Routing power -or- BUGGER, I think I may have fried it
|
richard kappler
I'm a RTFM kinda guy, not so much a look at the pictures guy. Under Step 4: Wire up the Raduino, it says solder the black wire to the DC power socket and solder the orange wire to the DC power switch on the volume control. I dutifully soldered the black to +12V. My power supply is a little 2.5 amp rig, adjustable up to 15 volts . It works, I tested it, it is set to supply 12.4 volts to the BX, as read on both the installed ps meter and with my multimeter. When I hook it up to my BX, thankfully, it reads 0. I say thankfully because nothing seems to have happened, no readout from the LCD when I turned the volume pot on, but then again, no smoke, sparks or pops either. I turned it off and started in on the BX with my multimeter and sure enough, I had a hard ground. When measuring resistance between the hot and the 2 grounds on the DC power socket) I get a big fat zero point zero zero. I went back and re-read the directions, it would seem I did it correctly, then I looked at the 1st picture which clearly shows the black going to ground. BUGGER. I unsoldered it, soldered it to ground on the DC power supply, checked with my multimeter, infinite resistance between +12V and ground. HOORAY!!! But nothing happens when I power it up. Have I most likely fried it, or have I buggered up some other connection? If I've most likely fried it, I'll go order another. Thankfully in this arena stupidity only costs 59USD and about a month of waiting. I'm hopeful that it's not fried though, as the meter on the ps, when hooked to the BX, never showed even a hint of voltage out. So... with fingers crossed, what would be the next step in troubleshooting? Can I get a little guidance here? regards, Richard - W2KAP |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýTook me a minute to figure out the
power wiring. Here is what I did:
Connect the orange wire from the VFO and the brown wires from both the PA power and PWR connectors to one side of the off/on switch. Take a red wire of your own and go from the + power in to the other side of the off/on switch. At least that's how I did it and it works. JOnathan On 3/16/2017 10:50 AM, richard kappler wrote:
|
|
richard kappler
Jonathon, If ever we meet in person, I shall cheerfully buy you the beverage of your choice. That sort of worked, though it makes no sense to me that it did. All I did was un-solder the PA brown line from the 12v in, and solder it to the volume pot switched power. I can't see why that would make a difference, it was direct power, now it's switched power, my {{LIMITED}} understanding of EE is it shouldn't make a difference. But it did, once I made that switch, I had power into the box, but no working radio.? I broke out the multimeter again, and noted that the voltage into the radio was reading -12.5. Hmmmm. Shouldn't be minus. My understanding was that the big lug was + and the 2 little lugs were ground, and that the outside of the power plug was ground, the inside was +. Apparently not so. Anyway, I reversed the power leads and now have a radio that lights up and provides much static. I was unable to tune in anything, but there may not be anything to tune in at the moment. I'll get someone from my club to come up on 40M tonight and see if I get anything. It might well be my antenna, though I think not. Thanks for the help, I'm off to see how badly I can bugger the transmit and PTT bits. cheers! Richard - W2KAP On Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 2:38 PM, Jonathan Peakall <jpeakall@...> wrote:
|
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýNo problem at all. Do you have another HF rig to look
for a signal with? I find my BITX to be reasonably sensitive. If
you happen to be on the west coast I'm parked at 7.182 at the
moment. Good luck!
>Thanks for the help, I'm off to see how badly I can
bugger the transmit and PTT bits.
>cheers! Richard - W2KAP
|
|
richard kappler
Sadly no. I've been unemployed for over two months (but Raytheon picked me up, so that ends Monday, HOORAH!), so lack of disposable income is what led me down the QRP path in the first place. Mind you, that's ?not a bad thing. I've wanted to get into Ham for decades, just never had the time, unemployment gave me the time and BITX and my local club have helped me to learn SO much. I figure it's all good being as I've only had my license a month and a half.? I am actually on the coast of the east coast, so if I can get you I'd ?say we're both doing well! Will give her a shot around 6 your time. Somehow I figure I've got a better shot with the locals, for testing purposes though. Off to do mundane stuph for a bit. Cheers! Richard - W2KAP On Mar 16, 2017 5:10 PM, "Jonathan Peakall" <jpeakall@...> wrote:
|
|
Try disconnecting the rArduino module.? Also I would be Leary to plug the rArduino into my USB port until you can clear that module isn't a short. 12 V. on the main board has a connection to the P.A. and the other to the receiver connection. Maybe disconnect the LCD module and then pull the P.A. power plug. apply 12v and see if something comes up re the main board. With rArduino module disconnected hook up the power to the main board only and see if anything goes.? Should hear the speaker noise with working volume control. I'm suspicious of the 12-5v. regulator on the LCD module.? Mine gets extremely hot as I say finger burn hot. ?regulator should shut itself down if it gets hot.? Regulator is 7805SVC ?Data sheet is on line.? Not sure yet if others have a hot regulator.? At min. install a heat sink. (I've been considering a pico fuse or a 20mm fuse holder/fuse- fusing the power supply lines). The are also a few regulators on the main board.(see diagram). Check the electrolytic caps for bulges or splits on the tops. Dose your power supply have a current meter? Hope these suggestions help. Larry WA9DOH On Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 12:50 PM, richard kappler <richkappler@...> wrote:
|