Finally managed to get my own Amiibomb working, and it was QUITE an ordeal.
- First problem I encountered, I couldn't solder.
So I went to a cellphone repair shop, and had them solder the provided pin headers onto the RC522 for like $2.
Here is the finished product.
- Second problem, Amiibomb couldn't create the Amiibo keys file. Even though it detected the keys in my clipboard and asked for a filename... nothing happened afterwards! I had to paste the hex values into a hex editor (I used HxD which can run as a portable app), and save it as Key_Retail.bin
- Third problem, Amiibomb can't even detect my Arduino Uno. It kept giving the error "Any Arduino found on ports COM!" After checking Windows's "Device Manager" and seeing the yellow exclamation mark, I learned I had to install the USB-to-serial driver that is used by these Chinese Arduino knockoffs (as they use a different USB-to-serial chip, something called a CH340).
I got the drivers from this post:
But in case that link dies, the file name is CH341SER.exe
Googling that should lead you to tons of Arduino forums and Chinese sites with the file.
- Fourth problem, I couldn't flash my Arduino from the Amiibomb Internal Flasher, I kept getting a "Device Error" message. And Amiibomb kept crashing when I tried clicking XLoader, I thought it was a separate dependency I had to install separately. But on a hunch, I moved the entire Amiibomb folder from my current download directory (which had spaces in the pathname, and special characters like parentheses), to a path without spaces and special characters, I also renamed the default folder it extracted to, to remove the dashes and all other characters.
Not sure if it helped, I STILL get an error with the Internal Flasher. But then launching XLoader from Amiibomb started working, and I flashed it from there.
- Fifth problem, I kept getting these error messages whilst trying to flash my NTAG215 stickers
- Error occured: ERROR Data: A MIFARE PICC responded with NAK.
- Error occured: ERROR Data: Error in communication.
I tried googling these problems, and nothing helpful came up. Even the results within Amiibomb's thread here or on the github were unhelpful. I almost did that one advice about recompiling Amiibomb on the Arduino IDE with different drivers, almost.
BUT I kept wondering why the error kept changing. I was using a solderless setup (except for the header pins shown in the pic above), using dupont jumper cables, so I was wondering if they were loose. So I held them tight with both hands (and a foot) and I had someone help me press the buttons on Amiibomb.
It still didn't work at first, but I read here that someone had a dodgy RC522 antenna that was choosy with how the sticker was positioned. So I tried different heights, from touching to about an inch above, different positions... and while I was rubbing the RC522 with the sticker trying to find a "sweet spot", it suddenly worked!
So the 2 error messages above could've been caused by loose jumper cables or a weak RC522 unit, I still really haven't fully figured it out.
Why did I bother typing all this out?
So that the next guy who googles one of the errors above can end up here, and find a full list of troubleshooting tips in one post, things I had tons of trouble figuring out.
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So now here you can see my setup, I'm using Mario toys I got from Happy Meals, probably cost me less than a dollar each, and turning them into "Amiibos". Solderless except for the header pins shown in the first pic above.
You can see written underneath that while these toys are licensed by Nintendo, but they're "Made for Mcdonalds"