Pololu Orangutan SVP-324 User manual

Pololu Orangutan SVP User’s
Guide
1. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.a. Supported Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. Contacting Pololu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3. Schematic Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4. Module Pinout and Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5. Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5.a. Installing Windows Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5.b. Using the Demo Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.c. Programming your Orangutan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.d. Assembling the kit version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
6. AVR Pin Assignment Table Sorted by Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7. AVR Pin Assignment Table Sorted by Pin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
8. Using the USB Communication Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
9. Using the TTL Serial Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
10. Motor Driver Truth Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
11. USB Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
12. Upgrading Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
13. Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Pololu Orangutan SVP User’s Guide © 2001–2019 Pololu Corporation
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1. Overview
The Orangutan SVP robot controller
[https://www.pololu.com/product/1325] is a complete
control solution for small and medium-sized
robots running at 6 – 13.5 V. The module is
designed around the powerful Atmel
ATmega324PA AVR microcontroller (32 KB
flash, 2 KB RAM, and 1 KB PROM) or
ATmega1284P (128 KB flash, 16 KB RAM, and
4 KB PROM) running at 20 MHz and features
a full complement of peripheral hardware to
support robotics applications: dual motor drivers capable of delivering 2 A continuous (6 peak) per
channel, a demultiplexer for easy control of up to eight servos with a single hardware PWM, a
removable 16×2 character LCD with backlight, a user trimmer potentiometer, a buzzer for simple
sounds and music, three user pushbuttons, and two user L Ds. The board also provides 21 free I/O
lines, of which 12 can be used as analog inputs, and two switching buck (step-down) voltage
regulators—one for the 5V bus and one adjustable from 2.5 V to 85% of VIN—each capable of
supplying 3 A, which means there’s plenty of room and power for adding sensors, servos, and other
peripherals.
In addition to the user-programmable AVR microcontroller, the Orangutan SVP features an auxiliary
PIC18F14K50 MCU that supports the main processor and serves as an integrated AVR ISP
programmer, which means that no external programmer is required to use the Orangutan SVP. This
auxiliary processor provides a USB connection that allows direct communication with a PC, and its
firmware lets it perform several useful task in parallel with the main microcontroller. For example, the
auxiliary processor can read two quadrature encoders without burdening the main MCU, or those
same four inputs could be used as additional analog inputs. The ATmega324 or ATmega1284 can
read data from the auxiliary MCU over SPI. A USB A to mini-B cable [https://www.pololu.com/product/
1129] is included with the Orangutan SVP.
The Orangutan SVP is compatible with freely available development software for Atmel’s AVR
microcontrollers, including Atmel Studio [https://www.microchip.com/avr-support/atmel-studio-7] and the
WinAVR [http://winavr.sourceforge.net/] GCC C/C++ compiler. We provide an extensive set of software
libraries [https://www.pololu.com/docs/0J20] that make it easy to interface with all of the integrated
hardware, including the auxiliary microcontroller. Using these libraries, it takes just a few simple lines
of code to write to the LCD, read button presses, drive motors, and control servos. These libraries
come with a number of sample programs that demonstrate how to use the various components on the
Orangutan SVP.
Pololu Orangutan SVP User’s Guide © 2001–2019 Pololu Corporation
1. Overview Page 2 of 43

Specifications & On-Board ardware
• Overall unit dimensions: 3.70" × 2.20"
• Input voltage: 6 – 13.5 V
• Programmable 20 MHz Atmel ATmega324PA AVR microcontroller with 32 KB flash, 2 KB
SRAM, and 1 KB PROM (SVP-324 version)
• Programmable 20 MHz Atmel ATmega1284P AVR microcontroller with 128 KB flash, 16 KB
RAM, and 4 KB PROM (SVP-1284 version)
• Built-in USB AVR ISP programmer (USB A to mini-B cable [https://www.pololu.com/product/
1129] included)
• 2 bidirectional motor ports (2 A continuous per channel, 6 A maximum per channel)
• 8-output demultiplexer tied to one of the AVR’s hardware PWMs for easy control of up to 8
servos
• 21 free I/O lines
◦ 17 free I/O lines on the main MCU, of which 8 can be analog inputs
◦ 4 input lines on the auxiliary processor, which can be either 4 analog inputs or dual
quadrature encoder inputs
◦ 2 hardware UARTs
• Removable 16-character × 2-line LCD with backlight
• Primary 5V switching regulator capable of supplying 3 A
• Secondary adjustable (2.5 V – 85% of VIN) buck (step-down) voltage regulator capable of
supplying 3 A
• Buzzer tied to one of the AVR’s hardware PWMs
• 3 user pushbutton switches
• 2 user L Ds
• Power (push-on/push-off) and reset pushbutton switches
• Power circuit makes it easy to add extra power buttons and provides a self-shutdown option
• Auxiliary processor (connected via SPI) provides:
◦ Battery voltage reading
◦ User trimmer potentiometer reading
◦ Integrated USB connection
◦ In-System-Programming of the main processor
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1. Overview Page 3 of 43

