Just to add this easy problem to fix into this forum also for others to find...

When having issues uploading sketches to Diavolino using FTDI cables and windows, would work the first time then fail until the board is power-cycled.

squall_line said:
Try adjusting your port settings to end the pain: Device Manager - Comm Ports - USB Serial Port - Port Settings - Advanced button - Set RTS On Close.

As per http://www.evilmadscientist.com/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=3270


I found this fixed my problem straight away.

Thanks squall_line and Windell !

Thanks dargs,
appreciate it!

I'm having the same problem on my Macbook, however it's a bit worse as I can't seem to upload anything after the initial "blink" sketch to test it. I've tried unplugging everything yet I still receive the error msg:

avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00
avrdude: stk500_disable(): protocol error, expect=0x14, resp=0x00

Any thoughts for a Mac user?

I just signed up for an account so I'm replying to my own post to say that I figured out the problem. I didn't clean the flux off the bottom of the board after soldering. After doing that the programming works fine - ya rookie mistake.

Alex