DiyLightAnimation
Hardware => Lynx Aether => Topic started by: RJ on November 16, 2011,
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If you are having an issue getting an Aether II working please post one post in this thread with a detailed description of your issues and what you have done to test it.
I have not been very avaliable lately and am working to catch up. I see some people that are having issues but the info is scattered so much this will help me see a pattern if one exist of issues. The Aether II is a simple device and should be very trouble free to build so I am thinking there is some simple issue like a bad firmware ect cause at least a few of the people that are having issues their problems. I am just not even sure how many are having issues out of all the ones shipped.
Please keep your post to one post unless I ask you for more. And lets not start a conversation as this is to help me and following a conversation is not what I had in mind.
Even if you have posted elsewhere please post here as I am so far behind on post this will let me catch up without the ones I missed.
RJ
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RJ,
First, thanks for the taking the time in your over-busy schedule to do this.
AETHER II BUILD 1 -
Issue: Not accepting any commands from Vixen after build
Actions:
- Finished build
- Ran addressing program that you provided and began broadcasting new address command through a known working DMX dongle
- Switched to program mode (left switch to left)
- Powered up and it flashes red as expected
- Ran the addressing program that you provided and sent a new address to the unit
- Powered down
- Stopped addressing program
- Switched to operate (left switch to right)
- Powered up and it flashes briefly white then dark
- Started up Vixen to run test - no matter what I send to unit no response at all
What I have tested:
- Reflashed PIC chip (validated the checksum with what is advertised in the Wiki)
- Visually inspected all soldering to ensure good connections
- Used a cable tester to ensure the RJ-45 connectivity to orange and orange/white was working from the dongle to Aether connections
- I even tried inezos' way of programming (not powering down between program and operate steps) to no effect
AETHER II BUILD 2 -
Issue : All White no matter the mode (program or operate)
Actions:
- Finished build
- Set to program (left switch left)
- Power on and solid white (and quite bright)
- Powered off and set to operate (left switch right)
- Power on and solid white (and quite bright)
- Power down in confusion
When I first built this unit, I failed to insert the IC chips before I initially powered it up. This may have something to do with the defect. But I think you may be the better judge of that.
Tests:
- Check PIC and it was flashed correctly with the correct checksum
- Checked all solders - May have a cold solder on the large capacitor (will have to resolder later tonight if I have time)
I do own a simple multimeter (nothing with a scope) and can do simple tests with this if you need further testing with a meter.
I am holding off my third build for now, but may try it this weekend.
Also, I am finding the pad soldering to be challenging just because it is so different. On some of my solders I seemed to have to apply quite a bit of heat to the pads to get them to flow. Is there a better way to get a good solder with pads than using an iron and solder wire? I am concerned that this may be damaging to the LED.
Thanks,
Kurt
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RJ,
I've had some issues with my first build. Some I have resolved myself others I have not resolved. My primary issue right now is that I cannot get the RED in the LED to turn on bright enough to illuminate much of anything. It seems to stay the intensity you would see during the RED flashing on an off used during programming.
Currently all my other channels appear to be working.
I have replaced the original LED PCB and the problem persists. I have replaced the 5 legged component near the R on the PCB board and problem persists. I'm not sure what to check now.
I do have a multimeter and I do not have a scope. I'm wondering what I might check next?
I have a thread tracking my progress and issues here;
http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=6502.0
Regards,
Leif
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I have constructed five units and the only problem was with addressing. The first couple of times I sent the address it would not take but I just sent the address again and it started working. All five units are now working. Yes they are bright !
Ken
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My Aether II is not working at all, but I found the issue. I missed the Co-Op. <yk..
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I have had the issues above on the same unit plus my own issues. I have more than one unit and they all ac this way.
1- Continuous White after Programming.
2- No Response after Programming.
3- Dim Red after Programming sequence, not bright flashing red. (I think I have a board issue on one unit)
3- Responds after programming but No Red at all, Green on ch#1, Blue ch#2, White ch#3 no matter what start channel I send.
I will try to reprogram chips tomorrow.
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Aether2 #1 -- no problems
Aether2 #2 -- still not working, it is white all of the time when power is applied. the program/operate switch has no affect nor does the dmx terminate switch. the switches have no affect whether they are flipped during operation, or before power is applied. being connected to an active dmx dongle, or not, has no impact. attempts to program and get the red flash -- no affect. it remains white.
my problem sounds similar (identical?) to kgustafson's unit #2.
Troubleshooting steps...
- swapped the PIC with the working unit, no impact and the PIC moved to the working unit continues to work
- swapped the 485 chip with the working unit, no impact, ...
- touched up solder points, inspected front and back, no impact
- tested continuity to all test points. all good...
- tested resistance across all of the legs of the LM2941s, and each of the 4 behave like the other 3
- i can read and write to the PIC without problem through the icsp interface
- reprogrammed PIC to use the original image multiple times throughout my testing, no impact
- reprogrammed PIC to use a copy of the working unit #1's PIC with it's channel set to 321, no impact
- desoldered and resoldered the wires to the LED in order to access back of the PCB... twice... and no impact
can a bad part cause this behavior? (...it would be a part that is not the 485 or the PIC -- since i've swapped working parts for each of them)
At one point I thought I had a bad LED with a missing chip. i was wrong. the picture i took to upload to the forum looked like the chip was missing, but tissue was obscuring the chip. while I have a new LED in my possession, I have NOT swapped it out.