◦ Ability to read two quadrature encoders
Orangutan SVP kit.
Orangutan SVP fully assembled.
For a Spanish version of this document, please see Orangutan SVP Guia de Usuario
[https://www.pololu.com/file/0J328/OrangutanSVPGuiaDeUsuario.pdf] (2MB pdf) (provided by
customer Jaume B.).
1.a. Supported Operating Systems
We support using the Orangutan SVP’s USB connection under Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista,
Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Linux, and Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) or later. The Orangutan
SVP’s USB connection can be used to program the AVR, communicate directly with the AVR from a
computer, or communicate with TTL-level serial devices from a computer.
In Linux, the three virtual COM ports created by the SVP should appear as devices with names like
/dev/ttyACM0 ,/dev/ttyACM1 , and /dev/ttyACM2 (the numbers depends on how many other ACM
devices you have plugged in) and you can use any terminal program (such as kermit ) to send and
receive bytes on those ports.
In Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) or later, the three virtual COM ports created by the SVP should appear
as devices with names like /dev/tty.usbmodem00022381 ,/dev/tty.usbmodem00022383 , and /dev/
tty.usbmodem00022385 and you can use any terminal program (such as screen ) to send and receive
bytes on those ports. The lowest number found in the device names is the Orangutan SVP’s serial
number.
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1. Overview Page 4 of 43

Mac OS X compatibility: we have confirmed that the Orangutan SVP’s USB connection
works on Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) and we can assist with advanced technical issues, but
most of our tech support staff does not use Macs, so basic support for Mac OS X is
limited.
There is an issue that prevents the Orangutan SVP from working with macOS 10.11 or
later.
Note: You may not need to use the Orangutan SVP’s USB connection. If you have
an AVR ISP programmer, then you can program the AVR on the Orangutan SVP by
connecting your programmer to the 6-pin AVR ISP header located near the SVP’s USB
connector. In that case, the operating system of your computer does not matter as long
as it is compatible with your programmer.
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1. Overview Page 5 of 43

2. Contacting Pololu
You can check the Orangutan SVP-324 robot controller page [https://www.pololu.com/product/1325]
or Orangutan SVP-1284 robot controller page [https://www.pololu.com/product/1327] for additional
information, including pictures, example code, and application notes. You can also find libraries for
interacting with the on-board hardware and an assortment of sample code in the Pololu AVR Library
[https://www.pololu.com/docs/0J20].
We would be delighted to hear from you about any of your projects and about your experience with the
Orangutan Robot controllers. You can contact us [https://www.pololu.com/contact] directly or post on our
forum [http://forum.pololu.com/]. Tell us what we did well, what we could improve, what you would like to
see in the future, or anything else you would like to say!
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2. Contacting Pololu Page 6 of 43

3. Schematic Diagrams
Schematic diagrams of the Orangutan SVP are available here: Orangutan SVP schematic diagram
[https://www.pololu.com/file/0J265/org06a02_schematic.pdf] (99k pdf)
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4. Module Pinout and Components
The Orangutan SVP contains a programmable AVR ATmega324PA or ATmega1284P microcontroller
connected to two motor drivers for direct control of two DC motors, a 16×2 character LCD, a buzzer,
three user pushbuttons, two user L Ds, and a demultiplexer for servo control. The AVR is also
connected to an auxiliary processor (a PIC18F14K50) that provides access to the battery voltage, a
10 kilo-ohm user trimmer potentiometer, and four additional input lines. The auxiliary processor also
serves as a programmer for the main processor, meaning that an external programmer is not required,
but you can use one if you want to. The auxiliary processor also allows for USB communication
between the AVR and a personal computer, and acts as a USB-to-serial converter.
Orangutan SVP fully assembled PCB with pins labeled.
These and the rest of the main features of the module are labeled in the picture above and in
more detail in the Orangutan SVP reference diagram [https://www.pololu.com/file/0J244/
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4. Module Pinout and Components Page 8 of 43

