Ice Tube Clock stopped working after a few hours

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martybugs
 
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Ice Tube Clock stopped working after a few hours

Post by martybugs »

I bought an Ice Tube Clock about 12 months ago, and it sat on my shelf in the box until last week, when I finally got around to building it.

During construction, all the tests passed fine, and the clock worked as expected. I could set the time, region, brightness, alarm, etc, and it was keeping time accurately.
(and I also encountered the reset issue described in this thread)

However, after leaving it running overnight, the next morning it was no longer working - nothing was visible on the display. Cycling power caused it to do the startup beep, and hitting the "menu" button caused one segment to light up (the bottom of the "S" of "Set" that is displayed when cycling through the menus):
Image

Note that I removed the backup battery after the clock stopped working, as a multimeter indicated it had a voltage of only ~0.5v (remember....it has been sitting on my shelf for ~12 months before I built the clock), so I'll need to grab a replacement, but I can't a flat battery causing the clock to fail in this way.

I have double-checked all component placings and all solder joints, but can't see anything out-of-the ordinary.

With the VFD in-place, the boost converter is generating about 16v (close to the 20v that the instructions mention), and swapping out the power supply for a slightly higher voltage supply causes the boost converter voltage to rise to about 18v, but doesn't change the clock's behaviour.

Here's some high-res photos (resized to 2000px) of the completed clock:
* component side of PCB: http://martybugs.net/temp/IMG_A18305_2000.jpg
* solder side of PCB #1: http://martybugs.net/temp/IMG_A18308_2000.jpg
* solder side of PCB #2: http://martybugs.net/temp/IMG_A18324_2000.jpg
* tube-to-PCB connection #1: http://martybugs.net/temp/IMG_A18309_2000.jpg
* tube-to-PCB connection #2: http://martybugs.net/temp/IMG_A18310_2000.jpg

Any suggestions where I should be looking?
The fact that the clock was initially working confirms that the construction is OK, and tube connections are OK.
Is it possible that I have a dud tube which worked for a few hours, then died on the first night the clock was running?

adafruit
 
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Re: Ice Tube Clock stopped working after a few hours

Post by adafruit »

its probably the transistor, we've replaced these in newer kits but lets make sure thats the issue
please check the voltage at each pin of the Q3 transistor :)

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martybugs
 
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Re: Ice Tube Clock stopped working after a few hours

Post by martybugs »

adafruit wrote:its probably the transistor, we've replaced these in newer kits but lets make sure thats the issue
please check the voltage at each pin of the Q3 transistor :)
Thanks for the suggestion - I'll do some more testing around Q3 tonight, and will report back with the results.

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martybugs
 
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Re: Ice Tube Clock stopped working after a few hours

Post by martybugs »

adafruit wrote:its probably the transistor, we've replaced these in newer kits but lets make sure thats the issue
please check the voltage at each pin of the Q3 transistor :)
Voltages, as measured with the tube in-place:
pin 1: 4.63v
pin 2: 3.93v
pin 3: 2.64v (closest to edge of PCB)

Shorting out pins 2 & 3 causes the tube to light up, and the clock displays a time (it's not keeping time atm, as I have removed the battery).

That would certainly seem to indicate a failed Q3, as per your initial suggestion.

What's involved in getting a replacement?

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Re: Ice Tube Clock stopped working after a few hours

Post by adafruit »

email support@adafruit ask for a new ice tube clock MOSFET with a link to this post!

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martybugs
 
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Re: Ice Tube Clock stopped working after a few hours

Post by martybugs »

adafruit wrote:email support@adafruit ask for a new ice tube clock MOSFET with a link to this post!
The replacement MOSFET turned up this week, and after replacing it, my clock is now working again!
Thanks for the prompt parts replacement ;-)

(and the updated firmware as per this thread has fixed the issue where hitting buttons quickly can cause the clock to reset)

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