Two questions about Monochron

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wookie1
 
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Two questions about Monochron

Post by wookie1 »

I have 2 questions:
1) I put it together and it seems to work EXCEPT the only button that does anything is "Menu". "Set" and "+" seem to be non-functional. Has anyone else had this problem? I'll probably have to take it apart anyway since I read here after assembling it that I should add the extra 10K resistor on R10.

2) Can I write programs in the Arduino IDE and load them into this? The C programming looks much more difficult.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

If you post photos of the front and back of the board, we'll check over your assembly.

It is possible to program this with the Arduino IDE. See this thread for details: http://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.ph ... 3&p=113194

wookie1
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by wookie1 »

Thanks for the help, I haven't had time to go into detail on the Arduino IDE, but here are the front and back. I still need to add R10.
Image
Image

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The soldering on the board looks very good. I don't see any problems there. If you have a multimeter, check the set and +/- buttons to see if there is continuity when they are pressed.

wookie1
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by wookie1 »

I have continuity on all 3 buttons. I downloaded the schematic, but I don't have a way to view it. Is there a .pdf somewhere?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

You can view the schematics in EagleCad which is a free download: http://www.cadsoftusa.com/download-eagle/
Details from the schematic are explained in the Design page of the tutorial: https://learn.adafruit.com/monochron/design

Double check your soldering on resistors R3-R6. I don't see any obvious problems in the photos, but an up-close inspection might reveal a cold-joint or two. Any problem in that resistor ladder could explain button problems.

Check this guide for tips on identifying and correcting soldering problems. http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-guid ... n-problems

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coinop29
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by coinop29 »

I just soldered together the MONOCRON but I'm not getting any power into the board. I tested the power supply and it's working but the LED isn't lighting up and the screen won't startup.

One thing I noticed is that R10 wasn't in the tutorial but there was an extra resistor in the kit so I put it there. Is this wrong?

Attached is a pic of my board - the R2' resistor is a bit bent because i moved it to the R2' after putting it in the wrong slot by mistake.

Image

Any ideas why this isn't working?

thanks in advance..
-Jonah

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Please post a photo showing the solder-side of the board.

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coinop29
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by coinop29 »

Thanks for getting back to me.. Here's a pic of the solder side. Still not getting any power into the board.

Image

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

On the front of the board there is a large rectangular marking labeled "IC2'" with 3 solder bads below it.
Measure the voltage between the center and left pads.
Then measure the voltage between the center and right pads.

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coinop29
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by coinop29 »

measured the voltage - I'm getting 7.8 volts... should it be 9?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

7.8 volts where? We need to know both measurements.
Measure the voltage between the center and left pads.
Then measure the voltage between the center and right pads.

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coinop29
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by coinop29 »

ok here it is...

voltage between center and left = 8.53 volts
voltage between center and right = .642 volts

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

You should be seeing 5v on the right-hand side. .642 volts indicates a problem with the voltage regulator - or a short circuit. Is the voltage regulator (the 3-legged black component labeled "IC2") getting hot?

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coinop29
 
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Re: Two questions about Monochron

Post by coinop29 »

Just tested it again, re-soldered the leads on the voltage regulator as well.. it's not getting hot but still not getting any power into the board. Maybe it's a defect in the PCB? Can I return it?

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