orangutan_svp_reference_diagram.pdf] (82k pdf). Most of the connection points are also indicated on the
silkscreen on the back side of the PCB, as shown below. The overall unit dimensions are 3.7" × 2.2",
and four 0.086" mounting holes, suitable for #2 screws, are located 0.1" from the corners of the board.
Orangutan SVP-324 with dimensions.
Power & Motor Connections
Power for the Orangutan SVP should be connected to the positive (+) and ground (GND) terminals
near the words “Power In” on the board. The input voltage (VIN) of the power supply should be 6 –
13.5 V, from which the on-board regulator generates the 5 V supply (VCC) that is used to power the
logic.
The Orangutan SVP has one TB6612FNG motor driver for each motor output. ach motor driver can
deliver a continuous 2 A, and can briefly deliver up to 6 A. If you are not taking extra steps to keep the
motor driver cool, such as using a heat sink, exceeding this continuous current rating for too long will
cause the motor driver to heat up and trigger its built-in thermal shutdown.
By default, the motor drivers are powered from VBAT, which refers to the input voltage (VIN) after
passing through reverse protection and the power switch circuit. However, you can disconnect VBAT
from the motor drivers by cutting the labeled traces on the bottom of the board (VBAT-VM1 and VBAT-
VM2). This allows you to connect some other power supply to the motor drivers, such as VADJ (see
below). The motor drivers have an operating range of 4.5 – 13.5 V, so your power supply should be in
that range, and should be capable of supplying all the current that your motors might draw.
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4. Module Pinout and Components Page 9 of 43

USB Power
When connected to a computer, the USB connection provides a 5 V power supply. If an external power
supply is present, the unit will run off of the external supply and not draw any power from USB. If only
the USB power is present, then by default the auxiliary processor will be powered from USB, but the
AVR and the VCC power pins on the board will not be powered. An option is available for powering
the entire board from USB. See Section 11 for more information.
Motors
The motor drivers are controlled by two of the AVR’s hardware PWM outputs from eight-bit Timer2 for
speed control, along with two digital outputs for direction control. This lets you achieve variable motor
speeds using hardware PWMs rather than processor-intensive software PWMs on the motor control
lines. You can control the motors using the functions in the OrangutanMotors [https://www.pololu.com/
docs/0J18/7] section of the Pololu AVR C/C++ Library.
For each motor, the Orangutan SVP has a current-sensing circuit that produces an output voltage
proportional to the current the motors are using (850 mV/A). The respective outputs of these circuits
are labeled CS1 and CS2, and they are accessible near the center of the board.
User I/O & Power Outputs
Sixteen user I/O lines can be accessed via the four 4×3 0.100" female headers along the lower edger
of the board, as shown below. ach I/O line has associated power and ground connections for easy
connections to sensors: the exterior (bottom) pin is ground, the middle pin is power, and the interior
(top) pin is signal and connects directly to an AVR I/O line.
For each four-pin bank of I/O lines, you can configure which power voltage is supplied to the power
(middle) pins. By default, the power pins are connected to VCC (5 V). You can cut a trace on the
bottom of the board to disconnect them from VCC. This will leave the power pins connected to one
through-hole, which can be connected to a different power source, such as VADJ, which is available
elsewhere on the board.
The total current available on the VCC (5 V) line is 3 A, meaning you can power servos and other
high-power peripherals directly from your regulated voltage.
LCD
The Orangutan SVP is supplied with a removable 16×2 character LCD with backlight that uses the
common D44780 parallel interface [https://www.pololu.com/file/0J71/DMC50448N-AAE-AD.pdf] (109k pdf).
A different LCD can be connected with an appropriate cable. The AVR has four I/O lines connected
to LCD data lines DB4 – DB7 (i.e. is configured to use the LCD in 4-bit mode) and three I/O lines
connected to the three LCD control lines RS, R/W, and . Please note that the LCD data lines are also
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4. Module Pinout and Components Page 10 of 43

