another Beep but no display

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h kosalos
 
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another Beep but no display

Post by h kosalos »

All the parts placements and soldering seem okay, but all I get is a short beep but no lighting of the display (ever).
My voltages seem to match the other 'beep but no display' post:
Without the voltage chip I read 56V
Put in the chip, and now read 14V
Add the VFD, and now the voltage goes back to 56V.
Could you please summarize in one place the next steps I should take?
It's confusing trying to cull info from all the separate posts.
Thanks in advance.
By the way, your step by step instructions and photos are fantastic!
Your kit will be a great gift for all my friends

adafruit
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by adafruit »

we have one kit with that issue coming here for analysis. if you can hold on for a bit, we are having problems determining whats up over just forum posts, but will post up once the kit is here and analyzed

hnx676
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by hnx676 »

FYI, that kit with the same reported problem was shipped out last Friday afternoon from Singapore...

adafruit
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by adafruit »

it will probably be a week. but its interesting that -all of a sudden- we're seeing more problems with the clocks in this regard. we dont believe that anything -changed- so itll be interesting to deterimine whats up. it could be a few different things but hard to tell over email. most problems are part -placement- related but in this case we think we may have been sold some bum parts :(

hnx676
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by hnx676 »

My Icetube clock was the one which has the first "beep but no display". According to ladyada the micro controller was broken although I always get a beep during power up. I send back the board and it comes back with a new controller and everything works. I even updated the clock with firmware from DigiSage and it works well.

I hope this info helps...

adafruit
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by adafruit »

hi everyone, please dont 'hijack' threads. although it may seem helpful, sometimes its best to let us diagnose problems. each kit has different issues and though it may seem 'similar' they are not :(

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h kosalos
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by h kosalos »

Waiting for a post that describes the next steps I should take to get my clock working.
I stopped after it failed the step where you first plug in the tube to test.

adafruit
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by adafruit »

did you post up any photos of your kit & tube?

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h kosalos
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by h kosalos »

some photos.
some solder had plugged the holes for the crystal, so I first added some stiff wire, then soldered the crystal to those.
Unit beeps, but no display of any kind.
Stopped construction after it failed this first test.
Attachments
pic4.png
pic4.png (232.57 KiB) Viewed 3067 times
pic2.png
pic2.png (332.88 KiB) Viewed 3067 times
pic1.png
pic1.png (74.13 KiB) Viewed 3067 times

Rotzog
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by Rotzog »

Can you post a straight down shot of the board? I can't see D3 or D2 for example. Same thing for the tube pcb -- a shot end on, and one from the top. (This is sort of a general comment -- it is easier to diagnose problems if we can see all the components.)

You are missing Q3, the transistor. You need to install this before testing the tube.

adafruit
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by adafruit »

seconded on the transistor. very important part :)

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h kosalos
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by h kosalos »

thank you very much.
after installing Q3 I was up and running
to everyone reading this: triple check all the steps to ensure all the parts are installed.
They sometimes have multiple steps in one paragraph/photo.
Also, I screwed up when installing the switches and somehow added a solder bridge.
Got the whole case assembled then finally discovered that the unit no longer beeped.
Had to disassemble, then cleanup the last solder points to get back to operation.
I think for the next clock I will do a beep test after every step to check my work.
thanks again, can't wait to show all my friends.

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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by adafruit »

congrats, great to hear we debugged it. those photos are always a help :)

vankanma
 
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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by vankanma »

Not related to the "no beep" but the leads on the crystal are a little long, if you find that the clock doesn't keep time as well as it should/could, then you should remount the crystal so it's flush with the PCB.
Mark

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Re: another Beep but no display

Post by adafruit »

good point, vankamma. its true the leads should be shorter to avoid picking up radio waves :)

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