MPIDE for Chipkit PI on Raspberry PI running Raspian

If you want complete download see Microchip: Quick Start Guide for chipKIT Pi page 3 for a download in zip file. It appears not to work for Pi 2. See also Chipkit Pi Review – an easy startup, but this may be another link bad but a good howto.The best is Install chipKIT software » chipKIT Development Platform where you can find a TGZ for Raspberry Pi...

Clem

Hello Clem,

I was quite sure you will come to help

Unfortunately, I already know (sic!) well these links. The first is the PDF that I have downloaded. As a matter of fact this is the only stuff that can be downloaded from the Element14 about the Chipkit PI. Nothing at all, the link is broken - or has been removed from the server and it does not work. To be sure I have downloaded just now, again, the pdf but the document is the same, the link too and it point to a page not found on the server.

The second instead is a good article that I already know and I have read and saved. The author wrote the article and mention the link (that is, the same in the pdf) that is actually broken. I suppose that something has occurred in the server between the date the article was wrote and now. Useful but not a solution, unfortunately.

Also the third reference point I know, and it is a good link, that I have already used to download the last official mpide for RPI then I have also checked for the very last, non test, build of the same version (that is 0023 for the RPI) accessing directly the ftp server area: Bucket listing

As a matter of fact I expect it is normal that the guys that produce the chipkit and many more other stuff does not provide something about the operating system.

What I am actually doing (1.20 am my local time) is to read tons of forums about how-to, exploring the initial script and trying some tests to find all the missing information to be able to rebuild a installation version with human-readable steps to have this IDE running in the RPI.

Maaaaany thanks.

You might be in luck.  One of my robots had a glitch on the SD card, and I found my chipkit pi image from 2013.  Installing it now.  Unless Element 14 has some reason for pulling it, I can share it on a dropbox to you.

Thank you very much !

Let me know how, if you prefer you can write me directly by email balearicdynamics@gmail.com Maybe that it is faster and less boring for you to send it via wetransfer.com (if less than 2Gb ) to my email.

Remain awaiting

Thanks again. Enrico

You can download MPIDE manually here:

https://chipkit.s3.amazonaws.com/builds/mpide-0023-raspberrypi-20140821.tgz

Unzip it and you can run from command line or browse to folder.

It does work on the RPI2 however I have not been able to get the Servo Library to work 

Hello Joey,

many thanks but as you can see in the post that I have already downlaoded it. And at the actual date I have manually setup the PI to work almost fine with the MPIDE; at least I can compile and upload. The problem is that I read around the net that there is a specific version of raspian with the MPIDE preinstalled that I have never found. Hopefully robertgeorge has something that maybe helpful in this case and I am waiting for a download link from him.

I have tried to run the script of the ide (the same you got me, downloaded from the same server), but this has not worked at all. The ide itself runs but the problem is that the serial should be managed as the IDE does not accept the ttyAMA0 instead of the more "traditional" ttyS0. I have set a configuration that I will put in one of my next posts on the SciFi blogs about this issue. On the net I have only found solutions to definitely change the stuff instead I need to use the ide for the serial communication with the ChipKit PI when I need and no more.

Did you create a symbolic link?

sudo ln -s /dev/ttyAMA0 /dev/ttyS0

I've spent several days with the chipkit and I may abandon its use as it is full of bugs.

No I have also tried it but then finding some inspiration from various forums I have created a procedure I will describe entirely in a specific post. Hopefully today of tomorrow the latest. There are several point to touch, change, add a couple of scripts that I had to modify and so on.

what do you mean as bugs? In the IDE, libraries or what?

Yes, IDE crashes a lot and gets out of "sync" requiring it to be shut down and restart.  For example when uploading code, sometime it times out.  However it runs forever and never stops trying to upload.

Once compiled:

Servo Library does not work

I2C library does not work the same as Arduino and it has phantom I2C Ids that show up.  Data sent across I2C bus is not correct or not in same format as Arduino.

Both can be fixed and I may fix them but not sure if I have time.  However for more simple tasks like buttons and LED it works good.

I talked a little bit about it here:

http://www.element14.com/community/community/design-challenges/sci-fi-your-pi/blog/2015/05/01/quick-update-on-the-quadcop-and-the-chipkit-pi

Thank you for precious information. I should try very soon for another project that will manage a couple of servo and other almost "strong" features. I have a suspect why yours don't works and hangs and probably this depends on the serial settings under Linux. Anyway let me check and I will update this thread too