shared by the user pushbuttons and the green user L D. You can print to the LCD using the functions
in the OrangutanLCD [https://www.pololu.com/docs/0J18/5] section of the Pololu AVR C/C++ Library.
The LCD’s backlight can be turned off by driving the BACKLIGHT line low. Adjustable dimming of the
LCD can be achieved by connecting the line to a free PWM output.
The AVR’s AR F pin is available next to the backlight pin.
Pushbuttons
The Orangutan SVP has five total pushbuttons: a power on/off button located on the right side of the
bottom edge of the board, a reset button located on the left side of the top edge of the board, and
three user pushbuttons located along the left edge of the board. Please note that the power button
disconnects the external power supply from the entire board, while the reset button connects directly
to the AVR’s R S T pin and does not disconnect the power supply.
The user pushbuttons, from top to bottom, are on pins PC5, PC3, and PC2. Pressing one of these
buttons pulls the associated I/O pin to ground through a resistor. You can detect button pushes using
the functions in the OrangutanPushbuttons [https://www.pololu.com/docs/0J18/9] section of the Pololu
AVR C/C++ Library. The library takes care of configuring the pins as inputs, enabling the AVR’s internal
pull-up resistors, and debouncing (accounting for the fact that pushbuttons physically bounce when
pressed).
Buzzer
The Orangutan SVP comes with a buzzer controlled by pin PD4. If you alternate between driving the
buzzer pin high and low at a given frequency, the buzzer will produce sound at that frequency. You can
use the functions in the OrangutanBuzzer [https://www.pololu.com/docs/0J18/3] section of the Pololu AVR
C/C++ Library to play notes in the background (using hardware PWM) while the rest of your processor
performs other tasks.
Trimpot
The Orangutan SVP comes with a 10 kilo-ohm user trimmer potentiometer, located between the
USB connector and the LCD connector. The trimpot is connected to the auxiliary processor, which
measures its output voltage and reports it to the AVR.
You can disconnect the trimpot from the auxiliary processor by cutting the labeled trace between POT
and ADC/SS on the bottom side of the board. This gives you two options for that line: you can use it
as a general-purpose analog input by connecting some other output to it, or you can connect it to one
of your AVR’s free I/O lines and use it as the SPI slave-select line for the auxiliary processor, allowing
you to communicate with some other SPI peripheral.
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Programming Connector
The Orangutan SVP has a 6-pin programming connector on the upper left side. This gives you the
option of using an AVR ISP in-system programmer from Atmel or a compatible programmer, such
as our Pololu USB AVR Programmer [https://www.pololu.com/product/1300] to program the AVR. This is
not necessary, though, because the Orangutan SVP’s auxiliary processor can serve as an AVR ISP
programmer for the AVR.
By default, pin 5 of the Programming connector, which is labeled by an asterisk (*), is connected to
the AVR’s R S T line, which is necessary for ISP programming by an external device). However, you
can disconnect those two pins by cutting a labeled trace on the bottom of the circuit board. This gives
you the option of using that line for some other signal.
Auxiliary I/O & Power Outputs
The Orangutan SVP has five auxiliary I/O lines that are connected to the auxiliary processor. ach
I/O line has associated power and ground connections for easy connections to sensors: the exterior
(top) pin is ground, the middle pin is power (VCC), and the interior (bottom) pin is signal and connects
directly to an auxiliary processor I/O line. The TX line is the serial transmit line. It transmits TTL-level
serial bytes received from the computer on the “Pololu Orangutan SVP TTL Serial Port”. The lines A,
B,C, and D/RX can be configured to do different things. They can function as three analog inputs
plus a serial receive line, as four analog inputs, or as the inputs for two quadrature encoders. See the
OrangutanSVP [https://www.pololu.com/docs/0J18/13] section of the Pololu AVR C/C++ Library for more
information.
Servo Demultiplexer
The hardware in the upper-right corner of the Orangutan SVP allows you to control up to 8 servos
without sacrificing a large number of I/O lines or processor cycles. You can control servos using the
functions in the OrangutanServos [https://www.pololu.com/docs/0J18/11] section of the Pololu USB AVR
C/C++ library.
