New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

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sphillips
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by sphillips »

I tried posting two JPG images but got a message saying the attachments were invalid. But what I have for both the mount plate that came in the ARDX kit and the mount plate I ordered separately look like the picture at http://www.adafruit.com/products/275 (showing black metal screws), except that the engraving on the mount plate is completely reversed from what is shown on your website.

What image format should I be using? Couldn't find an answer on the FAQ.

Thanks--
Samira

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sphillips
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by sphillips »

Ah, then the confusion comes because I expected nylon screws to be white, not black. They look a lot like metal!

As for the reversed engraving, I know that I can turn the Arduino and mount it, but then you have to read either the breadboard or the Arduino upside down, which is not a big deal once you get used to it, but since I am dealing with younger students who tend to be rather literal, anything that makes all the pictures in a manual match 1:1 is better. I can make do, however.

Sorry about my misunderstanding about the nylon screws. Thanks for all your help this morning.

Samira

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

I expected nylon screws to be white, not black.
That makes more sense. We do occasionally have kitting errors, but they are rare.

For future reference, you should be able to post JPGs or GIFs. You may need to re-size them if they are too large. 800x600 is a good size.

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kashken
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by kashken »

Interesting. Nobody provided suitable bolts for the problem when I encountered it almost 2 years ago. Are you goind to do that now?

stephen40
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by stephen40 »

Hi Guys,

I just received my first Arduino starter kit the ARDX V1.3.

A couple of points which I have found so far, some of which have been mentioned before in previous threads:

[1] Arduino Holder printed inversed. This mean that you have to place the breadboard and UNO on the reverse side to sync with the wiring guides.

[2] Assembly drawing (p.2) shows bolts entering from the top, whereas the online guide has the bolts entering from the bottom. Also the bolt attachment positions are different in the guide and the online guide. Either way, there is no easy fit. After experimenting and a lot of faff, I ended up with the top left bolt going in from the rear, and the bottom right going in from the top. You may have to snip the length after fitment as this may protrude too far and make the base uneven (after fitting the four rubber feet).

[3] The colour breadboard wiring diagram templates that came with the kit were too small for the 400 pin breadboard shipped with the kit! This was a great shame as this was a nice feature, which could help to explain and clarify the wiring for each exercise.

[4] There are no Red wires in the wire bundle, which is a big shame as I always teach Red (+ve) and Black (-ve) and insist that students follow this format! I have black, blue, yellow, orange, white and green. The next best I guess is to use white.

To prevent other users going through the same painful process of discovery, could these issues be rectified or al least a note made on the website, guide and online resources?

You have a really great product, which just needs a few tweaks to make it excellent!

Regards,

Dr Stephen Prior.

Neil2013
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by Neil2013 »

Here it is 953 days, about 20 postings, including several posts from the Adafruit reps, since the the first post describing the ARDX Kit's metal screw, electrical shorting problem, the lack of any instructions about how/where to apply the rubber pads and the reversal of the screw direction pictures and yet the kit I just received on December 21, 2013 has all these originally described issues and not even a photocopied note warning me of them. :roll:

I have purchased and applied other kits and parts from Adafruit (like Raspi stuff) and their web site tutorials are fantastic but something (minor) like this sure undermines those true positives and the company's quality image. I hope someone will consider at least inserting a single Added Instructions page into the box to warn buyers. It is a real bummer to run into such problems in the first step assembling the product.

KobeJohn
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by KobeJohn »

Sorry to bring up this old thread, but I am having a problem that sounds very similar to these and I would like to find out if I am doing something wrong.

I have the ARDX kit with UNO R3. I am pretty sure these are nylon bolts / nuts (black).

I have 2 issues I would like to hear about separately:

1) According to the layout, the bolts have the head at the bottom so the two nuts sandwich the UNO PCB. I.e. the layers are like this:

--nut--
--pcb--
--nut--
--base--
--head--

However, this way there is not enough space between the bolt shaft and the power jack to fit a nut, much less rotate it into position. If I invert the bolt, the head just barely fits. *edit* I thought this was ok but it actually means the bolt extends below the rubber feet now so the bolt will need to be clipped. Adafruit, please recommend a solution for this or help me understand what I have done wrong.