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I resoldered most of my #2 Aether just to make sure it had good contact everywhere. I closely checked the solder around the 5 pin RGBW chips and I couldn't see any noticeable bridges. I retried and I am still solid white.
I changed my solder iron to a fine tip type and will use this to solder Aether #3 later (either tonight or tomorrow night depending on my schedule). I am hopeful that the third time is the charm!
Kurt
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Ok this helps as it is not as many people as I was getting the impression from reading the forum. I will clean up the bench that I have not been at in what fells like months and do a sheet of what to look for with the issues listed this weekend. This should help and if not then I will setup a time to get on teamspeak to work on them to get them working. I think it is some simple issue since the units are as simple and low tech as it gets in their design.
RJ
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Attached is a picture to show where to look for certain signals to troubleshoot with.
If you have a solid white unit with as soon as the power comes on then you are likely looking at one of two things.
1 - you have jumpered the two terminals marked "MAN" ont he pcb. This is the manual override to turn the lights on with a switch and no data. (use it as a standalone flood light.)
2 - your pic is not doing anything. Either it is not programmed (or successfully) or it is not running. so we need to make sure we have all of the voltages we need. Using the picture check for the 5v and 3.3v power.
Make sure your 4.7k resistor is in fact a 4.7k and not a 4.7 resistor as a user had mouser send them the wrong one. It can happen.
Make sure the pic is in the correct direction with the notch facing the same way as it is drawn on the pcb.
Lets load the test firmware I attached. This should flash the lights through the four colors with no dmx signal needed. all that is needed is power and a functioning system.
Then if this works you have a issue with the programming of the pic firmware/ a switch in the wrong postion.
If you get all white again at this point test the control signals I have marked and see if you have volt on them. If it is very low or you have none. then you it makes sense the lights are on as the regulator is being told to be on. You can for just a short period of a half second or so jumper the 3.3 volt power to one of the control signal points shown. It one of the leds colors goes off to match then we know for a fact your pic is not working.
The first thing the pic does at boot is apply 3.3v to the control pins to turn the lights all off. It gets beat by the power coming on so you should see a very quick white flash at power up if you have the unit unpowered for say 45 seconds or more. If you power it off a short enough amount of time the big capacitor can keep the pic powered and you would not see it.
Give me feed back to where you are with this and I will move you on to either a teamspeak or give you an option to test next.
RJ
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RJ,
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. I have benched my Aether build for the moment to make sure I get the house lights up. I will be back on this in a week (or so) as I plan on starting my Christmas light show this weekend (A week later than expected, but due to some late shipping PVC pieces for my new mega tree).
I know that we are very close to getting these to work.
Kurt
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Ditto. ;)
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Ditto, unless it gets wicked cold out and I can't move my fingers outside! :)
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Ditto
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tonight i was building my second Aether un power up I got a flash like normal. Now I installed a manual switch on mine when I flipped it on I got grren not white and the small black part on the Led started smoking.
I fixed it turns out I wired it wrong.
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tonight i was building my second Aether un power up I got a flash like normal. Now I installed a manual switch on mine when I flipped it on I got grren not white and the small black part on the Led started smoking.
I fixed it turns out I wired it wrong.
Ooops! I can't fix that problem for you but I am glad you got it fixed.
RJ
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tonight i was building my second Aether un power up I got a flash like normal. Now I installed a manual switch on mine when I flipped it on I got grren not white and the small black part on the Led started smoking.
I fixed it turns out I wired it wrong.
Ooops! I can't fix that problem for you but I am glad you got it fixed.
RJ
RJ,
Could you take a peak and provide some insight into my issue where everything seems to work; however, the RED LED output is very faint.
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tonight i was building my second Aether un power up I got a flash like normal. Now I installed a manual switch on mine when I flipped it on I got grren not white and the small black part on the Led started smoking.
I fixed it turns out I wired it wrong.
Ooops! I can't fix that problem for you but I am glad you got it fixed.
Rj
I shared this as it is easy to do. I thought I did see a post or two about smoke and wrong colors.
RJ
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If we assume the pic output is working correctly then the circuit is simple, the big resistor sets the current that the regulator (5 pin part) puts out and the pic is just turning this fixed current on and off really fast at a duty cycle to match the DMX level. So 128 is half the time it is on and half it is off. This makes the led get it's rated current but only half the time. So in effect it gets an average of half the rated current and is half bright.
So likely issue is
1- the resistor is the wrong value so it has the current set too low.
2 - bad solder joint is cause the circuit to see it as the wrong value. or is limiting current to the circuit causing the same symptom.
3 - a bad regulator not regulating correctly.
4 - a bad led that is not putting out full light output for the current it is being given.
so check all solder joints and touch them up with plenty of heat and add a little solder for the flux or if you have some flux just add it to the joint before heating.
What is the voltage on the red leds + and Neg terminals at full brightness. This gives us a idea of if the led is getting what it should.
RJ
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What is the voltage on the red leds + and Neg terminals at full brightness. This gives us a idea of if the led is getting what it should.
How would I test that? I have a multi-meter but my experience with it so far has been limited to checking the values of resistors before installing them an continuity of a circuit when it is powered off.
Leif
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Put your meter on DC volts of at least 10 volts range or more. then put your red probe on the LED's pad #7 and your black probe on the pad #2 while the unit is on red 100% brightness.
It should be in the 2 volt area. let me know what you get.
