[me2016]

Hi Glenn
Yes, it sounds like the issue is related to the ht16k33 chip.
Connect sa PC to the usb port and set speed to 38400. Then when it boot up it will state something about found ht16k33 ir not.
If not found check the power and SCA/SLK lines. Carefully measure the voltage directly on the chip.
Now since the buttons work then I would guess it’s detected and it’s something else and studying the schematic the only thing I can think of is that you accidentally install the LEDs the wrong way.

[me2016]

Having 4V between Arduino A5 (SCL) and SDA on ht16k33 or 4.5V between SDA and SCL might be ok, depends on what you measure with, pullup resistors and so on. More interesting would be GND-VCC on the arduino and ht16k33 (pin 1 and 28).
It could be battery issue, it need good batteries for the DC-DC module to convert battery power to 5V.
First thing you can try is to power it over the arduino. Connect a usb-micro to usb-a cable to any usb charger or some computer. Then any battery issue is excluded.
You can remove the sound module and see if that makes any difference.

When it starts up it should turn on all lights and then show “M3” in the top. When you hit “c” for clock it should show the time from the RTC module, not just a few dots.

[me2016]

I was once hunting a short and managed to find it with help of my dvm. I did measure the resistance and just kept moving around hunting the lowest resistance calue. It may only be numbers like 0.8 vs 0.6 but that is good enough to give a hint
I have not had any reports of doa chip so you would be the first then. The chip may be broken if to much heat been applied to it for to long but you have to do it a lot to break it that way so I’m guessing that’s not the case. Another thing is if you happen to get some solder on the address jumpers and with that changed the address but that’s probably even more remote.
You can try using the 4pin connector that goes to the plug board as a direct i2c connection.
Also, does the plug board work? Not sure if it will show up if the main chip isn’t detected but if it does…

[me2016]

I was once hunting a short and managed to find it with help of my dvm. I did measure the resistance and just kept moving around hunting the lowest resistance calue. It may only be numbers like 0.8 vs 0.6 but that is good enough to give a hint
I hane not has any reports of doa chip so you would be dirat then. The chip may be broken if to much heat been applied to it for to long but you have to do it a lot to break it that way so I’m guessing that’s not the case. Another thing is if you happen to get some solder on the address jumpers and with that changed the address but that’s probably even more remote.
You can try using the 4pin connector that goes to the plug board as a direct i2c connection.
Also, does the plug board work? Not sure if it will show up if the main chip isn’t detected but if it does…

[me2016]

I havent heard anyone else having this problem.
The first you can do is to just make sure it’s power on the chip. Next (with power removed) ring up the connection between the chip and the connector, starting with the 4 i2c wires. Just use a dvm/multimeter and put one pintip on the contact and the other just on top of the pin on the chip. Also make sure it’s no microscopic connection between the pins.
If that is ok measure from contact on l&k board to arduino.

[me2016]

Hi Jane and thanks for your post.

Power connector, Depending on the cable it might be lot of space in the hole. What I done is fold it double and then put a solder blob on it. Then it can be screwed in a bit better.

The rotor. It might require some adjustments to get it somewhat clear. I see that you have not yet added the support for the board, with that in place it is a little easier to adjust the rotor angle to not touch on the sides.

/ps

[me2016]

Don’t remember what changes that where done exactly for v1.08 (and I’m not checking) but one thing that was recently done was to change order of things a little so a standalone arduino works a little better. Don’t know how that would have impacted you but apparently it did.

Yes, R119/120 are on the lines and that is possible why it’s no connection. You need to measure from sound module to R119/120, then from other side of resistor to arduino D8/D9.
Start with resoldering the resistors, then move on to measure it.

[me2016]

Very slow, no sound, fast after disabling sound. That all points to problem with the sound board, it sends the command to play the sound but never get the “done” signal so it time out.

Did it ever work ?
Check connections around the sound board, make sure the BUSY connection is ok (see schematic).
Make sure the microsd card is properly installed.
If you remove the sound module it will probably run fast directly and the serial will say something about no sound board.

[me2016]

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[me2016]

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[me2016]

Did you get it to work ?

[me2016]

Looking at the schematic I see that the common thing between “L” and “O” is Row11 which comes from pin14 (one corner) on ht16k33. Row11 is also used for segment “E” on the alnum digits and that segment is the bottom right.
Since both the main and l&k board has issues the first action is to just put a solder iron on pin14 on the ht16k33 chip. I would guess that it’s not soldered properly since looking at the traces they go out from that point in different directions, one to the jumper cable and one to the LEDs on the board.

[me2016]

Please report what issues you found. It can be of help to anyone else who run in to similar issues.

[me2016]

Good you got it to work, and during this I guess you learned a lot about how things work – both electronics and software wise.

I’m curious as to the stall issue so please report back what that is all about.

[me2016]

So, lets go through the problems one by one;

– L103 display is not working
That means that Common on pin 18 on the digit does not have a connection to COM6/pin 8 on ht18k33. The path includes pin 24 on the jumper cable.

– Displays do not show all segments
Pretty much the same as above, just a different trace that’s broken. Identify the segment missing and look at the schematic as to what pin it is on. Then follow that pin all the way through the jumpercable to ht16k33.

– Plugboard seems not connected
You state above that p201-p203 fails regarding 5V and GND, that is why it’s not working. You need to fix that connection, see schematic for pins to connect.

– When turning to reflector mode system seems to get into a loop
Hard to guess, possible because of a short somewhere in the rotor but why only in reflector mode? The logic is pretty much the same for all the different modes.
Fix the other things first, then see if it’s still a problem and of so provide some more details.

– Slow response in run mode
How slow is “slow”? if maybe 5sec then it could be a problem with the sound board. Do you have sound? It is possible that it thinks you have a sound board and wait for the sound to finish before moving on.

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