot
- Q12. I suddenly became unable to write to the Japanino
- Q13. How can I change the boot program?
- Q14. I'm using an Arduino IDE. How can I select the "Board"?
- Q15. What is the input voltage?
- Q16. What is the output current?
- Q17. How much current does the USB port use?
- Q18. What are the specifications for the ATMEGA 168V?
- Q19. Half my parts are missing!
- Q20. The handle for the P.O.V. has gotten hard to turn
- Q21. I can't write to the Japanino
- Q22. I can't use [Verify] in the IDE
- Q23. How can I check the operation of the speaker?
- Q24. Japanese characters get garbled in the IDE
- Q25. A download/installation error occurs
- Q26. Do I need to keep the Japanino connected to the Internet at all times?
- Q27. arduino.exe cannot be opened properly in Vista
- Q28. No sound comes out of the speaker
- Q.29 An error message, "the pitches.h file is missing" appears while verifying the "Do Re Mi with the P.O.V." sketch
- Q30. About the clock transmission
- Q31. How to use Pin D0 and Pin D1
- Q32. Pin D13 cannot sometimes be used as an input pin
Q1. The rotation of the P.O.V. is too slow
A1. The back cover and LED unit cable may be interfering with one another. Remove the back cover, and loosen the LED unit cable.
Q2. The screws for Stands A and B are too tight
A2. Reinsert the screw into the stand alone once again and then tighten the screw on the circuit board. Use a screwdriver (JIS No.1) with a secure bit (end).
Q3. How to check the free space on the hard disk (for Windows)
A3. Check by looking at the pie chart from Start → My Computer → Local Disc (C:) → Right-click → Properties. Run [Optimize] from the Tools tab to increase the amount of free space. (Optimize may take several hours to complete.)
Q4. The installation runs slow (for Windows)
A4. There may not be enough memory. You may be able to increase the processing speed temporarily by following the steps given below.
Internet Explorer → Tools → Internet Options → Delete files → Check the Delete all online content box → Click [OK] (May take several minutes to complete)
Q5. A warning message appears when installing the driver
A5. You will get the above message when trying to install a new program on your computer. Select [OK] or [agree] to proceed. (The installation procedures may have failed if you are sent to a page differing from the one shown in the magazine after proceeding. If this occurs, restart your computer and try installing again from the beginning.)
Q6. The Japanino isn't recognized
A6. Restart your computer and return it to the initial state, and then try connecting the Japanino again. Connections for the USB terminal may be bad. Plug and unplug it about ten different times and then try again.
Q7. Lighting of the LEDs on the P.O.V. is unstable
A7. Connections for the connector terminal may be bad. Plug and unplug the connector about ten different times and then try again.
Q8. Possibility of Japanino operating failure
A8. Please contact us
Q9. Missing or defective parts
A9. Please contact us
Q10. An error occurs when trying to write a sketch for Mac
A10. Press the [RESET] button on the Japanino board and hold it down for 0.5 seconds to 1 second when the string indicating that "Size of the sketch after compiling..." apeears. If it fails to work, restart and then try again.
Q11. The battery-box gets hot
A11. Remove the battery immediately, and then contact us
Q12. I suddenly became unable to write to the Japanino
A12. You may have had a boot program error.Please contact us
Q13. How can I change the boot program?
A13. Obtain the AVRISP mk2 file, and follow the instructions to overwrite the existing boot program.
You will have to solder the header for Pin No.6 of the input terminal ICSP.
Q14. I'm using an Arduino IDE. How can I select the "Board"?
A14. Tools → Board → Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (3.3 V, 8 MHz) w/ATmega168
Q15. What is the input voltage?
A15. 5 V at maximum. If it appears that the voltage input may exceed 5 V, use a Zener diode or other part to limit the amount.
Q16. What is the output current?
A16. 40 mA at maximum. If it appears that the current output might exceed 40 mA, drive down the current using a transistor or an FET.
Q17. How much current does the USB port use?
A17. 500 mA at maximum. When trying to move a larger load, drive the circuit with a transistor or an FET using an external power supply.
Q18. What are the specifications for the ATMEGA 168V?