RJ
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Put your meter on DC volts of at least 10 volts range or more. then put your red probe on the LED's pad #7 and your black probe on the pad #2 while the unit is on red 100% brightness.
It should be in the 2 volt area. let me know what you get.
RJ
Thanks!
OK, will test it tomorrow. Little one is asleep and baby monitor doesn't get good enough reception in the basement.
Leif
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Put your meter on DC volts of at least 10 volts range or more. then put your red probe on the LED's pad #7 and your black probe on the pad #2 while the unit is on red 100% brightness.
It should be in the 2 volt area. let me know what you get.
RJ
Thanks!
OK, will test it tomorrow. Little one is asleep and baby monitor doesn't get good enough reception in the basement.
Leif
RJ,
Cleared the bench off and set the unit back up. Powered it up to full power on channel one for RED using Lynx DMX Deck.
Set my multimeter to Vdc 10 and followed your process.
Meter read 5.03~
What would you suggest checking next?
Regards,
Leif
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just built my third one and the blue is barely on even at 255 what pads do I need to check just blew the fuse was trying to check voltage at the B regulater.
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just built my third one and the blue is barely on even at 255 what pads do I need to check just blew the fuse was trying to check voltage at the B regulater.
You can go to mouser and look up the part number for the vendors specification sheet.
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I did that after a blew the fuse I need to look up the regulator next
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Ok I got a chance to check mine. i get 5.86 volts when red is full on. i do not know where i came up with 2 volts i guess I was thinking 1 red led but these are in series as three. so almost 6 volts is about right. you need to look for a bad solder joint or the large resistor being out of value.
RJ
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Yes the data sheet has the pad number to led color on it to help with that. Each color should be a different voltage. But the data sheet shows this also. I do not run them at max current so it will be a little under the volt listed but only a little if you are a volt or more low you likely have an issue.
RJ
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RJ,
Finally was able to put some time on the workbench for this (Christmas shopping is ALMOST done! Woohoo!)
Here is where I am.
I D/led your test HEX program.
Loaded it.
Powered the Aether II and it ran through the light sequence as advertised.
I then started Vixen with a small seqeuence to run through channels #1 - #4
Aether II responded correctly
I then powered down Aether II
Switched to Prog mode
Started Lynx Address Utility and set address for 133 (this wSthere it should be in my current show) and began transmitting
Powered up Aether II and got red flashes
Waited for 5 flashes then powered down Aether
Stopped Lynx Address Utility
Fired up Lynx with a seq from show
Powered up Aether and got single white flash
Testing channels I get the following:
Channel 1 - Green
Channel 2 - Blue
Channel 3 - White
All others no response (including channels 133-137)
No matter what I do (even trying to reset the channel address to 1) there is no change to this behavior.
Is possible that there is an problem with either a) the Lynx address utility or b) the program mode of the Aether?
I hope this gets us closer to the solution.
Kurt
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RJ,
Finally was able to put some time on the workbench for this (Christmas shopping is ALMOST done! Woohoo!)
Here is where I am.
I D/led your test HEX program.
Loaded it.
Powered the Aether II and it ran through the light sequence as advertised.
I then started Vixen with a small seqeuence to run through channels #1 - #4
Aether II responded correctly
I then powered down Aether II
Switched to Prog mode
Started Lynx Address Utility and set address for 133 (this wSthere it should be in my current show) and began transmitting
Powered up Aether II and got red flashes
Waited for 5 flashes then powered down Aether
Stopped Lynx Address Utility
Fired up Lynx with a seq from show
Powered up Aether and got single white flash
Testing channels I get the following:
Channel 1 - Green
Channel 2 - Blue
Channel 3 - White
All others no response (including channels 133-137)
No matter what I do (even trying to reset the channel address to 1) there is no change to this behavior.
Is possible that there is an problem with either a) the Lynx address utility or b) the program mode of the Aether?
I hope this gets us closer to the solution.
Kurt
Sounds like one of the issues I ran into, which required reflashing the PIC to resolve.
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I followed memans instructions in the aether programming thead and I didn't need to reflash.
Once they are programmed there are absolutely no issues and rock solid. Would post a link for you but I am mobile Shopping with the fam. Aether2s rock.
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Is possible that there is an problem with either a) the Lynx address utility or b) the program mode of the Aether?
I hope this gets us closer to the solution.
Kurt
It is always possible but I would expect everyone else to see the same issue. When I can get time to spend I will clean my bench and set one of mine up and try it again myself using firmware downloaded from the wiki.
RJ
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RJ,
Of course, I by no means meant this was the issue. Just exploring possibilities. It is most likely something very dumb on my part (a mis-solder or a bridge or the like). I know I am close to a solution. Just very bizarre that I reflash the PIC and all works at address 1. When I use the address utility (which I have double-checked to have the latest d'led from the site) things go strange. I will try again tonight, now that I gave it a rest for a day. Unfortunately, my show computer is the same laptop that i use for flashing so it limits my ability to work on this from 1700-midnight. It may be something that is wrong on my unit when it goes into program mode (again from something stupid I am sure I am missing on my end). One test might be to get a HEX of someone who has an address set to 133 on a unit that works and I load that and it works on my unit then I know it is something going wrong when I set my unit to program.
BTW, no rush on this. Show is going strong and will be running for another 8 days. After that I get a small vacation to see the folks in Memphis.
