TimeSquare Watch

[Temani3]

I received my TimeSquare kit on Thursday 8/17/2017 and soldered on each component. The problem? The Matrix lights up for half of a second then shuts off. After it shuts off, it stays off regardless if I push the button or not. I've checked every connection, re-soldered every connection, checked the notches on the IC's and changed the battery. Still no luck. I know that PCB's can sometimes print oddly, so I'm wondering if that's the case. I would love some troubleshooting advice.

[adafruit_support_mike]

Post photos showing both sides of the board and we'll take a look. 800x600 images usually work best.

[Temani3]

Thank you for getting back to me, here are some photos

[adafruit_support_mike]

Your soldering looks pretty good.

Let's double-check the orientation of the LED matrix: post a photo showing the edge of the matrix on the same side as the button labeled 'set' please.

[Temani3]

Thank you, my Father taught me.
I installed the matrix putting the SKU number on the side of the white circle. The photo doesn't show it but, the button in the photo does say 'Set' as requested.

[adafruit_support_mike]

Thank you. That's what I hoped to see, and I'm glad to hear you checked the orientation. It's hard to get a matrix loose after all the pins have been soldered.

Let's check the supply voltage to the chips. Check the voltage between the pins with the green arrows, then the voltage between the pins with the yellow arrows:

supply-pins.jpg (26.69 KiB) Viewed 738 times

[Temani3]

So I've checked the voltages, as instructed, and they both supplied a healthy 3V. However, after checking the joints, the watch activated but everything was gibberish. Keep in mind that I was able to flip through the; Set Time, Battery, Binary, scrolling marquee and moon phase. But like I recently stated, it's all difficult to see because some LEDs are on but they're dimmed while some are off.

[adafruit_support_mike]

Hmm.. that sounds like there might be a weak connection somewhere. That's a bit of a surprise because the joints in the photo you posted above look excellent. Sometimes one can look good but still cause problems though.

Before you reheat the joints, try two other things: check for continuity between the leads on the 32kHz crystal (the silver cylinder next to the DS1307 RTC) and the battery cover. Those are close to each other, and an accidental connection could cause problems.

Also, silliy as it sounds, try removing the battery, connecting the battery cover and the GND pad beneath it with a piece of wire for a few seconds, then replace the battery. Strange behavior like that can be caused by something called 'latch-up', where transistors basically run backwards. It's rare, but putting a battery into a system generates a lot of electrical noise, and once in a while a burst of randomness like that can leave a chip temporarily stuck.

[Temani3]

So I've tried the wire trick (Which I will remember for future projects, thank you) but that didn't change the outcome. I also completed the continuity test, which showed that the crystal was being odd. There was no beep or fluctuations from my multimeter. Since everything was already set up for it, I tested the other components. I found that the capacitor also acted like the crystal, in that it didn't produce a beep or fluctuation.

[adafruit_support_mike]

If you have a 'frequency' setting on your multimeter, you should see 32,768 Hz when you probe one of the crystal's leads relative to GND. Capacitors also produce weird output when you try to measure their resistance.

It sounds like the clock is running the way it should, and the microcontroller is running the firmware. The problem seems to involve the whole LED matrix, so I doubt there's a problem with any specific row or column pin on the microcontroller. That leaves the power system as the most likely place for the problem.

The solder joints between the matrix and the PCB look excellent, so those are probably okay. The solder joints from the microcontroller's VCC and GND pins might be involved, and are currently between the matrix and the PCB, which makes them hard to see. That isn't automatically a problem though. You can reheat the joints along the microcontroller's pins from the top.

There's also a chance that the battery is weak. Try swapping in a new one and see if that does any good. If not, use some flux and a good hot iron to reheat the pins on the microcontroller.

[Temani3]

So I've re-soldered every pin on the micro controller. Some pins are still dim and the second row in the matrix refuses to activate...I'm hoping the constant soldering & de soldering hasn't damaged the 'through-holes' on the board..

[adafruit_support_mike]

It sounds like you've done everything that reasonably can be done, and there's still a chance that there may be a problem in either the PCB or one of the components.

Let's try a new kit.

Send a note containing a link to this thread and your order number to [email protected]. The folks there will get you another TimeSquare kit.

[Temani3]

Ok sounds good.
I appreciate the time taken to help me troubleshoot. I've solder some of Adafruits other kits and I love them. Really excited to get this one up and running.
You guys have my continuous support!

[mdwelsh231]

I'm having the same problem after soldering my kit. I plan to check all of the connections as per this thread, but I wondered if there was a resolution here? Thanks!

[adafruit_support_mike]

There are too many options. We have to work through the debugging process to verify as many good things as possible and rule out as many bad things as possible.