2) Regardless of orientation, one nut serves as a spacer between the PCB and the mounting board. However, one or more of the power jack soldered terminals are longer than the height of the nut. That means if I tighten everything up, the power jack lead is going to be taking all the stress rather than the nut. This issue has me more worried. Could Adafruit confirm if maybe I have done something wrong or if not what I can do to remedy this?

I can post pictures if it will help.

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by Franklin97355 »

I can post pictures if it will help.
Yes, please do. If the power connection sticks down below the rubber feet you should be able to trim the excess with wire cutters. Since the nut between the board and the base is just for spacing you could use a piece of plastic tube that would fit over the bolt and not be threaded or drill out the threads on the nut to allow it to rotate then place the nut on top and screw it on from the bottom.

KobeJohn
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by KobeJohn »

Thanks for the quick reply!

I think my text explanation must not have been clear since two parts of the answer didn't match up with what I am seeing.
If the power connection sticks down below the rubber feet you should be able to trim the excess with wire cutters.
This text doesn't match up with the way I put it together. Specifically the power connection is between the pcb and the base in my setup; it is not below the base where the rubber feet are. Hopefully the pictures and questions below will clarify things.
Since the nut between the board and the base is just for spacing you could use a piece of plastic tube that would fit over the bolt and not be threaded
I could probably do this. Can you link a plastic tube that would work? I guess many people have lots of extra parts around, but I only have the parts that I ordered from you. Alternatively if I can clip the power jack post (please confirm below for me), then this should be unnecessary.
or drill out the threads on the nut to allow it to rotate then place the nut on top and screw it on from the bottom.
I couldn't figure this suggestion out. I think we had some miscommunication. I hope the pictures below will make it clear.

-------------------------------------

Here is a visual walkthrough of what I encountered. I would appreciate it if you could reply to the questions included below.

The instructions show to insert bolts from the bottom:
ARDX Instructions
ARDX Instructions
01 - instructions.jpg (171.71 KiB) Viewed 686 times
However, the nut is too close to the power jack and does not have enough room to rotate. It barely has enough room to just fit. I assume this is a problem for everyone who buys the current kit:
Nut doesn't have enough space to fit or rotate
Nut doesn't have enough space to fit or rotate
02 - nut doesnt fit.jpg (146.89 KiB) Viewed 686 times
So I inverted the bolt. The head does fit next to the power jack. That's good. But two more problems appeared:
1) The bolt extends beyond the rubber feet. Can I cut the bolt with no problem?
2) More importantly, there is a gap you can see in the picture below between the spacer nut and the base board because (at least) one of the power jack posts is too long. Can I trim the soldered tip of the power jack lead with no problem?
Bolt head fits but the power post is too long and bolt extends beyond bumpers
Bolt head fits but the power post is too long and bolt extends beyond bumpers
04 - gap and too long.jpg (147.25 KiB) Viewed 686 times

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adafruit2
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by adafruit2 »

hiya, youve got two options, one is have the hex up top and thread the screw thru from below. the hex doesnt turn but thats ok, it stays in place while you screw in the bolt
(this is suggested, its not perfect but it does work!)

other option is going from the top, then cutting the end of the plastic bolt with diagonal cutters - might be 'neater' looking if you prefer it

KobeJohn
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by KobeJohn »

Ok thank you. I'll nip the bolt so I can be sure the nuts are secure.

Could you also confirm that the soldered post in the 3rd picture that is defeating the spacer nut can be clipped? It's pretty heavy and fully soldered so I'm not sure about how it will handle the end being clipped. You said previously it can be clipped but I was not 100% sure we were talking about the same element.

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by Franklin97355 »

Just be gentle and don't cut into the solder, just the tab sticking out.

KobeJohn
 
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Re: New UNO board with ARDX 1.3

Post by KobeJohn »

franklin97355 wrote:Just be gentle and don't cut into the solder, just the tab sticking out.
I mentioned previously that:
It's ... fully soldered so I'm not sure about how it will handle the end being clipped.
However I went ahead and clipped the power post tip through the solder on the end and it seems ok. I hope it will survive.

I also clipped both the bolts (has to be done with the nuts off since the rubber feet are almost exactly the same height as the nuts. That also seems ok so it's now firmly fixed to the base and has no protruding parts! Thanks for your help.

I am thinking about having neighborhood kids order these to do projects together but should I expect to have to do these adjustments on each one or will the kit be updated to avoid these issues?

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