Thanks,
Kurt
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Kurt, I sent a PM but will follow up here as well. Ignore the instructions in the wiki and follow the method I outline in this thread.
http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=6232.45
There is something about throwing the program switch back to run at the right instant that makes it all come together. Catching a pulse while its high/low, whatever. Miss it and a hex dump of your chip looks hosed, but its not, because simply trying to reprogram again using my method will correct it if you get the timing right and see a single white flash from the Aether.
Good luck,
Mike E.
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I can confirm that Meman's method definitely does work! (x5)
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X2 for me. Go meman.
Make memans method the new wiki?
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Sounds good can anyone post that to the wiki as this is great info. I will look at the firmware when I get a minute to see if I can make it less picky.
RJ
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Success!! Part of my issue was a dead USB port on another computer that I was using for testing. This was pretty bad that I didn't catch that. The meman procedure (official name?) worked great.
1 down and 2 to go.
Thanks for everyone's help!
Kurt
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I have built my first Aether II. I have a problem. I don't think that I am getting the channels programmed. Vixon will not run the Aether II.
I am using the smart string utility as directed at the end of the manual. In the SS Utility I set the start channel to 1, Mode is Individual Pixels, Direction is Forward, Node count is 4, null Nodes is 0. device type is string. I start transmit on the utility. With the Aether II in program mode I apply power. I never see the flashing red.
With the Aether II not connected to the network, I get the following: With the outside switch to the left (operate) I get blinking bright something (red or red-orange). With the outside switch to the right (program) I get solid white. After each try I erase and re-flash the PIC.
Any ideas? Jim Wright
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Don't believe you are supposed to use the smart string utility with the Aether II device. I certainly did not.
However, before you go changing the channels you might want to try it with the default channels assuming you still have your factory firmware flashed from the coop.
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From the manual...
Use the Lynx Address Utility and send the start address. Click On transmit
this is the program used to set the start address for all the dmx equipment.
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I feel like a complete dummy! That ought to do it. I will try that. Thanks for the help. Jim W
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OK. I used the correct Lynx address utility and it did not help. Now in program mode instead of white, I get a dull green light. Also, I never get the flashing red to indicate that the channels have been assigned. What next?
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Jim,
Did you try memans method above? Worked like a charm for me. Hope it does for you.
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Yes. I did try it, several times. All to no avail.
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the dull green is a short I would look for solder bridges
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Another update. We are making big progress here. First, I flashed the Aether II.hex test file. The light cycled through the colors just fine. So that eliminates a lot of possible problems.
Next, I again flashed the PIC and tried to run it. Nothing happened. (I will say here again that I had the left switch in the left position, which I thought was the run or operate position).
Next, I re-flashed the PIC and ran through meman's routine exactly. And it worked. However I have two questions:
1. I was under the impression that the operate position was the left switch to the left and the program position was the left switch to the right. I guess that is backwards. That may have been the cause of all of my problems. So is the following correct for the left switch? "Left is program, right is operate"???
2. The sequence that I have set up in Vixen is 4 channels. The light is set to channels 1-4. Here is what I get: Channel 1 = green; Channel 2 = blue; Channel 3 = White; Channel 4 = NOTHING!!. So, the obvious question is now what? First, the colors seem to be out of any sequence. I would have expected RGBW, not GBW-. Obviously, red is missing as channel 1. So, I added channels 5-8 to the sequence and, using the Lynx utility, reprogrammed the light to start at channel 5. And guess what, I get RGBW as it should be.
Therefore, I guess that I have learned several things. First, for some reason, the light does not like to work on channel 1 (at least mine, I figure everyone else is having no problem). Second, all of this problem has been caused by operator headspace (me), mainly because I had the function of the left switch backwards. Third, I built it correctly the first time - which is always good news.
I left all of the thoughts above so that maybe someone else won't have all of the problems that I had.
I love this board. Jim W
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Yes, left is program and right is operate. Other switch (DMX term) should be to the right to term. See this thread for pic: http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=6586.0 (http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=6586.0)
Both switches to the right when done.
I labeled mine too!
You are VERY close. What your describing to me sounds exactly how mine acted before got it programmed correctly. Not sure exactly why, but when I followed memans method EXACTLY it finally took. Cool part is when it finally takes, it is ROCK SOLID!
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With 250 new builds coming into play off the current Coop, I fnally figured out how to get logged into the Wiki so I could update the "Program Start Channel" process in the Aether II manual. Should be much smoother sailing this time around.
http://www.diylightanimation.com/wiki/index.php?title=Manual_AetherII
Mike E.
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With 250 new builds coming into play off the current Coop, I fnally figured out how to get logged into the Wiki so I could update the "Program Start Channel" process in the Aether II manual. Should be much smoother sailing this time around.
http://www.diylightanimation.com/wiki/index.php?title=Manual_AetherII
Mike E.
Hi Mike
Thanks for the update. I do have a concern about steps 4 & 5. Normally when you have a program using a com port and start another program to use the same com port it will have problems. I would think to exit the sequence program before starting up the Address Utility and then restart the sequence program at the end to test it.
Rick R.
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Thanks for the update. I do have a concern about steps 4 & 5. Normally when you have a program using a com port and start another program to use the same com port it will have problems. I would think to exit the sequence program before starting up the Address Utility and then restart the sequence program at the end to test it.
