Difference between revisions of "Troubleshooting"
From DiyLightAnimation
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==Hardware== | ==Hardware== | ||
Check and recheck for correct: | Check and recheck for correct: | ||
| − | ::*Solder flow, no shorts and the possibility that not all leads have been soldered (this happens more than you might think!). | + | ::*Solder flow, no [[Glossary|shorts]] and the possibility that not all leads have been soldered (this happens more than you might think!). |
::*Component orientation - matching the silkscreen image on the board - not necessarily the orientation of chip sockets or other carrier devices (they could have been installed backwards). | ::*Component orientation - matching the silkscreen image on the board - not necessarily the orientation of chip sockets or other carrier devices (they could have been installed backwards). | ||
::*Resistor values | ::*Resistor values | ||
Revision as of 22:18, 6 September 2009
General
Always feel free to post help requests in the forums. Try to include sharp, close-up pictures of both sides of your hardware that is having a problem. As you already know, people in this community are more than happy to help...and are friendly about it to boot!
If you are willing, please use Teamspeak chat. Most nights the DLA staff is in chat and we can quickly help out on most problems.
Concepts
- Divide and Conquer or Binary Search
- IF you ask the RIGHT questions of an ordered set (all understanding and knowledge about the system) and it is not intermittent, you can always arrive at the answer in 21 questions or less!
- Start at one end or the other and work forward/backward to the other end.
- System integration/separation
- Try to separate power and hardware problems from software and communication problems.
- Ask yourself:
- What do I know about this thing?
- What don't I know about this thing?
- Could I describe the problem to someone else in an understandable way?
Power
(GFCI, Circuit breakers, extension cords, power panels, etc.)
Hardware
Check and recheck for correct:
- Solder flow, no shorts and the possibility that not all leads have been soldered (this happens more than you might think!).
- Component orientation - matching the silkscreen image on the board - not necessarily the orientation of chip sockets or other carrier devices (they could have been installed backwards).
- Resistor values
- Capacitor polarities
- Part numbers
Software
Firmware
- What are the problems when setting up a pic programmer?
Communications
(DMX cabling, com ports, length of runs, distance or orientation of wireless transmitter and receiver, etc.)
- Does your hardware need to be terminated?
- Why aren't my devices talking? (check cabling, check hardware, go back to lowest common denominator - what do you know works)
Tools
- My multimeter doesn't read the right resistance. (in circuit or out of circuit?, are you touching both sides of the resistor at the same time?, set on the wrong range, battery dead)
