MiniPOV 4 problems Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit

[chinga]

Hi, all -

I just soldered together my MiniPOV 4 kit, and when I turn it on, the LEDS light up red and blue, but not green. Also, when I plug it into the computer, no software pops up. Any ideas what needs to be/can be fixed?

Thanks!

[franklin97355]

Could you post large (less than 1meg), clear, detailed pictures of both sides of your board showing any soldering you have done and the connections to it?

[chinga]

Here you go! Thank you so much for any advice.

(I know the negative battery lead isn't connected - the wire broke after I ran the test on the device. Another thing to fix! Being a beginner is a joy!)

[adafruit_support_rick]

You're on Windows?
Open device manager and see if the MiniPOV shows up. It should be recognized as a USBtiny under libusb-win32 devices:

[chinga]

No, I'm on a MacBook Pro.

[adafruit_support_rick]

Then there is no popup. when you first plug it in. Go ahead and skip to the part of the tutorial about running Processing.
https://learn.adafruit.com/minipov4-diy ... d-software

[adafruit2]

looks like one of the DIP pins on the chip is bent and not inserted

[adafruit_support_rick]

Ooo! Good eye! I missed that.

[bodger]

I just put together my MiniPOV 4, and two of the LEDs work fine for red and blue, but not green. I thought about it for a while, and since the LEDs light, that tells me that their I/O pins and current limiting resistors are OK, and since the others work for green, that tells me the I/O pin, transistor, and base resistor for green is OK as well. That leaves a problem in the PCB trace, a bad solder joint, or two LEDs that don't work right. The datasheet doesn't make it clear which pin is green, so I pulled up the board design in EAGLE, but that signal isn't named. I went to the schematic and named the red, blue, and green LED drive signals, then was able to match them with pins on the board view, so I know which pin is green. I measured with a continuity tester, and the pins are connected to the other green pins. I also tried probing those pins with an oscilloscope with the unit running (up high near the LED, not just down at the solder joint), and they show the same signal as the other LEDs. Therefore I think the problem is with those two LEDs. I really don't think I overheated them while soldering. I did try reheating those joints just in case, but that didn't cause improvement.

[adafruit2]

bodg, email support@adafruit to get 2 more LEDs