NB3 Deep sleep issue

[JTP]

Hello friends. I have completed my first saber and I loved every second of it. It is all correctly wired and everything works perfectly. Everything except for the Deep Sleep function. I have altered the config file to shorten the time between when the saber is powered down and when it enters sleep to one minute. I am into minute 20 and the AV switch LED is still on and the board has not entered DS. My Deep setting is at 6000ms which is incredibly low. I have wired the LED for my AV switch to the DS pad on the board as indicated in the manual which means after one minute of inactivity both the saber and the LED should sleep.

Every now and then at odd intervals the board will make the boot noise even though its already on. Has anyone else had this issue and could provide a solution? Thanks!

[sgcdialler]

So what you're saying is that your config file says the following?

deep=300

Are you making sure to not touch the saber at all when you're trying to let it go to sleep?

[JTP]

correct. I am noticing now that the blade LEDs are no longer coming on. The saber sounds, clash and swing all still work but the LEDs for the blade are not coming on now. Could I have messed something up with the config file or or could it be a loose wire? All my connections still look fine.

[sgcdialler]

If you could, please post large, clear pictures of your wiring, as well as a copy of your config file.

[JTP]

vol=3
drive=1023
fdrive=1023
offd=125
deep=15000
resume=0
lc=400
hs=220
ls=40
i=53
shmrd=200
shmrp=5
shmrr=13
focd=200
focp=10
focr=10
swing=200
clash=150
qon=0
qoff=0
flks=3
flkd=20

Image needs to be linked from imgur due to size -> http://imgur.com/uh80qGY

it may be difficult to see but I can assure you that none of my contact points bleed together. I have checked thoroughly

[JTP]

My saber is now not coming on at all, even the AV. All I'm hearing is a faint buzzing from the speaker. All my connections for the board and battery are solid. Is this an issue with the board or could the recharge port connections be bad? Somehow the board isnt getting power but the speaker is?? the board feels warm to the touch. is that an indicator of something?

[FenixFire]

My saber is now not coming on at all, even the AV. All I'm hearing is a faint buzzing from the speaker. All my connections for the board and battery are solid. Is this an issue with the board or could the recharge port connections be bad? Somehow the board isnt getting power but the speaker is?? the board feels warm to the touch. is that an indicator of something?


First step charge the battery to be sure it is not a low battery causing the led issue. It does sound like a shorted wire somewhere with the random boot sounds...probably on the + or - leads. Personally I don't like how much exposed wire is on the + and - at the board. Especially on the white wire.

[JTP]

Just plugged it in. says full according to the indicator on the wall charger. I only had it on for a few minutes today and I charged it full last night. The board has zero power now apparently. Which positive and negative leads should I check? The ones coming from the battery and recharge port? I can open the heat shrink up but the wires and connections look pristine.

Also the white wire on the top goes to my white LED. The connections for the battery are on the bottom of the board. I don think that connection would cause this issue

[FenixFire]

I would start with the ones at the board, especially verify the white wire is not touching anything. Also what LEDs are you running and at what current? What resistors are you using? I would go through and check everything. Also when soldering it up did you have the kill key in the recharge port or the battery disconnected to be sure the board was not powered while soldering?

[JTP]

yes I was sure to keep the key in. If something did bump that key though and power was sent to the board while I was checking my connections and soldering them more thoroughly, what would that mean? Board ruined? Battery ruined?

Also that white wire goes to the white LED. All my resistor calculations are on point and were checked several times by myself, a calculator and this site so its not them. It all worked fine today except for the DS. Now its all buggered.

[FenixFire]

Based on the image also check the main led and foc pad to be sure they are not bridged.

[JTP]

they are not bridged I just double checked. And I'm re-soldering the main led + to make it neater. back to what you said before about what if the board was powered while I was soldering. If that did happen by accident am I out a board and battery? just a board?

[FenixFire]

Possibly. It's generally frowned upon. Ther is a guy who repairs them on the boards message Forgetful Jedi Knight he can get you his name.

