Aether programing problem

[csteph7]

I have finished building 10 Aethers and have 7 working perfectly ( yes they are bright) so I thought that I would look at one problem board at a time.

On the first one when I try to program the pic I get ah error when I first turn on pickit 2 programmer "pickit2 VPP voltage level error"  The pickit is plugged into the computer and the board when I  start Pickit 2.  I have downloaded the latest version of pickit 2 ver 2.61.00.   I have made sure that the pickit plug is aligned properly on the aether board

Any suggestions about what to check next would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Chris

[CaptKirk]

Do I see solder blobs under the caps above the pic?  Do I see shorts across the R3 next to the transistor for the fan (that is now not used)?  Pic pins look OK.  Cant see the regulators- did you put the right ones in the right place?

[csteph7]

here is a pic of the entire front of the board.  I checked the caps above the pic and i could not see any shorts

[Rainlover]

Chris,
I was getting the same error and I could not get the pickit to see the pic when I checked the communication. I carefully applied power to the Aether and when I checked the communication, the pickit was able to see the pic and program it. Be extremely careful not to touch anything near the fuse or the transformer.
Hope that helps.


I am still troubleshooting a different issue on mine.

John

[CaptKirk]

Chris,
I was getting the same error and I could not get the pickit to see the pic when I checked the communication. I carefully applied power to the Aether and when I checked the communication, the pickit was able to see the pic and program it. Be extremely careful not to touch anything near the fuse or the transformer.
Hope that helps.


I am still troubleshooting a different issue on mine.

John

He is a smart guy as he has the HV pins covered with tape! 

What voltage is the PICKIT set for- when I set mine to 3.3v I had issues until I changed it to 5v.

[RJ]

Do not program pic24 chips with 5v I am amazed it did not damage them. They are 3.3 devices.

RJ

[vairmoose]

Do not program pic24 chips with 5v I am amazed it did not damage them. They are 3.3 devices.

RJ

Maybe something like a cold solder joint chewing up some of the juice? 

Larry

[CW]

The picture looks like there is solder bridging from the end pins on the drivers to the ground pads on both sides.

I had a simular problem with the first Aether I assembled with the error with the pic.  I noticed one of the diodes above the drivers got hot and smoked off the flux.  I had the diodes backwards (yours are correct) but also had solder under the  driver bridging to the heat sink.  I bought new components from Mouser and de-soldered and replaced.  I was able to determine this by checking continuity of the pins to components and ground. I think if you clean off the excess solder you will be OK.  Check it with a continunity tester against one of your Aethers that you know works.

Craig

[CaptKirk]

Do not program pic24 chips with 5v I am amazed it did not damage them. They are 3.3 devices.

RJ

I believe it is in 5v mode with no other power to the board, the software says something like 4.4V and unless you get the 5V light to light on the board by the pickit, it will not see the chip.  I was surprised 3.3v did not work either.  I suppose if I powered the board first then used the pickit, it would work in 3.3v mode??  This might be something to add to the instructions- the proper programming process, AND the proper start channel setting process (it is a bit burried here).

[csteph7]

well thanks for all the help.  It is now working fine.  It turns out that there was a microscopic solder bridge on one of the U2 chips.   Not sure how that impacts the ability to program the pic but I fixed it and now everything is working.



Chris..... 10 built 8 working 2 more to trouble shoot