Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

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BobMcGuire
 
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Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by BobMcGuire »

I'm learning both the Raspberry Pi and how to use the RGB Matrix Hat. I have everything assembled and connected. I've tried to run one of the included demos and I'm getting a weird pattern when I should be seeing a rotating square. See the attached pictures. I'm using a 32x32 LED matrix. I'm running the included demo with this command line: sudo ./demo -D0 --led-rows=32 --led-cols=32

Please let me know what I'm doing wrong. I have rechecked all of my solder joints and they are good.

I'm attaching a couple pictures of my display for reference.

My name is Robert McGuire. My order number is 2999862 and the date is January 18th. Do to other obligations I am just now getting to testing things out. I would really appreciate your help!!!
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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by mikeysklar »

Can you post a photo of your soldering?

Which model of Raspberry Pi are you using?

What power supply are you using for the matrix?

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BobMcGuire
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by BobMcGuire »

Mike:

I will tell you that I've worked with electronic systems for many years and I have a lot of experience soldering. I am attaching pictures of my soldering to this message.

I will also attach pictures of the Raspberry Pi models I'm using. I've tested this hat with two different Pi's and had the same results.

Regarding the power supply being used for the matrix. I purchased it from Adafruit. Your part number 276. 5V 2A switching power supply.

I look foward to your response.

Best regards,

Bob McGuire
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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by mikeysklar »

Thank you for the photos.

The RGB Matrix connector soldering looks good. I was not able to see the HAT 2x20 HEADER soldering in the photos provided.

There is a slow down optional flag to pass to the demo and a 1-wire disable mentioned on the HELP page that are worth trying.

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-rgb ... ry-pi/help

Can you run the rgb-matrix.sh again withe script command in front so it will save out to a file that you can post here?

Code: Select all

script bash rgb-matrix.sh

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BobMcGuire
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by BobMcGuire »

I'm attaching a picture of the gpio header to this message.
I tried running this command:
sudo ./demo -D0 --led-cols=32 --led-rows=32 --led-slowdown-gpio=4

Adding the slowdown switch makes it better, but it's still not right. I'm attaching updated pictures too. My raspberry pi is NOT overclocked. I am running the rotating square demo.
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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by mikeysklar »

I see a probable cause here.

The jumper between #4 and #18 for high quality mode does not look completely soldered. When you ran the rgb setup script did you set it for high quality mode? If so that jumper needs to be soldered in place.
The “quality” option comes at a cost. First, you need to solder a jumper wire between GPIO4 and GPIO18 on the Bonnet or Hat board
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-rgb ... re-1745233

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BobMcGuire
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by BobMcGuire »

Mike:

Thank you for all your help and suggestions. I resoldered that jumper (see attached picture) and no improvement in the operation. I did set-up the unit for "high quality mode" by the way. I'm not concerned with audio. I'm really not sure what to do next. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Bob
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BobMcGuire
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by BobMcGuire »

Mike:
OK, I bought a second matrix hat to see if my original unit was faulty. I'm getting the same results with the new hat as with the old one. I really need to get this working. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by mikeysklar »

Thank you for trying another RGB Matrix Hat. At least that helps us narrow down what could be going wrong.

Honestly, I think you did everything write so far in terms of Pi configuration and Hat assembly. The problem here is probably the power supply. 5v @ 4A is recommended and your using a 5v @ 2A, correct?
These panels require 13 digital pins (6 bit data, 7 bit control) and a good 5V supply, up to 4A per panel. We suggest our 4A regulated 5V adapter and then connecting a 2.1mm jack. Please check out our tutorial for more details!

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BobMcGuire
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by BobMcGuire »

Mike:

You are correct. I'm using a 5V 2A power supply that I purchased from Adafruit. Do you offer a 4A supply. If so I will order one today.

Bob

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blnkjns
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by blnkjns »

If it is an alignment problem, it looks like that, and not like a psu problem, I would check the address pins. Any chance some are mixed up in code? I mean the A.B.C.D lines.

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BobMcGuire
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by BobMcGuire »

I'm using the code that was installed automatically. I did not write any code at this point. I just used the automatic code and library installer that was referenced with the circuit board on the Adafruit website.

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BobMcGuire
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by BobMcGuire »

blnkjns:
The more I think about it the more I think you're correct. It must be something in the code. But I'm using the code provided directly by adafruit. I am learning and am not a Raspberry Pi expert so I haven't modified anything. I've followed all instructions exactly and even purchased a second matrix-hat to see if that was the issue. I also agree that I don't really think this is a power supply issue. If you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate hearing them.

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blakebr
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by blakebr »

Bob,

As a power supply test, lower the brightness in the test code to lower the current draw.

Bruce

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BobMcGuire
 
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Re: Adafruit RGB Matrix Hat for Raspberry Pi

Post by BobMcGuire »

Bruce:

I used the switch "---led-brightness=10" to lower the brightness. The display was quite a bit dimmer but it other than that, there was no change. I'm really lost as to what to do next.

Bob

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