I would agree with you 100% under normal circumstances, but getting the start channel to "take" on these aethers was anything but a normal process. I'm not sure transitioning directly from Vixen to the Address Util had anything to do with success, but thats the way we repeated success many times. We were under the gun back in Nov to get these running any way possible...but we'll have more time to experiment this year and get a better understanding of why setting the start address is so finicky. For now, I would leave it as is. Confirming the comport in step 5 should root out any conflict.
Mike E.
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RJ,
Thanks for doing this thread, it was a big help -- it indirectly helped me solve the problem.
Background:
Last year I got 2x AetherIIs from the first coop. One I got to work without problem. The second I tried a number of things without success, and I put it off to the side when I ran out of time before Christmas show.
Problem AetherII from first coop: STEADY WHITE
I have reexamined all of the solder points -- now with a visor.
I reprogrammed the PIC, first with the latest firmware... and after the problem I loaded the test firmware to the same effect. I verified the checksums multiple times with each firmware load.
I checked all resistors, the LD33, 7812, 7805, and the LD33 identification and orientation.
I checked the direction on the 485, PIC, rectifier, and the 6800uf capacitor.
I tried with DMX attached, and also without DMX connected.
Each time I turn on power, I get a steady white light.
Looking at troubleshooting1.jpg I did voltage tests with the switches both flipped to the right (towards the LED and the center of the unit):
There was no short on the Man(ual) pins.
I did find a couple anomalies with the voltages:
voltage across the .1uf capacitor reads .237V (not 3.3V) !!
voltage across the LD33V does correctly read 5.0V. MORE ON THIS LATER!
When I tried to jumper the control pins against the upper capacitor's ground -- it had no effect.
When I tried to jumper the control pins against the LD33's ground -- I started to see LEDs go off!
I happened upon the source of problem... while placing my probe against the LD33's ground peg without having the other end of the probe unattached to anything I started to see the test program cycle throught colors!!
Despite seeing solder on BOTH sides of the board on the LD33's legs, it turns out that I didn't have a good soldered connection. I added some solder and I was finally in business!
Thanks for the helpful advice, the test points and voltage levels. While they didn't directly solve the problem, it was leading me in the right direction.
I am providing this detail to help someone else that might also have a soldering problem with the LD33... it might save a foot-shaped hole in the wall. :)
:o
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Thank you! it could help someone else, and if not it would inspire them to not give up knowing the unit will work once everything gets aligned right.
RJ
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I am having the same issue with solid white output only. I checked the voltage and it is 0 at the .1 uf cap (per earlier diagram). my gues is that I am not get power to the pic but I am not sure where to go next. Any additional help would be appreciated.
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so as I messed with it a little more, I found that if I jump two of the pins on the LD33v, the test sequence will run. I have soldered the connections multiple times with no luck, does could it mean that my LD33V is bad?
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little more clarification, the LD33v has 5.0v per the original diagram RJ posted, when I bridge the 5V pin to ground the test sequence runs
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it sounds like a bad solder joint. can you take pictures of both sides of the board and post. I know there are few people here to help you if the solder pad is bad. We would need to see it first. I think it will work, but hard to tell what is not right without pictures.
Kevin
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I made two more of these things and have two more not working. I really think these things are my bane now! LOL.
Here is what is going on: One works perfectly except for the red being dim. I can go through a sequence but the red is not functioning well. I checked all the solder joints for the Red 5 pin thingy (I think it is a voltage regulator) and the surface solder of pin 2 and 7 on the LED (for red) and I am certain they are good. Is it possible I have a faulty LED light?
The second one works with a caveat. I can control RGBW no problem, but in between I get a disco flicker that is crazy. I tried to see bridges and the like, but can't seem to nail down the problem with this one. I think I am cursed to not build these things!
Side note: I know that I am struggling with surface pad mount soldering. Is there any tutorials on this? It is driving me crazy!
Kurt
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I should have mentioned:
I ran RJ's test proggy against these two lights: The one with the dim red is also dim with the test proggy (but it does run through the sequence).
The second one runs through the test proggy without flickering (in other words, works perfectly with the test HEX upload).
Kurt
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Can you post pictures for us to look over?
RJ
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I made two more of these things and have two more not working. I really think these things are my bane now! LOL.
Here is what is going on: One works perfectly except for the red being dim. I can go through a sequence but the red is not functioning well. I checked all the solder joints for the Red 5 pin thingy (I think it is a voltage regulator) and the surface solder of pin 2 and 7 on the LED (for red) and I am certain they are good. Is it possible I have a faulty LED light?
The second one works with a caveat. I can control RGBW no problem, but in between I get a disco flicker that is crazy. I tried to see bridges and the like, but can't seem to nail down the problem with this one. I think I am cursed to not build these things!
Side note: I know that I am struggling with surface pad mount soldering. Is there any tutorials on this? It is driving me crazy!
Kurt
Kurt, sorry to see your bad luck. Thought you'd nail these last 2. Hopefully you'll get it figured out and get all 4 to work! If not, I know someone who'll take em. ;D
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Post pictures.
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Finally got some time to work on this. After blowing the fuse I was able to track down my problem - bad ld33. Anyone have a suggestion on a good circuit design book? I took circuits back in college but that was a long time ago and it was pretty basic stuff.
Also any good text on pic chips would be appreciated
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I built 2 yesterday and experienced the disco light issue on one. I swapped pigtails and had no issue. I was kinda rushing things at the end and I think I did not apply enough solder to the orange and white orange dmx wires (my least favorite part of the build). Reapplied more solder to these wires and I had no disco using either pigtails then. Fixed!
