FAQ

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The best resource for learning Arduino programming is the Language Reference sheet.
You can start from the Blink LED and  20 quick start sample programs described in the Quick Start page.

The AirBoard is an improved version of the Arduino Fio. Twice as small, more compact, with built-in LiPo battery and charger, Power and Battery Management System and power RGB LED,  the AirBoard draws 70,000 times less power in sleep mode than an Arduino UNO.

Much like the Fio, the AirBoard was designed to be programmable over-the-air via an external wireless shield, although featuring two independent channels for XBee and Bluetooth.

NB The microUSB connector is used exclusively for battery charging.  Therefore the USB port will not be recognized by your computer. To upload a new program, you will need additional wireless shields such as XBee or BLE and their associated USB dongle, or an external FTDI cable.

You get this message when the upload failed. Many issues can lead to a message like this. Be sure to check the following:

1. install Arduino drivers, be sure USB port is not in conflict
2. select the right, recognized serial port: Tools>Serial Port in Arduino IDE, drop-down menu in codebender web IDE
3. select the right board: Tools>Board>Arduino Fio in Arduino IDE, Other Vendors>The AirBoard in codebender web IDE
4. use a browser supported by codebender (Firefox or Chrome)
5. check that BLE-Link AT+ROLE=? returns ROLE_PERIPHERAL
6. check that BLE-Link USB dongle AT+ROLE=? returns ROLE_CENTRAL
7. check the BLE-Link version (see next FAQ)
8. configure XBee, Bluetooth2 or WiFly shield for wireless programming
9. insert BLE-Link USB dongle completely to a working USB port
10. switch the AirBoard ON
11. wait for BLE-LINK Link LED to be ON before programming
12. charge the battery for 1-3 hours maximum (a few minutes/seconds charge in general generates sufficient energy to upload a sketch: LD2 red LED should briefly turn on when switching on the AirBoard. You can alternatively run the board from USB power.)
13. try a different OS
14. try a different computer
15. check that the wireless module is correctly inserted:

16. If all of the above failed, then go to the Rescue Procedure below

BLE-Link shields from Kickstarter work as-is. If you got the BLE-Link shield from DFRobot, a few steps are required:

1. Remove R7
2. Connect J1 pin 9 to pin 12
3. If necessary, check that AT+ROLE=? returns ROLE_PERIPHERAL for the shield and ROLE_CENTRAL for the USB dongle (factory default)

BLE-Link V1.1

Yes, FTDI is an alternative for wired programming.

1. First, be sure you get a 5V VCC-3.3V-I/O FTDI cable (VCC should not be connected).
2. If necessary, install FTDI drivers.
3. Then connect:
• FTDI GND (BLACK) JP2, pin10 (GND)
• FTDI TX (ORANGE) to JP2, pin2 (<-RX)
• FTDI RX (YELLOW) to JP2, pin3 (->TX)
• FTDI RTS# or DTR# (GREEN) to JP3, pin4 (XR)

Upload your sketch should take under 3″ (LED blinking example).

If you tried all solutions above and you still get the avrdude:stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding message, there is a rescue procedure to reflash the bootloader, using an Arduino UNO board. This procedure is based on the original Using an Arduino as an AVR ISP (In-System Programmer) post.

Instructions

To use your Arduino UNO board to burn the Arduino Fio bootloader onto the AIRBOARD, you need to follow a few simple steps:

1. Connect an Arduino UNO board to your USB port.

2. Launch the Arduino software

3. Open the ArduinoISP example in the File > Examples menu.

4. Select Board>Arduino UNO and your Serial Port in the Tools> menu.

5. Upload the ArduinoISP sketch.

6. Wire your Arduino UNO board to the AIRBOARD as shown in the diagram below:

• UNO GND (BROWN) to AIRBOARD GND
• UNO 13 (ORANGE) to AIRBOARD D13 via 1K resistor
• UNO 12 (YELLOW) to AIRBOARD D12 via 1K resistor
• UNO 11 (GREEN) to AIRBOARD D11 via 1K resistor
• UNO 10 (BLUE) to AIRBOARD RESET (RED) via 1K resistor
• Note 1: don’t forget the 1K resistors, because the AirBoard operates at 3.3V logic and Arduino UNO at 5V logic.
• Note 2: you may need to add a 10 uF capacitor between reset and ground, but it should work without.
• Note 3: turn on the AIRBOARD.
• Note 4: the RED probe should be connected temporarily during the whole burn bootloader process (no need to solder, but solder also possible) to the round unlabeled golden pad in the middle of the board (Seeed Studio’s production version) or to the tip of one of the two capacitors within the probe area shown below (Kickstarter limited edition).

RESET probe area in RED

This great post by Wanadev shows the different steps that led them to success. The flashing process itself just takes under a minute, but you’ve got to do it once!

7. Select Board>Arduino Fio in the Tools> menu.

8. Select the Arduino as ISP in the Tools>Programmer menu.

9. Launch the Burn Bootloader command while holding the reset signal in place (should take less than a minute).

Notes

• After bootloader upload, the AIRBOARD RGB LED should not be blinking. This is normal: just reverse to the normal procedure (Programmer>AVR ISP)  to upload your sketches to the AIRBOARD.
• This rescue procedure doesn’t need to be repeated. Normal upload cannot brick the AIRBOARD.