New build - No power


 
I just saw something else in this photo of your board:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzSBmZGY0VqYXzhrVDY0V2xJTkE/view

Looking at the lead of the 100K resistor nearest the TC connector. That looks like a lot of solder there, although it is kind of hard to make out from the camera angle. Just keep in mind this might be something to check and make sure nothing is shorted here. If you determine that the probe type setting is not the problem it might be something to look at.

EDIT: Just noticed view of the board and you can see better what I am talking about on the 100K resistor:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzSBmZGY0VqYbUdKUGZHZElIUTg/view
 
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RalphTrimble said:
It's been a while since I did a fresh build so I dont recall the default setting for PROBE 0 (pit probe), but I think by default it is set to "Internal" rather than "Thermocouple". You can get a false reading if you have the wrong probe type selected... So I would first go in and check your HM config and make sure you have TC selected before I go messing with the board further.
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Ralph is 100% right, by defaults it's "internal" and set to "ET73 probe", you need to change this if you use a TC.
 
If it is coming up at 20-25 degrees at room temperature that's definitely working, but with the probe type set to the default thermistor type. It just needs to be changed to thermocouple in the webui.

EDIT: Beaten by Steve!
 
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Sweet, thanks everyone!

I'll get into the webui tonight and get after it. Hopefully this is the last entry from me in this thread :)
 
Dominick A said:
Sweet, thanks everyone!

I'll get into the webui tonight and get after it. Hopefully this is the last entry from me in this thread :)
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Well, perhaps the last entry should be the one that says your are 100% up and running... crossing my fingers for you that things go right from here on.
 
The first thing you will see, until you change the setting to thermocouple on the Web page will be something like 21 or 22. It's looking for a thermistor probe and not a thermocouple.
 
Yeah this is like the 9th or 10th time someone has had the same response to the Pit: 21F message so I've put it in the wiki and will get a picture of it to get some further attention once I get some time.
 
Dominick, I hope I did not steer you wrong, just putting my two cents in to try and help.

I will offer some advice about soldering though. First as you have most likely already figured out "less is better" in this case. You can always add more but it is a pain to take it off. I have done lots of electronics work soldering and inspection of solder joints after working in the aerospace industry for 26 years. Buying some high quality small diameter solder makes a huge difference for small electronics work. An expensive iron will help and be nice, but the solder is where you can make a bigger difference in my opinion. For general purpose work I like .031" diameter and I also have .015" that is better for surface mount jobs like the TC components. Kester 44 is the best solder I have ever used and it is sold on eBay in various lengths.

In order to have full disclosure here...I am one of those sellers. I am not trying to drum up business and I'm not going to advertise my listing there are others doing this too, just saying that it is a product that has made a huge difference for me and obviously others too. I found a deal where a company was closing out solder containing lead and got a number of rolls for next to nothing. I figured it was way more than I would ever use, so I put some rolls up for sale on eBay. They did not sell, so I thought that hobbyists might want small amounts so I cut it up in shorter lengths and that was the ticket.
 
David Crawford said:
Dominick, I hope I did not steer you wrong, just putting my two cents in to try and help.

I will offer some advice about soldering though. First as you have most likely already figured out "less is better" in this case. You can always add more but it is a pain to take it off. I have done lots of electronics work soldering and inspection of solder joints after working in the aerospace industry for 26 years. Buying some high quality small diameter solder makes a huge difference for small electronics work. An expensive iron will help and be nice, but the solder is where you can make a bigger difference in my opinion. For general purpose work I like .031" diameter and I also have .015" that is better for surface mount jobs like the TC components. Kester 44 is the best solder I have ever used and it is sold on eBay in various lengths.

In order to have full disclosure here...I am one of those sellers. I am not trying to drum up business and I'm not going to advertise my listing there are others doing this too, just saying that it is a product that has made a huge difference for me and obviously others too. I found a deal where a company was closing out solder containing lead and got a number of rolls for next to nothing. I figured it was way more than I would ever use, so I put some rolls up for sale on eBay. They did not sell, so I thought that hobbyists might want small amounts so I cut it up in shorter lengths and that was the ticket.
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David - no worries. Someone else asked me what I was using for solder and I posted that I use this, but didn't get any feedback.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000G36BYU/tvwb-20
 
Dominick A said:
David - no worries. Someone else asked me what I was using for solder and I posted that I use this, but didn't get any feedback.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000G36BYU/tvwb-20
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That link says that it is .032" so that should have been helpful to you. I am sure that solder is fine. I don't know who discovered it, but some smart individual figured out that if solder is made with 63% tin and 37% lead that the transition from molten to solid is extremely fast which drastically cuts down on cold joints. Cold solder joints can drive you crazy especially in products that experience a lot of movement and vibration. They typically are intermittent making them hard to troubleshoot.
 
