tweetawatt transmitter problem

XBee projects like the adapter, xBee tutorials, tweetawatt/wattcher, etc. from Adafruit

Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit

Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
lamplight
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed May 13, 2009 10:04 am

tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by lamplight »

Hi
like someone else here,i also wired up both xbees as the receivers. i cut out the IC , 2 resistors and the red LED, and proceeded to wire it up per the directions for transmitter. i programmed the xbee chip per the directions for the transmitter. everything went ok making the transmitter (my case is also a little different from the books but i found a spot for things).

but my problem is this: when i plug in the kill-a-watt the display faes up, then goes off, faeds upm, then goes off, regularly every few seconds. also the green asc led isnt lighting up. any idea on which components i should check and how to check them? as you can tell im pretty new to this. im fairly sure i had no issues on my solder joints, unless the board was scratched up too much when i cut out the chip. i did some continuity testing after cutting off the bad stuff and it seemed to be the same results as the working receiver. i did go through these directions carefully so im kind of at a loss.

any help thanks, i was so excited to get this working...

lamplight
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed May 13, 2009 10:04 am

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by lamplight »

i just opened it up and went through the directions/pictures again and everything looks fine, when i put it back together the same display issue was happening but this time the kill-a-watt is beep once per second or 2 with no display. not sure if that helps narrow down what my problem might be but there it is.

User avatar
Franklin97355
 
Posts: 23910
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:33 pm

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by Franklin97355 »

Do you have a p4400 or an EZ? The Kill-a-watt EZ has a less powerful Power supply.

lamplight
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed May 13, 2009 10:04 am

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by lamplight »

thanks, it is a p4400 .

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by adafruit »

what do you mean "cut out the chip"?

lamplight
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed May 13, 2009 10:04 am

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by lamplight »

i cut out (i dont have a solder pump) the buffer chips described here inn the receiver setup:


"Next is the buffer chip. This chip converts the 2V-5V signal from the bottom strip of pins to 3.3V so that you can safely connect the XBee to 5V logic circuitry."

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by adafruit »

are you 'DIYing' this or did you get a kitpack from adafruit? if you're diying are you sure you got the right sized capacitors installed?
you should post a photo of your transmitter internals

lamplight
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed May 13, 2009 10:04 am

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by lamplight »

its the tweetawatt starter kit, attached pics, thanks
Attachments
IMG_0835.JPG
IMG_0835.JPG (209.04 KiB) Viewed 2579 times
IMG_0836.JPG
IMG_0836.JPG (209.42 KiB) Viewed 2580 times
IMG_0837.JPG
IMG_0837.JPG (171.25 KiB) Viewed 2580 times

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by adafruit »

hmm, you could try replacing the 220uF resetter cap with a 330 or 470uf to make it wait longer?

what happens if you take the xbee out and then close it & plug it in, does it work ok?

lamplight
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed May 13, 2009 10:04 am

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by lamplight »

i just noticed that the display was blank with and without the xbee. looks like the ribbon cable connecting the display of the killawatt came loose. annoying as i have been pretty careful with everything. cant repair that but i will look into getting a solder sucker and trying to repair that.
cani test the transmitter unit outsside of the killawatt with the ftdi cable somehow? not sure if all 4 leads need to be hooked up or if i can just use power and ground. im about ready to toss this thing, anybody want to by a tweetawatt that needs some work?

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by adafruit »

it only really makes sense to fix the killawatt at this point. you can do it with some solder, a wire stripper and hot glue

lamplight
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed May 13, 2009 10:04 am

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by lamplight »

thanks, i ordered a solder sucker as there wires in the holes and i cant get a good bond .


can i test the transmitter unit outside of the killawatt somehow for at least some functionality? im not sure the pulsing of the display was a loose cable, it was too regular, i think the cable must have loosened after all the troubleshooting.

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by adafruit »

you could attach 2-3 batteries to ground and power wires as indicated in the instructions
but you wont get any good analog signals
id really just fix the killawatt first.

lamplight
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed May 13, 2009 10:04 am

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by lamplight »

i was not able to fix the other killawatt so started with a new one, before closing it up i plugged it in after wiring up the xbee. the display is still fading out. its a p4400. the display looks like its reading ok it just fades in and out every 3-5 secs. i am not getting any led light flashes on the xbee. when i unplug the exbee the killawatt works fine. i tried the other tricks here about plugging in and then unplugging.

does anyone want to buy my tweetawatt kit thats mostly done and needs some tshooting as described here? i suppose i could try a bigger capcitor but i dont know why the one that came in the kit isnt working.

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: tweetawatt transmitter problem

Post by adafruit »

there is something wrong with your assembly, perhaps? the only other person who had a fading issue had a soldering problem, iirc

Locked
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.

Return to “XBee products (discontinued)”