[sgcdialler]

There's a known issue that can happen sometimes when soldering on boards where the battery hasn't been physically disconnected. Because the recharge ports' switch only cuts the negative lead, the positive lead remains directly attached to the board. Soldering irons are generally grounded, so sometimes a charge can run through the board from the positive power lead through to the soldering iron. I fried two PC3.5 boards like that. Zook is the guy FenixFire mentioned, he's also known as Chewbacca on the FX-Saber forums. He can generally fix/replace fried components.

Once everything is reconnected, try pulling the killkey. If you get the boot sound, try turning it on and test the connections with a voltmeter. If it doesn't boot, test the 3.3V pad to see if it's outputting any power.

[JTP]

Thought I replied but I guess not. Anyway I cut all my wires and did tests with the battery. All LEDs fire right up as well as the AV LED. The speaker came apart at some point which is weird because I had it disconnected. I couldn't find any shorts or exposed wire in any of my lines and everything that should be getting power works perfectly when tested with the battery pack. Seeing that everything but the board works I decided to just go ahead and order a new NBv3 and a harness to hopefully prevent any screw-ups on my end in the second round. I'd rather have a new one than risk getting mine repaired, I can spare $60, its a learning experience.

I just want to know, and I'm asking everybody I can, do you think I damaged the DS chip when I soldered that [+] lead for my AV LED? That's the only reasoning I can form for the sabers apparent inability to go to sleep. The LED on the switch would go out for a half second with the boot sound, then it would fire right back up. How do I prevent that on the next board if that is the case as that pad is literally millimeters away from the DS chip.

[JTP]

In response to sgcdialler, should I solder (or join via JST) my battery last then in my next build so as to prevent such a thing from happening?

[sgcdialler]

I would recommend keeping the battery connected via JST, if you have the room in your hilt for it, so that it can be quickly and completely disconnected any time you need to work on the electronics. I built a saber that didn't have any room for the JST connector, so to mock a JST, I had the power leads from the battery connected in the middle, so rather than a single wire running to the board, it was two with a solder joint in the middle (I can post a pic or two if that's confusing).

To answer your question about the DS chip, the deep sleep function is part of the software. The chip you're referring to is the board's main processor, and it's entirely possible that it could be burnt toast. Is the chip physically damaged, in any way that you can tell? Did you scorch the pad next to it when you were soldering?

Just to be sure, you have been removing the SD card before doing any soldering, correct?

[JTP]

Yes, in fact the SD card was in my computer at the times when I was doing solder work as I was editing the swing, FoC and Deep settings. As for the processor (I just called it the DS pad because the manual referred to it as such) the only damage I saw was a bit of cosmetic damage on the very top where it looks like the plastic got hot then immediately cooled. Here is the best pic I cold get of it, sorry if its hard to see, getting any closer ruins the focus and adding any more light washes it out to where you cant see anything. --> http://imgur.com/fU7I7D2

As you can see, the part of the chip which is close to the pad I'm using has the faintest sheen or bubble to it where it is closest to my joint. Could this have caused my issue? How do I avoid it in the future if that is the case?

[FenixFire]

The chip you're referring to is the board's main processor, and it's entirely possible that it could be burnt toast. Is the chip physically damaged, in any way that you can tell? Did you scorch the pad next to it when you were soldering?


Exactly why my first NB build had the always on low-power crystal glow effect deleted when I say how small the board and that DS pad actually were!

[JTP]

In addition to my previous question, is it possible that I may have bridged my DS pad to the teeth of the processor chip if I used too much?

[sgcdialler]

Oh yea, if the MCU is physically damaged then it would have to be replaced. Plastic bubbles = bad. Yes, it is entirely possible that the teeth were bridged accidentally, given their proximity.

[JTP]

Well that's first-timer work for you haha. In all seriousness, thank you both for all the answers you've given me. I'm speaking to Tim right now about having the pros wire that pad for me before shipping the replacement NBv3 I ordered yesterday. As I understand it from reading these forums in the past, there is usually a fee which comes with that sort of request but I am more than happy to pay it if it means I do not have to buy a third NBv3 in the future.