The input signal of the demultiplexer is connected to pin PD5 on the AVR. If you are not using PD5 to
control servos, you can use it as a general-purpose digital I/O line or PWM output.
The three output-selection pins of the multiplexer (SA,SB, and SC) are available in the header near
the multiplexer so they can be wired to free I/O lines on the AVR, allowing you to switch between
servos. The output-selection pins have pull-down resistors, so if you have four servos or fewer you
can leave some of them disconnected.
The eight output pins of the multiplexer are available in two 4×3 headers. These lines have current-
limiting resistors on them. ach multiplexer output line has associated power and ground connections
for easy connections to the servos: the exterior (top) pin is ground, the middle pin is power. For each
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bank of servos, you can configure which power supply is connected to the power pins, using the
provided headers and jumpers. You can power the servos from VCC, VADJ (see below), or a separate
power supply. The fully assembled version ships with a jumper attached to just the middle pin of each
of the two servo power selection banks. In this default orientation, the jumper supplies no power to the
servo power rail.
Orangutan SVP with key integrated hardware labeled.
Adjustable Voltage (VADJ)
In addition to the 5 V regulator that supplies VCC, the Orangutan SVP comes with an adjustable
voltage regulator. Both regulators can supply a current of 3 A. The adjustable voltage regulator draws
current from the external power supply, and produces an output voltage called VADJ. The trimmer
potentiometer in the upper right corner of the board determines VADJ. If you turn the trimpot all the
way counter-clockwise, VADJ goes down to about 2.5 V. If you turn it all the way clockwise, VADJ rises
to 85% of VIN. The adjustable voltage regulator will be off when the main power is switched off.
In general, it is advantageous to power servos and other high-power devices from VADJ (instead of
VCC), because if the peripherals draw too much current for the power supply to handle the AVR will
not be affected.
LEDs
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Orangutan SVP LEDs.
The Orangutan SVP comes with 9 L Ds:
• A blue power L D is located next to the power button.
• There are four motor indicator L Ds located near the motor outputs. A green L D lit
indicates that the corresponding motor is being driven “forward” (the voltage on output B is
higher than the voltage on A). A red L D indicates that the corresponding motor is being
driven in “reverse” (the voltage on output B is lower than the voltage on output A).
• A red user L D is located near the AVR I/O banks. The L D is connected to the user I/O
line PD1. It will light if you set PD1 as a low output. Since PD1 is the serial transmit line for
UART0 (TXD0), the L D will flicker whenever serial data is being transmitted from the AVR.
The L D can be disconnected from PD1 by cutting a labeled trace (PD1-LED) on the bottom
of the board.
• A green user L D is located between the trimpot and the buzzer. It will light if you set PC4
as a high output. Note that PC4 is also used as an LCD data line, so you will see the green
L D flicker when you update the LCD.
• Another green L D is located near the USB connector. This L D is controlled by the auxiliary
processor and indicates the status of the USB connection. When the USB is disconnected,
or the device is in the USB Suspend state (because the computer went to sleep), the
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green L D is off. When you connect the device to a computer via USB, the green L D will
start blinking slowly. The blinking continues until it receives a particular message from the
computer indicating that the drivers are installed correctly. After the programmer gets this
message, the green L D will be on, but it will flicker briefly when there is USB activity.
• Another red L D is located near the header for the auxiliary processor’s TX line. This L D
is tied to the TX line, so it will flicker whenever the auxiliary processor is transmitting TTL-
level serial bytes from the computer. This L D will also blink when the auxiliary processor
powers up to indicate bad startup conditions. Two blinks indicates that a brown-out reset
was triggered: the processor’s VDD dropped below 3.0 V. If this happens to you, check your
power connections and battery voltage, and make sure you are not drawing too much power
from the board.
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4. Module Pinout and Components Page 15 of 43

