Icetube clock instruction manual

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niznai
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by niznai »

No worries. At worst I might just replace everything in the battery circuit and see how that goes.

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jarchie
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by jarchie »

I think this issue might be related to two recent and unresolved threads (1, 2). In all cases, the clock does not keep time during sleep because the voltage drops below the BOD threshold.

niznai
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by niznai »

Yeah, I think so too. I have read those two threads before building my clock. Unfortunately I don't have much time to chase it right now either.

We'll see.

niznai
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by niznai »

Okay, I've go some values:

R1 - 680mV
R2 - 260mV
R3 - 120mV across the resisor (-70mV on the display side, 190mV on the Q3 side, measured to GND)

Battery 1.2V
D4 - 270mV (closer o the .2V expected than previous)

At pin 13 of Atmega 243mV

It doesn't make much sense because the voltage across the battery plus that of D4 doesn't equal the total across R1+R2 (which it should).

These are all measured with the clock running on the battery.

I'm stumped.
Last edited by niznai on Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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phild13
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by phild13 »

With the battery removed from its holder and the clock plugged in and working normally, what are the voltage readings on the stripe side of D4 and the opposite (non stripe side) of D4?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

D4 - 270mV (closer o the .2V expected than previous)
Is that +270mV or -270mV? Running from battery only, the anode of D4 would be at a lower potential than the positive terminal of the battery and the voltage drops would add up (+/- 10mV).

niznai
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by niznai »

That is the drop across the diode.

Those are not minus signs, just voltage drops across each component except for R3 where it is explicitly commented what is what.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

My point was that when powered by battery only, the positive battery terminal is effectively your VCC, and you have the diode, and two resistors between that and ground.

680mV + 260mV + 270mV = 1210mV which agrees pretty well with the 1.2v you are measuring on the battery.

niznai
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by niznai »

Oops. Mea culpa. Forgot about the diode in my calculations. My apologies to you, sir and the community of fellow Ice Tube Clockers. I will get back soon with the voltage across D4 on mains power with battery out.

Knolly
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by Knolly »

I apologize if this isn't the right place to post this, but I have a question as I'm assembling my Ice Tube clock.

Are you supposed to solder the flat metal part of IC3 (5V regulator) to the circuit board? The only instruction about soldering IC3 involves doing a tack solder on one pin then flipping it over and soldering the other pins, but in this photo it REALLY looks like there is solder around the bottom edge of the flat metal part:

Image

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jarchie
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by jarchie »

The solder is only there to improve heat conductivity between the TO-220 package and the metal on the board. But with the Adafruit AC adapter (included in the kit), the regulator does not need to dissipate much heat, so the solder is unnecessary.

On the other hand, if you ever use the clock with an unregulated 9v AC adapter or a higher voltage AC adapter, a blob of solder on the heatsink tab might help keep the regulator cool.

Knolly
 
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Re: Icetube clock instruction manual

Post by Knolly »

Ah great, thanks so much for the quick reply!

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