Checking before powering on..

[Jeff Connell]

There are 3 places on the 4.2.4 board where the holes are very close, I couldn't avoid solder-slobbering them together. I assume they are the same trace since they are that close...


Here is a photo with the concerned spots - what do you think? I wanted to check the forum before power on, cuz I can.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d8b0680hpd0usq5/is_that_slobber.jpg?dl=0

 

[Steve_M]

Yep. Those 3 are supposed to be connected.

 

[Bryan Mayland]

I can also confirm. It is OK because they are the same signal so you can bridge all you want!

 

[Jeff Connell]

Thanks - I powered on, no smoke!

But, no display either The linkmeter seems OK, probe temps are changing correctly on the website, etc. (seemingly) only the LCD display is out? I've checked what I can for bad soldering, but can't locate any issues. No short from 5v or 3.3v to ground from what I tested. Any ideas?



https://www.dropbox.com/sc/mgoi5hl9ji3s04i/AAB2jAuzhlQrUHsvLA7edh4ka

 

[Steve_M]

It looks like you only soldered the pin header of the display on the heatermeter board, but not on the bottom side of the LCD display itself.

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/mgoi5hl9ji3s04i/AAB2jAuzhlQrUHsvLA7edh4ka#lh:9-2014-11-23 21.30.40.jpg

Also, the 10K resistor on the PIT jack can be removed since you're using a thermocouple.

 

[Jeff Connell]

Thanks Steve,

I soldered it, I just left on the plastic holder.. here is a photo from the other side. I need to clip/adjust those before I get the case. Do you think having pins 6-9 soldered could do this? I have them soldered..

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/mgoi5hl9ji3s04i/AAB2jAuzhlQrUHsvLA7edh4ka#lh:11-2014-11-23 21.32.29.jpg


PS - thanks on the 10k..

 

[RalphTrimble]

Did you adjust the LCD contrast pot?

 

[Jeff Connell]

I have now - I'm up and running!

I just need another $100 in materials..


Thanks for all the help (so far).

 

[Jeff Connell]

One other question.. my blower is now attached and I'm testing. I have it set so the set temp is 220, and the pit is 63 - so the blower is 100%.

The blower duty cycle is about 50%.. on for one second off for one second (roughly). Is that expected?

 

[Bryan Mayland]

Nope that doesn't sound right at all. It should be running at 50% speed. The only on/off cycle similar to that is a 10 second cycle, if you had your minimum fan speed set to 100%.

When the blower turns off, does the backlight on the LCD blink off, indicating the device is rebooting every time the blower turns on?

 

[Jeff Connell]

Hi Bryan,

The backlight stays on, the system doesn't seem to be rebooting. The 12v (13v measured) supply is constant. Looking at my voltmeter, the voltage swing is about every 3 second from 12v to ~0v. The center pin on the power FET is doing the same. The inside pin (nearest the 4-way button) is solid at 13.03V, and the pin closest to the blower seems to swing from ~10V - 13V.

Sounds like you suspect a power/gnd short on 12v?

Note, my 12vDC wall wart is 1.25Amps, is that enough? I wonder if I'm suffering brownout..

Best regards,
Jeff.

 

[Peter F]

What happens when you switch the fan output to "pulse"?

 

[Jeff Connell]

Hi Peter,

Once set to pulse, (with fan @100%) the voltage stays at 12.5V...

Is that the solution? Please tell me this isn't another NOOB question! I'll need to lower a setpoint and test..

Best regards,
Jeff.

 

[Peter F]

Hi Peter,

Once set to pulse, (with fan @100%) the voltage stays at 12.5V...

Is that the solution? Please tell me this isn't another NOOB question! I'll need to lower a setpoint and test..

Best regards,
Jeff.

There is probably something wrong with R4(22k),R13(68k),R19(100k) or C7(0,1uF). My guess would be R4.

 

[Jeff Connell]

Genius! Sorry for the late reply - I've been fabricating a blower housing for my big green egg.

You got it with R13, 68K!

I had another issue - my "up" didn't work. I had R8 (680K) and R13 (68K) swapped. I was going to look into that later.. now everything seems 100%.

I'm dangerous now...

 

[Bryan Mayland]

Golly, Peter. You may be even better at knowing my hardware than I am, you're certainly faster with responses!

Glad you got it working Jeff!

 

[Jeff Connell]

Thanks Bryan !

I bet you've seen the touchscreen on tindie..

https://www.tindie.com/products/ozzmaker/piscreen-35-tft-with-touch-for-the-raspberry-pi/

Looks like the screen uses some of the pins heatermeter needs?

 

[Bryan Mayland]

I've see the Pi touchscreens but HeaterMeter doesn't have a Xwindows GUI at all. I've suggested that for the same price you can get an e-cheapo 7" tablet which will work 100x better in terms of ease of use, responsiveness, and readability and just glue it to your HeaterMeter if that floats your boat.