TV BGONE Oscillator and Green LED issues

[afitch]

Hello,

I am working with some students on the TV BGone kit as a first project to learn soldering. The kit came with everything but when it came time to solder the oscillator in, the three holes were filled with what I assume was solder. We tried using a solder sucker to clear them but that didn't work. We tried the copper braided wire to suck the solder out. That didn't work. We had been able to get the oscillator partially installed but when the test of the green led failed, we assumed it might be due to the oscillator install problem.

We removed the oscillator and tried using a drill bit to clear the holes. I got one cleared but now the hole is huge and I probably messed up the trace in doing so.

We are at the point where asking these questions is necessary.

What should we have done to install the oscillator with all three holes filled in?

Could a faulty install of the oscillator cause the LED to not work?

How do we test the oscillator for continuity or for damage? I have had little luck finding a replacement oscillator at radio shack (no surprise to me there).

Could a bad chip cause both the led and the oscillator to not work in the test? I read a little about some issues with the chip not working from the factory on another forum here on Adafruit.

Thanks

Al

[adafruit]

usually holes get 'accidentally' soldered by beginner solderers who angle the tip and end up brushing against other pads with solder. its often a challenge when this happens, since beginners don't know how to use solder suckers or solder wick. in general we suggest laying the part on top and soldering over the pads instead of trying to shove it into the pads. you should never attempt to drill open a pad unless you have a PCB drill.
if you post a clear, well lit, in focus photo we can look at what the state of the kit is
if you bought the kit in mid-late dec, some shipped with bad chips

[afitch]

What is the picture format and file size limit for pictures to be uploaded? I keep getting the error message that the format is invalid. It is a jpeg image about 3.4Mb

[adafruit]

What is the picture format and file size limit for pictures to be uploaded? I keep getting the error message that the format is invalid. It is a jpeg image about 3.4Mb

try to make the images less than 1mb and about 640 x 480

[Agent24]

If they want to learn soldering I suggest they take a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_NU2ruzyc4

The best one on Youtube in my opinion.

[uoip]

Next time, if you get a hole clogged with solder, try removing the solder using a clipped-off lead of a resistor, LED, or other component. About an inch should be enough, but whatever you've got left over when you trimmed a resistor will work. Hold the lead in a pair of needle-nosed pliers (it'll get hot), try to push it into the hole, and then heat the lead and the hole with your soldering iron. As the solder melts, the lead will go through. You can pull it out the other end with those same pliers. Assuming you already cleaned it up as best you could with solder sucker and/or copper braid, there won't be much solder left in the hole, and most of what's remaining will stick to the lead wire. You'll be left with a hole that's clean enough to put a new lead wire through. In rare situations, you might have to repeat the process, but use a clean lead each time.

[afitch]

Two images of our project:

[adafruit]

thats not too bad but yes, the traces are ripped. what you'll want to do is take two small pieces of wire and solder them between the microcontroller socket pins and the oscillator pins (both of them)

[afitch]

When you say to connect the two IC pins with the two oscillator pins, do you mean the two center ones?

Considering that I am using Lead-Free solder, how do the joints look?

We were hoping for the Green LED but with the oscillator issue, we were doubting the ability of our remote to function.

[Agent24]

The oscillator only has 3 pins, there are no two center ones.

The center pin on the oscillator goes to ground. The outer pins go to the pins on the IC. You can easily see this by looking at the tracks on the board.

Of course, you could also download the schematic and PCB layout and look at that in Eagle if you want a better idea of where things go.

[afitch]

Thanks Agent24,

I mis-typed my question when I asked about the "two center legs on the oscillator"

Since we pretty much obliterated the traces on the bottom of the board, I was asking about which "legs" of the oscillator to connect to the pins on the IC.

I managed to get the oscillator attached just now. Next I'll connect it to the IC with jumper wires as Arafruit suggested.

I ohmed almost everything out but there were a few connections with some resistance in them.

When I put batteries in to test the unit after connecting the oscillater, I noticed that the LEDs were getting hot. More issues?

One thing at a time I guess.

[Agent24]

Sounds like they may be getting turned on constantly instead of flashing. I'm not sure exactly what would cause this.

But, If you have a digital camera, webcam or camcorder etc you can use that to view the IR LEDs and determine what is happening

[adafruit]

sounds like you are at least making progress can you take another photo of your new mod?

[afitch]

I'm so new to the electronics world that I don't think I know what "Mod" is unless it means my new modification?

Since I burned out the traces where the oscillator goes, I need to find out which pins to jump the two outside pins to.

I realize that if I could read a schematic, I could figure it out but I'm not 100% sure of what I am looking at.

I lost my two extra PCBs so I can check them out. I could grow a pair and just jump to random pins I guess...

[adafruit]

no need to look at a scrematic, you can see the outer traces and where they ought to connect