Maybe this will help others, but this works for me for soldering led pads.
Flux is necessary to solder the led pads. Solder the pads one at a time or you'll end up with bridges between pads. Make sure the part is oriented in the most comfortable way for you to accomplish soldering. I found doing opposite led pad (pad I am soldering is on my left when iron coming from right) and with assembly tilted toward my left hand worked best. Also, unlike the instructions I attached pcb to heatsink first and soldered wires for led when both were together so make sure your iron is hot.
Step 1: Apply flux to a pad with toothpick/etc, get a nice amount of solder on your tip, and place this on pad. I notice the solder doesn't immediately grab, but it will in a second or 2.
Step 2: Position your wire close to pad with opposite hand and while your heat solder from step one push wire into solder.
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I want to thank RJ for posting the trouble shooting info for the Ather II's and more importantly the theory of operation for them as that help me immensely when trouble shooting 2 of my 4 Aether II's that would only come on white. After checking and finding I was not getting 3.3 volts I had found that I had soldered 2 of the 3.3 voltage regulators in backwards. Having the theory of operation helped me pinpoint the problem quickly and if I could suggest adding the theory of operation for every LYNX device (of course on a basic levle like RJ did for the Aether II) to the wiki it might help others trouble shoot projects more quickly OR if a trouble shooting flow chart could be built that would work too.
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I have an aether II stuck on all white. Used for 2 seasons and I had no issues. I have reflashed a dozen times. It runs test firmware fine. Some things I did. Swapped pic, 485 chip, and LD33. Based on this thread I am NOT getting 5V from the LD33 but only 1.73V. Which is why I replaced it. Replace 5V reg? Any help? Many thanks in advance.
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I have an aether II stuck on all white. Used for 2 seasons and I had no issues. I have reflashed a dozen times. It runs test firmware fine. Some things I did. Swapped pic, 485 chip, and LD33. Based on this thread I am NOT getting 5V from the LD33 but only 1.73V. Which is why I replaced it. Replace 5V reg? Any help? Many thanks in advance.
did you install a switch (or use the one in back of the case) to possibly use as a work light? if not, i believe there are two spots on the boards to solder wires to add a switch... might be shorting which would make it turn on, white.
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Sam, try reflashing the PIC, How the Aether II's work is when your apply power the PIC powers up and sends 3.3 volts to all four LED voltage regulators turning them OFF, hence that is why there is a pop of white light when you first apply power normally. If possible to check if ALL of your LED's (red, green, blue and white) are coming on or just the white. If the former then I would suspect the PIC or the 3.3 Regulator, the latter bad regulator for the white LED.
I have an aether II stuck on all white. Used for 2 seasons and I had no issues. I have reflashed a dozen times. It runs test firmware fine. Some things I did. Swapped pic, 485 chip, and LD33. Based on this thread I am NOT getting 5V from the LD33 but only 1.73V. Which is why I replaced it. Replace 5V reg? Any help? Many thanks in advance.
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Thanks guys. No manual switch installed or solder bridge. Reflashed and still all white. All leds are coming on not just white.
The 5v reg feeds the 3.3v reg right? So if I am not getting 5v the cause would be the 5v right? I suspect somehow the 5v reg may have touched the case and it shorted and is now is out of tolerance. There are some signs to indicate this. Scratching/dust. If the 3.3v reg doesn't get proper voltage then the pic is not powered right, then all white? Seem logical to warrant replacing 5v?
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Thanks guys. No manual switch installed or solder bridge. Reflashed and still all white. All leds are coming on not just white.
The 5v reg feeds the 3.3v reg right? So if I am not getting 5v the cause would be the 5v right? I suspect somehow the 5v reg may have touched the case and it shorted and is now is out of tolerance. There are some signs to indicate this. Scratching/dust. If the 3.3v reg doesn't get proper voltage then the pic is not powered right, then all white? Seem logical to warrant replacing 5v?
sounds like good logic to me!
RJ
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It could be a voltage issue. If you have a volt meter, the first thing that I would do is measure the input voltage to the unit. If that is good, then measure the output of the bridge rectifier. Sometimes they can partially fail which will cut your voltage in half. If that looks good then I would measure the voltage on the pins of the 5V regulator. You should see the bridge voltage on one pin and 5V on another. If you don't see the bridge voltage then you have a bad connection and if you don't see 5V, then the regulator needs to be replaced. If you do, then you need to look at the 3.3V regulator and do the same measurements. You should see the 5V from the 5V regulator and the 3.3V output. If you don't see the 5V input, then you need to trace back the connection. If there is no 3.3V, then that is the regulator that needs to be replaced.
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Input voltage 12v is ok. From a limited understanding of things, I get 6vac from each side of rectifier. Tested 5v reg and get 5v and 15v on the other leg. Seems like its working... Tested 3.3v reg and get 1.7v and -3.2v on the other leg. Center is ground right?
OK this is weird. If I take the voltage from the cap nearest to 3.3v reg I get the 5v AND if I take a measurement from center leg of 5v reg and left leg of 3.3v reg (input?) I get the 5v. Lost now...
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The center pin is NOT ground on that regulator. Pin 1 is ground on that one. I would find a common ground point for future measuerments and then you can just move the positive probe from pin to pin while checking measurements. It appears that the 5V regulator is functioning normally and the issue is with the 3.3V regulator or one of the components connected to it.