5. Getting Started
5.a. Installing Windows Drivers
If you use Windows XP, you will need to have either Service Pack 3 [http://www.microsoft.com/
downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=68C48DAD-BC34-40BE-8D85-6BB4F56F5110] or Hotfix KB918365
installed before installing the drivers for the Orangutan SVP. Some users who installed the
hotfix have reported problems using the programmer which were solved by upgrading to
Service Pack 3, so we recommend Service Pack 3 over the hotfix.
Before you connect your Pololu Orangutan SVP robot controller to a computer running Microsoft
Windows, you must install its drivers:
1. Download and install the Pololu AVR Development Bundle [https://www.pololu.com/file-redirect/
avr-development-bundle] (~6MB exe). This includes the drivers for the Orangutan SVP, along
with the Pololu AVR C/C++ Library and the drivers for the Pololu USB AVR Programmer.
If you are not sure which of these components you need, it is OK to install all of them.
If you only need to install the drivers for the Orangutan SVP, you can download those
separately: Orangutan SVP Windows Drivers [https://www.pololu.com/file/0J488/orangutan-svp-
win-121115.exe] (53k exe).
2. During the installation, Windows will ask you if you want to install the drivers. Click “Install”
(Windows 7, 8, and Vista) or “Continue Anyway” (Windows XP).
Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista users: After the installation is complete,
your computer should automatically install the necessary drivers when you connect an Orangutan
SVP, in which case no further action from you is required.
Windows XP users: After the installation is complete, follow steps 3-7 for each new Orangutan SVP
you connect to your computer.
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3. Connect the device to your computer’s USB port. The Orangutan SVP shows up as three
devices in one so your XP computer will detect all three of those new devices and
display the “Found New ardware Wizard” three times. ach time the “Found New
Hardware Wizard” pops up, follow steps 4-7.
4. When the “Found New Hardware Wizard” is displayed, select “No, not this time” and click
“Next”.
5. On the second screen of the “Found New Hardware Wizard”, select “Install the software
automatically” and click “Next”.
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6. Windows XP will warn you again that the driver has not been tested by Microsoft and
recommend that you stop the installation. Click “Continue Anyway”.
7. When you have finished the “Found New Hardware Wizard”, click “Finish”. After that, another
wizard will pop up. You will see a total of three wizards when plugging in the Orangutan SVP.
Follow steps 4-7 for each wizard.
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If you use Windows XP and experience problems installing the drivers, the cause of your problems
might be a bug in older versions of Microsoft’s usb-to-serial driver usbser.sys. Versions of this driver
prior to version 5.1.2600.2930 will not work with the Orangutan SVP. You can check what version
of this driver you have by looking in the “Details” tab of the “Properties” window for C:\Windows\
System32\drivers\usbser.sys. To get the fixed version of the driver, you will need to either install
Service Pack 3 [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=68C48DAD-
BC34-40BE-8D85-6BB4F56F5110] or Hotfix KB918365. Some users who installed the hotfix have reported
problems using the programmer which were solved by upgrading to Service Pack 3, so we recommend
Service Pack 3 over the hotfix.
After installing the drivers, if you go to your computer’s Device Manager and expand the “Ports (COM
& LPT)” list, you should see three COM ports: Pololu Orangutan SVP Programmer (Section 5.c),
Pololu Orangutan SVP USB Communication Port (Section 8), and the Pololu Orangutan SVP
TTL Serial Port (Section 9). In parentheses after these names, you will see the name of the port (e.g.
“COM5” or “COM6”).
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5. Getting Started Page 19 of 43

Windows XP device manager showing the Pololu Orangutan
SVP.
Windows 8 device manager showing the Pololu Orangutan SVP.
The COM ports in the Device Manager might actually be named “USB Serial Device” instead of having
a descriptive name as shown in the screenshots above. This can happen if you are using Windows
10 or later and you plugged the Orangutan SVP into your computer before installing our drivers for
it. In that case, Windows will set up your programmer using usbser.inf, a driver from Microsoft that
ships with Windows 10 and later, and it will display “USB Serial Device” as the name for each port.
The ports will be usable, but it will be hard to distinguish the ports from each other because of the
generic name shown in the Device Manager. We recommend fixing the names in the Device Manager
by right-clicking on each “USB Serial Device” entry, selecting “Update Driver Software…”, and then
selecting “Search automatically for updated driver software”. Windows should find the drivers you
already installed, which contain the correct name for the port.
Some software will not allow connection to higher COM port numbers. In particular, AVR Studio and
Pololu Orangutan SVP User’s Guide © 2001–2019 Pololu Corporation
5. Getting Started Page 20 of 43