peripheral board issues

[achillis1]

Hello,

Steve I a quoting your last post from another post because at the other was getting off-topic:

This post is getting a little off-topic, so can I suggest you start new topics for each of these particular issues you wish to take further.

[1] ECIO has only one LED, so I'm confused. Plus the pins on it are unprotected and it needs to be handled like a standard chip - could that be the cause?

[2] The RFID range can be extended by using a ferrite block if required. We were supplied with some faulty RFID modules once, but these would work with only I-CODE cards. Apart from this, we have never had the problems you have described. Plus, it is impossible to put the module in a mode where it can accept both MIFARE and I-CODE at the same time.

[3] The relay board is very simple to work with. I don't know what the problem could be.

[4] Your servo problems are being handled elsewhere. But perhaps you are trying to use the servo component with the wrong type of servo. Our component is designed to work with "R/C servos". The R/C servos that are modified for constant rotation are compatible with the component, but they are used slightly differently. A value of around 128 should cause the motor to stop. Values either side will cause rotation in one direction or the other, with some degree of speed control (not perfect). Direct position/distance control is not possible.

[5] A regulator could get too hot if there are a lot of current-hungry peripherals attached to your board. An a hot regulator could cause your program to become unpredictable. There is an issue with some earlier versions of the HP488 and EB006 which have been dealt with elsewhere in this forum.

[1] ECIO has only one LED, so I'm confused. Plus the pins on it are unprotected and it needs to be handled like a standard chip - could that be the cause?

>I was talking about the ECIO board LED and the ECIO LED. Always for ECIO I am using the ECIO board with it.

[2] The RFID range can be extended by using a ferrite block if required. We were supplied with some faulty RFID modules once, but these would work with only I-CODE cards. Apart from this, we have never had the problems you have described. Plus, it is impossible to put the module in a mode where it can accept both MIFARE and I-CODE at the same time.

>Now you are mentioning this, I thing that, that is the case. I tell it to detect i-code and detects it and when I tell it to detect Mifare it detects again the I-code. I couldn't remember exactly the problem because this was a long time ago.
Is there a way to find out if my RFID board is included in the boards you got that were faulty?

[3] The relay board is very simple to work with. I don't know what the problem could be

>For that, let me check again and let you know.

Thank you in advance,

Best Regards,
Andreas Achilleos

[Benj]

I have bought 4 ECIO's and two ECIO boards. One time the ECIO got burnt, the other time the ECIO just stopped responding, the other time the other ECIO just didn't want to be programmed!!! Also the first ECIO board was not acting as normal, sometimes it could not power up, sometimes one LED was lighted up and sometimes both of them(I know that the lighting of the LEDs depends by whether you choose USB or Board power up of the ECIO) but I am speeking for a situation that all the parameters are the same and the output at different tries is different.

Hello Andreas,

Do you know how your ECIO devices were damaged? Were you driving any motors with unprotected back EMF or anything similar that may have damaged your ECIO's? Relay coils can also produce back EMF. E-block boards should protect the ECIO on the application board. Do you know what kind of current you are pulling through the ECIO application board? If this current is too high then the regulator on the board may go into thermal shutdown which may explain the reason the LED on the board is not lighting. A current high enough to cause thermal shutdown would make the regulator very hot, is it getting hot at all?

[achillis1]

Hello Ben,

I was testing the MMC board and the LCD, at some point after I tried to test the servos as well but I due to problems I am working now with the EB006. As far as the regulator being hot or not, I do not remember it being hot or any other strange, like burn smell but I will check again and let you know.

[Benj]

Hello,

Ah it could be your servo motors causing the problems?

I take it from your other post you are using a non R/C standard servo motor and are using something fancy eg a 360 degree servo.

Servo is a umbrella name and covers a lot of types of motors, In all cases when we refer to servos we mean the standard small R/C style servos unless otherwise specified.

Might be worth adding protection between the micro and the motor if it is not the generic R/C style.

[achillis1]

I have had problems before even I bought the servos.
I also connect normal servos of 180 degrees.

This is the website I bought the servos in case you want to take a look at.

Best Regards
Andreas Achilleos

[achillis1]

Hello,

Yesterday while I was testing the normal servo, I was getting a message while compiling:'' cannot detect on board chip''. I was getting this forever and then I changed the PIC and now while flowcode is compiling a pop up says ''PICmicro has not been erased continue?''
Then I press OK to continue, it finishes and about some lines before the end of the message window it saus: memory check failed.
Is the EB006 ''dead''?

Do you have any clue about this?

Thank you in advance,

Best Regards,
Andreas Achilleos

[Benj]

Hello,

Yes this sometimes happens if the USB chip browns out. You should be able to unplug both the power and the USB from the EB006, Then wait a second or two and plug back in the USB and the power supply. The board should then be detected correctly by Windows again.

[achillis1]

Regarding the RFID problem I mentioned above to Steve, is there a way to discover if my rfid board is from the faulty batch that Matrix had?

Thank you

[Benj]

Hello,

The board is likely to be from the faulty batch if the module is only accepting ICODE cards or not working correctly. If you are in doubt then please contact me via a PM and I will send you instructions of how to return the item for testing.