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Looks like the posted drawing is wrong. I was measuring pins from 2 and 3. It appears the 3.3v reg is fine. 5v from pin 1 and 3 and 3.3 from pins 1 and 2.
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Try removing the PIC and power it up and see what happens.
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Forgot to post that yesterday: all white even without pic.
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Forgot to post that yesterday: all white even without pic.
Sam, that would be expected as the 3.3 volts is used to TURN OFF the LED regulators. It sounds like you are not getting the 3.3 volts from the PIC to the regulators. On the LM2941 pin 2 is the on/off here is a quote from the spec sheet: "The ON/OFF pin requires a low level to enable the output, and a high level to disable the output. To ensure reliable operation, the ON/OFF pin voltage must rise above the maximum ON/OFF(OFF) voltage threshold (2.00V) to disable the output, and must fall below the minimum ON/OFF(ON) voltage threshold (0.80V) to enable the output." So you need to test from ground to pin 2 to see if 3.3 volts is present, if not trace back to the PIC and see if the out put pin of the PIC is sending 3.3 volts. If not then make sure the PIC is getting 3.3 volts if it is replace the pic, if not further tracing of the 3.3 volt source is needed.
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I am getting 3.3v on pin2 of all LM2941 EXCEPT white. Pic is getting 3.3v. I took readings from cap nearest pic and from the pic at top right pin. From my tracing I believe pin on bottom left of pic is 3.3v out and it is not outputting 3.3v. Reflowed just in case... No dice. So it looks clearly like a bad pic but I am using a known working pic. Is it possible a pic is not working correctly but still gives a correct checksum?
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The checksum is just what the PIC has loaded into its memory and indicates that the firmware and some of the PIC's registers and internal memory are functioning but does not indicate the condition of all of the PIC's ports. You could still have a damaged PIC. You could apply 3.3V directly to pin 2 of the white regulator and see if the LED goes out. Better yet, reload the test firmware and see what happen now. If the test firmware is operating properly and all of the pins are switching on and off, then you may still have a defective PIC but I would take a closer look at the board and make sure that threre are no bridges that may be fooling the pic into thinking that the service switch is on. I believe that switch is ignored in the test firmware. Follow the traces from the switch hookup lands to the PIC and make sure nothing is bridged, especially at the PIC socket itself.
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Here's a new one. If I power it up with switch to program it starts ok (flash 3.3v to reg, etc) but programming is weird. I even get the red flashing but it just unravels and doesn't take. I should get the flash in either mode right? Test mode has always ran fine which is weird to me. Suffice to say it is wonky and at this point seems like pic all the way. Finishing building 2 more SSCv4 so I can harvest pics for further testing.
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Used another pic and all is well!!!
MANY THANKS! <res.
I must have as many dead pics as SSCs...
zwiller AKA picboy
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Could the pogram switch possibly be wired backwards? Try programming it in run mode and test it in pogram mode and see what it does. The test firmware ignores the program switch as well.
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Nope I checked the switches. I tried programming in operate mode and it wouldn't take the programming.
It works as it should now. I spent and hour or so trying to jinx it and it is solid. For the record, this particular aether has been a bad apple since day one. I spent hours bench testing it until I found out it I had a bad cat 5. I wouldn't doubt that the dozen times I fooled with it something happened like some strands of pigtail wire getting stuck somewhere or something. By now I've reflowed it a few times, replaced some components, and cleaned it up.
Just tried reusing the pic for a test SSC and got the "no device detected" I normally see with a bad pic.
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Used another pic and all is well!!!
MANY THANKS! <res.
I must have as many dead pics as SSCs...
zwiller AKA picboy
Glad you got it going, I know when I had problems with one of mine it gave me fits till RJ told me how the operate and then I could track down the gremlin.
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Had an issue with my two Aether IIs the last week and just fixed up one of them tonight. The other will get fixed in the off season now that I know my plan of attack. I like I'm sure a lot of people daisy chain the Aether from a LE. Right from day one that RJ45 pigtail has been an issue for me. The first problem was not enough cable to fit through to the outside of the casing. The second problem was an ice storm this last week. The RJ45 was pretreated before I connected it with some dielectric grease but with the ice/freezing rain/snow/ice mix the cat5 cable grew 2x the size and the connection just gave up and I was getting a lot of strange flashing with the AETHER. I turned it off, left it a few days..dug it out today and brought it in to dry. I then cut the pig tail off and replaced it with a 3pin waterproof pigtail and took it back outside and fired it up and it's working great again!! YEAH!! Now I have at least one AETHER firing again for the last week of the show. I'm very happy to have it working again. I strongly recommend in future versions we do away with the rj45 connector for those devices and move over to a 3 or 4 pin pigtail. Perhaps with a 4 pin pigtail we can rig up a in/out cable...haven't figured that out in my head yet, but anyways wanted to share my experience.
Cheers!
Ryan
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I make sure my pigtails are UNDER the aether, and that way a large amount out of the weather. I also sprayed my pigtails with corriosion x, the red bottle off of amazon.
No issues for me and I have 3 of them up now, probably add 3 or 4 more next co-op.
Alan
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I must have some luck, I've never had an issue yet with cat5 connectors and I've dealt with snow and ice for two years now (Halloween and Christmas). I do take the time to make sure they are always pointed down.
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Pointed down could be the trick...my aethers by the way they stick out the back kinda point down, but because I left a bit of play on the one and just left a fair bit of slack on the cat5 cable, it ended up pointing up. The SSCs I had on the roof that went bad (before I introduced grease to the connectors) were lying flat. My SSC on the ground about 10' away from the aethers are protected with a 45 degree elbow that keeps it pointing down.
