monochron fails LED + switch test

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madducks
 
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monochron fails LED + switch test

Post by madducks »

Hello,

I am very very new to soldering and kit building, before tackling the monochron I have only built the TV-B-Gone. I have been following the monochron instructions and everything has gone fine up until soldering the switch and LED. At that point when I plug it in I hear the beeps, but the LED will not turn on no matter what position the switch is in. I have posted pictures of my work so far, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Image
Image

Thank you,
Aric

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: monochron fails LED + switch test

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Difficult to see the solders on the IC socket because of the flash, but quite a few of the pins look solder-starved. Solders should look like this:
Solder%20Joint.gif
Solder%20Joint.gif (7.78 KiB) Viewed 1258 times
. Try retouching any pins that look a little light. You might also review our Guide To Excellent Soldering

madducks
 
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Re: monochron fails LED + switch test

Post by madducks »

Hello, and thank you for help! It was a while before I had time to work on this again, thus the slow reply. I have reviewed that soldering tutorial and have resoldered not just the socket, but also the other components and my problem continues. I have triple/quadruple checked that the placement of the soldered components but the problem persists. I have also replaced the LED. Is there some way I might narrow down my problem?

Thank you again for your help.

-Aric

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: monochron fails LED + switch test

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Could be a bad switch. Do you have a voltmeter/multimeter? Referring to the picture below:

- you should always see 5V between the pads labeled "+5V" and "GND".

- with the switch in the position shown:
- you should have continuity between "GND" and "switched GND/NC"
- you should see 5V between "+5V" and "switched GND/NC"

- with the switch in the opposite position:
- you should have continuity between "NC" and "switched GND/NC"
- you should see 0V between "+5V" and "switched GND/NC"
test points
test points
monochron_test_pts.png (322.81 KiB) Viewed 970 times

madducks
 
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Re: monochron fails LED + switch test

Post by madducks »

Hello,

Thank you so much for your help, and thank you for keeping the kids gloves on!

I'm not sure what to make of this but here is what I observed:

I only ever saw 0 volts between +5V and GND, no matter the position of the switch.
I touched up the solder a bit, but still never saw anything between them.

Switch in position shown:
-0 between GND and switched GND/NC
5.08V between +5V and switched GND/NC

Opposite position:
-0 between NC and switched GND/NC
0.4 (fluctuated) between +5V and switched GND/NC

Thank you again for your help.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: monochron fails LED + switch test

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

That would seem to indicate that you have a bad switch there. Contact [email protected] with a link to this thread and ask for a replacement switch for your Monochron.

madducks
 
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Re: monochron fails LED + switch test

Post by madducks »

Thank you for your help!

madducks
 
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Re: monochron fails LED + switch test

Post by madducks »

You guys are awesome. Thanks to your help I now I have a fully functional monochron.

Image


Thank you!

madducks
 
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Re: monochron fails LED + switch test

Post by madducks »

Not looking especially competent lately :) Try this link since the image wouldn't imbed:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gmtbnsf82nb1k ... .57.21.jpg

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Re: monochron fails LED + switch test

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Hmmm ... I think you need to take some of those Legos and build a Monochron enclosure... :D

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