Problems with Timesquare watch

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Slow running is probably not a bad chip. It's more likely a connection issue. If the chip were bad, it wouldn't work at all.

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gamew1zard
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by gamew1zard »

Ok but now it won't turn on at all

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Try a new battery. Also, post those pictures when you can

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gamew1zard
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by gamew1zard »

here is the picture and i will get some more batteries
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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Did you put a small blob of solder on the battery contact pad, before you soldered on the battery holder?

There are several solder joints which are close to shorting adjacent joints, but I don't think I see any actual contact. More concerning are stray blobs of solder here and there - those could be knocked loose and cause shorts.

Please let me know if the new battery improves things.

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gamew1zard
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by gamew1zard »

thank you so much i feel so silly that it was just the battery thank you for bearing with me

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techcamp
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by techcamp »

HI,

I wanted to personally contact someone from adafruit but have been unsuccessful. I am running a summer camp as we speak and using the timesquare watch. We are having campers create programs for the watch which they can then upload. I ordered 14 of the watches of which 6 are not working. The soldering has been done properly we have used a multimeter to check the connections to ensure everything is connecting, we have changed the batteries, we have troubleshooted everything that we can think of. We even tried to re-program the watch to see if that was our problem. The electrical engineer feels that it is a problem with the IC piece. Today is the first day of the camp we are running, and we do not have watches to give to the campers because of the problem we are encountering. Any help would be greatly appreciated... any ideas of what you think could be wrong/ are we able to get new watches?

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Please post some clear, detailed pictures of one of the non-functional watches.

Make sure that the side of the LED matrix with the printing on it is above the SET button.

Also, please describe the exact problems you are having.

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techcamp
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by techcamp »

of the 14 watches, we have four that are working properly, 5 that are not, and 5 that have not been put together yet.

Of the ones that are not working properly, two of them are not turning on at all and three of them just blink before shutting off once again. I have posted a picture of what one of the watches looks like when it blinks... The blinking ones flash like that for a second before shutting off once again.
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photo 3.JPG (37.62 KiB) Viewed 296 times
photo 2.JPG
photo 2.JPG (80.54 KiB) Viewed 296 times
photo 1.JPG
photo 1.JPG (120.52 KiB) Viewed 296 times

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

In Photo 2, the matrix has been installed backwards. The text should be above the "SET" button. In the picture, the text is above the "PLUS" button.

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techcamp
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by techcamp »

What would be the best way to take the matrix off? I fear that taking off the matrix, and then re-soldering it will ruin the board...

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Not easy. Best bet is a solder-sucker and a good amount of patience. This is the one I use:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1597

Suck out as much of the solder as possible, then carefully loosen the pins with a pair of needle-nose pliers.

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techcamp
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by techcamp »

I was re-reading the instructions as I felt and still feel quite frustrated about this situation. As I said earlier, I am running a camp this week and this is day two without watches for them to configure because of the problem... As I approached and read through the instructions for attaching the matrix, I read that is says the Matrix is not symmetric. If that is the case, then the matrix should only fit in one direction, am I right? Also, There is writing on either part of the one side of the matrix which can easily be confused.. The instructions seems to be misleading. If they were written clearly stating which "writing" you were referring to even, this could have been avoided. Now, I am short 5 watches, and don't exactly have the time to take them apart and put them back together, especially considering that this is one of my first soldering experiences. Is there anything that can be done, would adafruit consider sending 5 new ones, etc...

adafruit
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by adafruit »

we can give you a discount on 5 watches if you'd like.

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techcamp
 
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Re: Problems with Timesquare watch

Post by techcamp »

How much of a discount?

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