After changing probe 0 to a TC, it registered no probe, sweet! After plugging in a TC probe, it is reading 80 degrees F. I know that is high, but within reason and could be calibrated with a pot of boiling water. I then pulled out my 3 Maverick ET-732s and checked the temp on my Maverick reciever. They were at about 72 degrees. I then plugged all 3 ET-732s into the HM, updated probes 1-3 in the GUI to ET-732, but they still show all 3 as being off. Is this all GUI related or could I have a probe power issue?
 
Make sure you also changed the probes to et732 from the et72/23. There really is no calibration for the thermocouple. It should be pretty accurate from the get go.
 
Dominick A said:
After changing probe 0 to a TC, it registered no probe, sweet! After plugging in a TC probe, it is reading 80 degrees F. I know that is high, but within reason and could be calibrated with a pot of boiling water. I then pulled out my 3 Maverick ET-732s and checked the temp on my Maverick reciever. They were at about 72 degrees. I then plugged all 3 ET-732s into the HM, updated probes 1-3 in the GUI to ET-732, but they still show all 3 as being off. Is this all GUI related or could I have a probe power issue?
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I found the probe page on the 732 length being an issue, after pulling out a little, probe 1 and 3 are registering temps while probe 2 is still off. Probe 1 is fluctuating wildly between 60-73, while probe 3 is steady at 67. I'm guessing probe 2 could be related to the glob on the inside of the jack, but not sure what to do about them in general. Again, room temp should be 72 here.
 
John Bostwick said:
Make sure you also changed the probes to et732 from the et72/23. There really is no calibration for the thermocouple. It should be pretty accurate from the get go.
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Oh, ok - thought I read that it could be calibrated to boiling water. Is 7-8 degrees from what it should be something that anyone else have seen, or do I have some board work to recheck?
 
Dominick A said:
I found the probe page on the 732 length being an issue, after pulling out a little, probe 1 and 3 are registering temps while probe 2 is still off. Probe 1 is fluctuating wildly between 60-73, while probe 3 is steady at 67. I'm guessing probe 2 could be related to the glob on the inside of the jack, but not sure what to do about them in general. Again, room temp should be 72 here.
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Had I kept reading, I should have noticed that with these probes, a change in resistors was in order.

"The response curve of these probes bottoms out around room temperature when used with the standard 10kohm HeaterMeter resistance, which causes them to read as "off". To get more usable range, replace the standard 10k resistors (R5, R16, R17, R18) with 22k or even 47k 1% tolerance resistors."

Which is the better option? The 22K or the 47K 1%?
 
I didn't bother with changing them, because the error is where we don't need to be accurate. I put Thermoworks probes in a pot of boiling water and set the offset to get them to read 212 (-1) and called it a day. That's where it needs to be accurate because that's around where we will be cooking to (203ish) generally.
 
Benjamin Thibault said:
I didn't bother with changing them, because the error is where we don't need to be accurate. I put Thermoworks probes in a pot of boiling water and set the offset to get them to read 212 (-1) and called it a day. That's where it needs to be accurate because that's around where we will be cooking to (203ish) generally.
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Were your food probes fluctuating wildly or steadily off X degrees? If my probes are showing as "Off" and fluctuating wildly, I don't think the boiling water calibration will do me any good.
 
The probe end of the circuitry is fairly simple. The probe jacks are connected to the ATMega through the 100K resistor(s) of the RC filter that are located behind each probe jack (the resistors that are standing upright). That is the only component in the path between the probe jack and the ATMega. Additionally there is the capacitor of the RC filter that connects from the probe lead to gnd, and the pullup resistors (on the standard probes only) that connect from the probe lead to +3.3V. These are the 3 components in a row right behind each probe jack.
If your probes are not reading properly/steady you should inspect all of the soldering in these areas in addition to the solder work on the probe jacks themselves as well as the last 4 pins on the ATMega socket and touch-up as needed.
 
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