Connect PC to MEGA65
- Tayger
You can choose between two connection types: LAN and JTAG but you can also use M65Connect without any active connection. If both connection types are present LAN takes presedence for the covering functions, else JTAG takes over.
Make sure you have passed all OS specific steps described in Requirements before proceeding.
Connect by LAN
LAN is much faster than JTAG and therefore the favorite connection type. By its nature it can’t cover all the JTAG features but the most important ones are all there.
Find all details here regarding how to setup LAN connection: Ethernet tools (mega65_ftp and etherload)
When you have set up the LAN connection and activated the MEGA65 for it (Shift + £ key) you will see the LAN related functions will be activated in M65Connect. You also can check the LAN presence in menu Settings > Connections:
The displayed LAN address confirms the active connection. You may want to detect it manually by pressing button Autodetect LAN Port but that’s usually not necessary.
You can’t and won’t need to save the LAN Port settings. It will be determined automatically.
TROUBLESHOOTING
M65Connect constantly checks the LAN port. As soon as the MEGA65 is found its LAN address will be displayed in menu Settings > Connections > LAN Port.
MEGA65 not present
Make sure the LAN cable is properly connected on PC and MEGA65 side.
Make also sure you have considered all steps in Ethernet tools (mega65_ftp and etherload).
LAN not activated
Make sure you have manually activated the LAN by pressing SHIFT key and £ key (pound) at the same time (as confirmation the power LED starts blinking green and orange).
Network connection (Mac)
Another case you may run into is on older Macs: The Network connection is not properly working, displays a red dot in the Network panel. If so try this (happened on Intel Mac 2014 with Catalina):
Make sure the MEGA65 is connected to your PC via LAN (pressing SHIFT key and £ key not needed) and turned on. Easiest and safest is always a direct connection via LAN cable.
Head to the Network panel/window (may differ OS wise)
Select the not working connection on the left side (showing red dot)
Switch Configure IPv4 to DHCP with manual address
IP address: Set a valid IP address
Press button Apply
The connection should show display a green dot.
Connect by JTAG
To use this connection type you need a separate JTAG adapter. M65Connect needs to know on which USB port the MEGA65 is attached. A JTAG connections offers two ports of which you usually need the to set the second one (Terminal). Follow these steps to activate the JTAG connection.
Make sure you have followed the steps in tab Requirements depending on your OS
Connect your PC with the JTAG device (USB Mini) attached to your MEGA65.
Start M65Connect
You now have two options to activate the JTAG connection:
Set the port manually: Make sure the MEGA65 is running and head to menu Settings > Connections, select the latest port (most bottom) in dropdown list USB port:
If you are not sure whether the JTAG ports are listed in the USB Port list simply turn off the MEGA65 to see the two ports (at bottom) are removed or not. If they are removed, turn on the MEGA65 to see the two ports listed again.
Set the port over the Connection Wizard: head to menu Settings > Connections and press button Autodetect USB Port:
This opens the Connection Wizard, just follow the steps.
Press button Save to store the current settings.
TROUBLESHOOTING
M65Connect constantly checks the COM ports. If you turn off the MEGA65 or unplug the USB cable all MEGA65 related options (buttons and menus) will be deactivated.
Check presence of MEGA65
You can check the presence of the MEGA65:
Make sure your PC is connected with the MEGA65 by USB cable
Turn on the MEGA65 and choose 'List FTDI Devices' from the menu Command
The Console window will list the attributes of 2 FTDI devices if the MEGA65 is present. Check the Flags attribute:
10 means the device is available and ready to use
01 means the device is opened (by another tool) and therefore blocked. If you are connected by M65Connect the second device will also show the flags 01.
To check/test if the USB devices can be found at all, turn the MEGA65 off/on to see if unknown devices appear in the OS specific Device Manager and/or in menu Settings > Connections > USB Port list.
Use latest version
Make sure you are using the latest version of M65Connect from https://files.mega65.org
You can check the current version in menu Help > About M65Connect.
MEGA65 not present
If the MEGA65 can't be found by the presence check then check the JTAG device:
Is it attached in the upper right area of the board?
Does it cover all board pins? You can check this by moving your finger around the jack of JTAG.
Does it show the right direction? The USB mini port must face to the board edge side.
Are the DIP switches set correctly as described in the article on the Filehost?
Wrong or outdated FTDI drivers
If it's still not working it's very likely you have installed the wrong drivers described in Requirements. Please uninstall them first from the devices and install other/newer drivers.
Multiple active instances of M65Connect
Under certain conditions M65Connect will not be removed from Task Manager even on closing it. To close it properly use the File menu (not the close icon in the upper right window corner). Kill/remove all M65Connect instances in the Task Manager so they don't block each other.
Blocked FTDI Devices
It might be that everything looks fine but no command is working. This is usually the case when FTDI Devices are used and therefore blocked by other tools. You can check this by menu Commands > List FTDI Devices. A Flag value of 1 is a clear sign of a blocked port. As M65Connect tries to reach the second FTDI device in the list it looks normal to see 1 for that flag.
Another issue might be, that a frozen instance of M65Connect (or of its CLI tools) are blocking the ports: Open the OS specific Task Manager, kill all possible entries called "M65...", "MEGA65..." and "Multifunctional Tool to interact..." before restarting M65Connect.
Changed USB ports
Depending on attached USB devices the any ports can change. If the MEGA65 won't be found after starting M65Connect you will see a status message (bottom). You then can either restart the Connection Wizard or set the USB/COM port manually in menu Settings > Connections.
On Mac and Linux you will see two USB/COM ports with similar names. Usually the one with the higher number is the one you should set.
MEGA65 functions(s) not active
If functions in menus and quick buttons are disabled it's a clear sign you are not connected to the MEGA65. Make sure the MEGA65 is turned on and connected to your PC. Check also the USB port in menu Settings > Connections.
MEGA65 functions(s) not working
You may see error messages on sending commands to the MEGA65. Some may work some others wont. This is a sign that something is wrong with the USB cable (too long, weak shielded, extension used). A typical error message on sending a Bitstream file looks like this: “fpgajtag: usb bulk write failed: ret -7 req size 2426 act 1024”. Use another USB cable and try again.
In general you can ignore any warnings showing up in the Console window while sending a MEGA65 command.
Still not working?
If you are still having issues please ask for support in MEGA65 Discord: Join the MEGA65 Discord Server!