Ice Tube Problems

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smilenjohn
 
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Re: Ice Tube Troubleshooting Guide

Post by smilenjohn »

I’ve double checked everything to the best of my ability, and I can't figure out what my problem is. All of the digits on the display light up all the time. I do get a beep when I plug it in, but none of the buttons has any effect on the display. I plan to add a GPS and a motion sensor to switch 2 for the snooze feature, for that, I have mounted a header on top of the regulator to pull power for both of them. I have also added a couple of single headers on the underside of the PCB to the active side of switch 2 and pin 2 of IC1 so I can simply plug in these mods after I get the clock up and running. I’ve inserted some pics. The headers I’ve added look pretty sloppy in the pics, but I’ve made sure there are no bridges or shorts between any of the pins. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Smilenjohn
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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Ice Tube Troubleshooting Guide

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Please post photos of the solder-side of both boards.

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smilenjohn
 
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Re: Ice Tube Troubleshooting Guide

Post by smilenjohn »

I attached a bunch of pics with my 1st post, but it only shows one. I'll try again. (and I'll also try and keep my pasty white legs out of the rest of the pics)
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2b.JPG
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I'm making my own enclosure so you will not see the bottom of the pcb.
I'm making my own enclosure so you will not see the bottom of the pcb.
1ba.JPG (106 KiB) Viewed 1634 times
The black things are single port headers soldered to an individual pin. I've double checked to make sure they aren't shorting anything.
The black things are single port headers soldered to an individual pin. I've double checked to make sure they aren't shorting anything.
1b.JPG (120.79 KiB) Viewed 1634 times

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Ice Tube Troubleshooting Guide

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Most symptoms like that are due to soldering issues. But the soldering on the tube parts of the board looks excellent.

One thing I can't see from the photos is if there might be a short due to the metal standoff. I don't think that would cause the problem you describe, but let's try without it so we can rule it out as a possibility.

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smilenjohn
 
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Re: Ice Tube Troubleshooting Guide

Post by smilenjohn »

I tried removing the supports and the two headers that I'd soldered to the bottom of the pcb, and it still does the same thing. I had also bought some spare IV-18 tubes and spare side PCB's, so when the tube burns out in 15 years I will have some replacements. (I know it’s a bit OCD overkill but.....anyways) I tried swapping out the tube section and it makes no difference, so I think I can eliminate the supports, the headers and the tube section as the problem. I don’t think this could cause the problem, but I should probably mention that I replaced the original 20ppm crystal with a 5ppm 32kHz crystal. I saw this mod at:
http://feilipu.me/2014/08/16/ice-tube-c ... -free-mod/
They claim it would increase the accuracy and it was less than a buck. (if it Matters) Below is a link to the crystal I used.
http://www.digikey.com.au/product-detai ... ND/2217074
I’ve also went over every solder point with a magnifying glass, and don’t see any shorts or bridges. Do you have any idea which components or areas I should focus on, which might cause this kind of problem?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Ice Tube Troubleshooting Guide

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Hmmm. A tube short wold have been my next guess. But it looks like you have already ruled that out. Backing up from there, there is the VFD chip and the processor itself. The processor seems to be functioning well enough to issue the startup beep and to run the boost circuit - otherwise, nothing would be lighting up. The VFD is where the switching of the individual tube segments happens. That is probably the component to focus on.

Look carefully at the socket contacts around the chip and make sure none are mis-aligned. If that all checks out fine, we can try replacing the VFD chip. Please contact [email protected] with a link to this thread to arrange it.

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Scheidr
 
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Re: Ice Tube Troubleshooting Guide

Post by Scheidr »

Why would I be getting only 8.7V on the striped side of D3? I'm guessing this is why the board no longer beeps when I plug it in (I'm in the build stage still) and the tube doesn't light up...

It was beeping on all of the checks up until this one, so I'm a bit stumped. Plus, by following the check system above, I was able to find that low power point but have no clue what to do now that I have found it! :)

I'd love any assistance!

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Ice Tube Problems

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

@Scheidr - To avoid confusion, please start a new thread. Be sure to include photos of the front and back of your board.

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Scheidr
 
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Re: Ice Tube Problems

Post by Scheidr »

Pretty embarrassing ;) but will do... lol

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jarchie
 
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Re: Ice Tube Troubleshooting Guide

Post by jarchie »

smilenjohn wrote:...I can't figure out what my problem is. All of the digits on the display light up all the time. I do get a beep when I plug it in, but none of the buttons has any effect on the display.
Could it be a faulty Q3? A similar problem is described in another thread:
http://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=51207

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Ice Tube Problems

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Thanks jarchie. I had forgotten about that one. It is not the typical symptom, but worth investigating.

@smilenjohn - try shorting the first and 3rd pins of Q3 and see if the display improves.

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dbm
 
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Re: Ice Tube Problems

Post by dbm »

I have a similar problem. The digits did not light up (some segments randomly flash) and if I run a barnacle from +5V (VCC) to the R3 side of FET (Q4 on the schematic and Q3 in this thread) everything works.
ScreenHunter_22 Dec. 29 09.35.jpg
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As mentioned in the referenced older thread, the battery back up function will be compromised slightly but not catastrophically since if the 5V supply goes away the display will be turned off and the Atmel part will go into sleep mode per the design. I'm guessing my FET is dead too. If Adafruit wants to send one along that would be great otherwise I'll do a Digikey order.

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smilenjohn
 
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Re: Ice Tube Problems

Post by smilenjohn »

I tried shorting the first and 3rd pins of Q3, and it had no effect. All of the segments remain on. I did not try the "Barnacle" suggestion, because I'm not sure I completely understand and I don't want to release any of my precious smoke. I found the pin on Q3 that has continuity with R3, do I simply run a jumper from the 5v feed to that pin? If so, would this also prove a bad Q3?

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dbm
 
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Re: Ice Tube Problems

Post by dbm »

I looked at the schematic again and shorting the first and 3rd pins is the same as running the wire. The shorting of the pins would turn the ice display on (my problem was the display was off)... so if the shorting has no effect, it may mean the FET (Q3/Q4) is shorted internally ... if you are up for it, you could lift a leg of the FET or pop the FET out and see if the display goes off.

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smilenjohn
 
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Re: Ice Tube Problems

Post by smilenjohn »

I removed Q3 and the display does turn off. I also have no continuity between any of the pins on Q3. However, it looks like I managed to remove two pads from the PCB as well. So unless Adafruit sells the main PCB's separately, I'm guessing that I'll never know why it didn't work.

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