TV B Gone intermittently working. Video also

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danman132x
 
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Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:10 pm

TV B Gone intermittently working. Video also

Post by danman132x »

I don't know what's wrong with my TV B Gone Kit. V 1.2 . It works sometimes and other times it doesn't. Tried total of 6 different batteries, all Fresh straight out of the package. What'll happen is the green light blinks twice and then nothing. I did read this is to change batteries, however I did that and it still does it with another set of fresh batteries ( you can see this in the video) I put the ones in from before again, also new ones, and then they decide to work randomly. At first I get the 2 flashes, but subsequent button pushes get it to start flashing the IR's.

Once they start flashing, it gets cut short sometimes though and just stops. Eventually it will complete the whole cycle. ( last minute or 2 of video) I don't get why this is doing this. Could it be because they are AAA batteries? But with 3, the voltage should be plenty above the 3 I would have with only 2 AA's.

Here's the video on my youtube, helps show it what it's doing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y68weA ... e=youtu.be

After I took this video, same batteries, it completes the whole cycle again after a push or two. Why would it work sometimes, and show "low battery flash" another time?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: TV B Gone intermittently working. Video also

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Most likely an intermittent solder joint. Post photos showing the soldering on the back of the board.

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danman132x
 
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Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:10 pm

Re: TV B Gone intermittently working. Video also

Post by danman132x »

I resoldered some joints today. Specifically the power ones, + and-, capacitor and a couple random ones that looked like they needed it. It seems to be working more consistently with no cut off's. When putting the batteries in at first I get the 2 flashes instead of codes just coming on, but that's no biggie. It works almost every time now, with an occasional hiccup. Maybe the electrolytic capacitor is going out. I don't know.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: TV B Gone intermittently working. Video also

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The soldering looks pretty good now. Also make sure that the chip is firmly seated in the socket.

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danman132x
 
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Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:10 pm

Re: TV B Gone intermittently working. Video also

Post by danman132x »

Hey, I know it's been a while, but I have an update on my project. I got frustrated last time it wouldn't work right with just the solid low power indicator. I finally got back to it and I did a good amount of tests and determined that the 3 AAA batteries were at fault. Even though they were brand new and had a total voltage of about 4.5 volts, I don't think they could handle the current the TV B gone requires. I hooked up 2 double AA's and immediately it worked, every single time without flaw. Put the AAA's back, and the low battery light flashed again. So my project is now complete and can finally go turn so TV's off lol.

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seaprimate
 
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Re: TV B Gone intermittently working. Video also

Post by seaprimate »

I wonder if it's not overpowered instead of underpowered. The only difference between the AA and AAA is the mAh, which simply lets you use the batteries longer. So what might be causing the problem is that the batteries each slightly exceed 1.5v. I don't know the programming, but if for the battery indicator they gave a range (2.5-4.5 or something) then it'll give the same a alert for too much power. That would also explain why it won't work at first, but start working after a few tries. Try using 3 AAA rechargeable batteries and see if that makes a difference

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