......I'm sorry to hear about the ice at Halloween. Sometimes we get our first snow fall around by birthday on Nov 2nd, but knock on wood, I really can't remember ice/snow on Halloween. This Halloween was pouring rain and I was struggling with a strand of pixels on the roof so remember that very well!!
I'll try to make sure to work WITH gravity in the future on setup so that items are protected more, but will take the other precaution and move to the 3pin pigtails for DMX connections.
Appreciate the comments all!!
Cheers.
Ryan
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UPDATED: Success!!! See update at bottom of post.
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Now that Christmas is over and mostly packed away, I got around to building my Aether II from the latest co-op. Having a problem trying to get it working. When I power it up, I get a bright flash, and then the white driver stays on in operate mode. No DMX control at all.
Here is what I have done / tested / observed;
- With switches all towards LED, the board powers up, flashes all colours and then the white stays on. I measure 0.2 volts on white driver control pin and 3 volts on all other colours.
- When I switch outer switch to program, the board powers up with a flash and then sits dark as expected.
- Loaded the test hex file and board cycles all 4 colours with a brief dark time between each as expected. Runs test sequence if switch is in operate or program.
- Loaded normal hex and set address to 5 at program location 2800. Write to board and same behaviour as above. No control and white stays on.
- Placed Aether first in a DMX chain with a known working pixel string to confirm DMX. With Aether powered off and terminator switch out (towards LED), pixel string responds as expected. When I power Aether on, I loose control of the pixel string.
- Based on above, I swapped out 485 driver ship. Same results.
- Swapped out PIC and reprogrammed. Same results.
- Re-sweated all solder joints on PIC and 485 IC sockets and all around this area.
I don't have a Lynx dmx dongle, but I tried my Entec Pro USB dongle with the Lynx programming utility using instructions in wiki. No response from board. (no flashing red).
I am programming the board with a Pickit 3 and the newer beta version of the utility. I could not get the ver 1 of the utility to work. Kept crashing with a windows exception error, but I did get beta 1 version working. Could this be the problem? I have the proper settings, PIC 24 family, PIC24FJ32GA002 selected, powering PIC from Pickit dongle. It writes, reads and verifies correctly.
I am stumped, especially since the test hex file works fine. Also strange that the dmx chain downstream is interrupted when I power the Aether on. Could a regulator be oscillating? I don't have a scope at home to look at this, but could take it to work.
One question, does the Aether program hold the last known dmx value in memory somewhere? Could that be why white comes on in operate mode only? But why would it not come on with test hex file?? Hmmm.
Edit:
- measured the voltage at pin 2 and 3 of the 485 chip. Expected low (active low for RE and low to disable DE), but I am seeing 2.0 volts there. See the same at pin 15 of the PIC as well. If I pull the SN75176 I then get 0.7v as expected. No shorts or solder bridges I can see anywhere along the trace.
Also downloaded the latest v3 beta of the pic utility and same thing. Loads, reads and verifies no problem. I can switch back and forth between the test hex file and regular aether file. Test file works as I would expect. Hmmm... strange gremlins indeed. Think I will bring the board to work and put a scope on it to poke around.
Edit #2:
I had a look at the PIC data sheet and noticed a couple of things. Pin 8 is not connected to Vss ground and pin 13 is not connected to Vdd 3.3v supply. The data sheet advises they should be along with a 0.1 cap across them. I also notice the internal regulator is enabled by pin 19 pulled to ground. This should then require a 10uF cap from pin 20 to ground, however it is a 0.1uF cap instead. I might be off on a wild goose chase, but I am stumped on this without a scope. Let me know your thoughts.
Edit #3 Success!!! <does happy dance in shop / knocks box of parts over...>
I came back to the aether board after a bit of a break. Replaced the 0.1 uF cap with a 10uF 20v tantalum that runs off pin 20 of the PIC (cap closest to switches right over middle of pic. I then soldered a jumper from pin 8 to pin 27 to connect second ground rail and pin 13 to pin 28 for second supply rail. Took 0.1uF cap I removed and placed it across pin 8 and 13. I tested the board and it now was not acting erratic, but the DE line was still sitting at 2.0 volts. I soldered a 1K pull down resistor to pin 2 and ground of the 485 chip. Problem solved!!!
I think what is happening is that a small percentage of users are having the PIC chip blow the pin 15 output internal to the chip due to pin 8 not being connected to ground. It may be trying to sink too much current thru the internal ground bus. The data transmit enable line isn't really needed in this application, so I just pulled pin 2, 3 of the 485 chip to ground to release the dmx bus.
As a quick check if anyone else experiences this issue, measure pin 15 of the PIC. It should be 0.7v or lower with the aether powered up with normal hex file. If it is like mine and sitting at 1.9 to 2.0 volts, solder a 1k ohm resistor from pin 2 or 3 of the 485 ship, to pin 5 ground. This will permanently put it in receive data mode.
Also, the beta release of the Pickit programming utility did work for me in the end. Also the Entec DMX pro was able to program the start address after I fixed the board up. Now we are shining!!
Maybe I could decorate for Valentines day???!!!
Bryan.
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RJ. Followed your instructions and it worked like a charm. Re-lashed the firmware and set the channels and now I have two operational floods. Thanks again
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