A18. Core processor: AVR, Core Size: 8-bit, Speed: 8 MHz, Program Memory Size: 16 KB (16K x 8), Program Memory Type: Flash memory, EEPROM Size: 512 kB x 8, RAM Size: 1 KB x 8, Data Convertor: A/D 8x10b
Q19. Half my parts are missing!
A19. The box is split up into two sections. Check the box below the middle partition.
Q20. The handle for the P.O.V. has gotten hard to turn
A20. Apply a small amount of oil (CRC556 or the like) to the place where the handle wheel and speed-increasing gear mesh together.
Q21. I can't write to the Japanino
A21. ・ Check the board selection.
Check from [IDE, Japanese version] → [Tools] → [Micro Computer Board] → [Gakken Japanino]
・ Check the COM number.
Check to make sure that the COM number selected in [IDE, Japanese version] → [Tools] → [Serial Port] and the COM number in [Device Manager] → [Port (COM and LPT)] → [Silicon Labs CP210x...] match.
・ For Mac, the settings should be OK as long as [/dev/tty/SLAB_USBtoUART] is selected in [Serial Port].Normally, this is the very top row.
Q22. I can't use [Verify] in the IDE
A22. The association may have been lost when the expansion destination for the Arduino-0018 was moved. Try making a new short-cut for the IDE from the expansion destination for the Arduino-0018.
Q23. How can I check the operation of the speaker?
A23. The speaker is working if it beeps, "chee, chee" every time the Reset button is pressed when pin D13 and GND are connected.
Q24. Japanese characters get garbled in the IDE
A24. The section you should check will change depending on whether you copied and pasted the sketch,
entered it by hand, or downloaded and opened the .pde file.
Some possibilities of problems include "The computer's font file is corrupted," "The IDE settings file has been damaged," etc.
IDE File menu → Operating System Settings
Changing the font size in the Settings window may fix the problem.
Write down the file name for "If you edit the following file directly..." located at the very bottom of the Settings window. Close the IDE → Delete the above file → Run the IDE
Q25. A download/installation error occurs
A25. The computer may be running too slow. Running disc cleanup, hard disk optimization, deleting the cache, etc. may fix the problem. Download errors occur more frequently depending on hard disk or memory conditions or if there are a lot of programs running in the background including typical ones like MSN Messenger, Skype, security software, etc.
Q26. Do I need to keep the Japanino connected to the Internet at all times?
A26. There is no need to keep it connected at all times.You can use the Japanino even if it is not connected to the Internet once you have finished downloading the programs. Later on, you may want to download updated versions or a different sketches (programs) or to check information, so you can connect it to the Internet just when you need it to check things out.
Q27. In Vista, I get a message indicating that "This operation was cancelled due to the following reason: Unable to create folder for saving settings" for the arduino.exe file of the Japanese version IDE. What should I do?
A27. Try the following: From the Windows Vista Security Center, deselect the check box for "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer" in Other Security Settings. → Restart → arduino.exe.
Q28. No sound comes out of the speaker
A28. The speaker will not emit sound if you overwrite the program with "Experiment with light using LEDs" on page 85 of the magazine. This is because this sketch contains no commands for sound. Try overwriting the program with the "default sketch" which can be obtained from the following URL: http://otonanokagaku.net/japanino/ or try "Playing a melody using the P.O.V. speaker" on page 92 of the magazine, and then check to see if the speaker emits sound.
Q.29 An error message, "the pitches.h file is missing" appears while verifying the "Do Re Mi with the P.O.V." sketch
A29. Call up the "toneMelody" example sketch as shown in [1] on page 92 of the magazine, and then overwrite the program using the "Do Re Mi with the P.O.V." sketch. (When "toneMelody" is called, the "pitches.h" file will be incorporated into the program automatically.)
Q30. About the clock transmission
A30. The default settings are the same as those for the integrated crystal transmitters.You can change to external crystal transmission by replacing the boot loader file (Q13.). (For normal use, there is no need to change these settings.)
Q31. How to use Pin D0 and Pin D1
A31. As described in the magazine, these pins are used for communicating with a computer, so please do not use them for digital input/output. (They are used for monitoring communications.)
Q32. Pin D13 cannot sometimes be used as an input pin
A32. This pin is connected to LED, L, for monitoring use, so it is, in effect, a pull-down pin. For this reason, there are cases where it cannot be used depending on sketch settings and the impedence of external circuits. Please use it exclusively for digital output.