[minima] Re: Testing the digital board
- From: "Steve VK2SJA" <vk2sja@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: minima@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2014 14:44:34 +1100
Hi Jerry,
I'll try and help as best I can. Difficult as you guys are way ahead of me
in construction terms. Meaning I can't test my own advice. So anyone
better positioned to answer questions please jump in and I'll go QRT.
Mark?
So with the understanding that I'm not an Arduino guru, here's what I'd try.
First - real basics regarding Arduino programs called sketches. Program
execution starts with the setup() function. All instructions here are
executed once. Then program flow will automagically shifts to the loop()
function. The instructions inside here loop forever (executed over and
over again).
Suggestion. Look for this in the radiono.ino program sketch:-
void setup() {
lcd.begin(16, 2);
printBuff[0] = 0;
printLine1("Raduino v0.02 ");
Wire.begin();
We can see that pretty much the very first thing this program does is
print "Raduino v0.02" on the LCD screen.
Suggestion to debug. Add these three code lines:-
printLine1("Raduino v0.02 ");
//Stuff below added
Serial.begin(9600); // set up Serial library at 9600 bps
Serial.println("Hello world!"); // prints hello with ending line break
// back on your PC IDE serial console
delay(10000); // waits 10 seconds so we can see the LCD sign-on message
// just in case something else in program clears
// down the screen so fast we don't see the message
//Stuff above added
Wire.begin();
Stuff after the // are comments only. You can leave them out.
This should do two things. Confirm that the program is indeed running by
sending a message to the serial IDE console. And also leave the sign-on
message on the LCD long enough for us to see. Even if it is cleared off
the screen by later code.
If you see the sign-on message we go to the next step. If you can't see a
sign-on message we need to find out why.
Remember to remove these additional lines or "comment them out" after
debugging.
The three project files in Github are:-
adiono board_ugly.txt <<-- Just a text file documenting which
processor pins are used for what functions. Not part of the program
(sketch) just documentation.
radiono.ino <<-- The actual Sketch or program.
radiono.pdf <<-- PDF document showing circuit diagram of the processor
portion or the radio. Not part of the program.
Careful. I "think" there was some list discussion about a minor error in
one of these document files just recently. Don't know if Farhan has
corrected it or not.
Hope this helps.
PS. After typing all this I re-read your message and realize that you
programmed the chip in a Uno board and then moved it to the radio. So you
may not have built the serial interface onto the radio control board. If
that's the case then obviously the two code lines above the print "Hello
World" to the serial port arn't going to do much for you. ;-)
> I finished building the Digital board except for soldering in the si570.
> I would like to test the radiono code and make sure I made the right
> comments in the file so I don't fry the si570. I fired up the board and
all the voltages are good: 4.92 out of the 7805 and 3.24 out of the
LM1117, but I would like to run the code and check the 570's voltage. I
uploaded the radiono sketch to the chip using a Arduino Uno board, and put
the chip in my Digital board, and powered it up. All that happens is the
LCD backlight lights, but no characters. The contrast pot works. The
circuit draws 24ma but no display. Do I need to do something else. There
is another code file on github, what is that for? Jerry
> K5LRU
> Harwood, Texas
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