Solder header to board for firmware update

khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
in Cyton
Hello, 

As I struggled uploading 'RadioDevice32' to the board with the dongle, I tried an FTDi Friend. Still the same error:

expecting 14, got 00
fail.......fail.......fail.......

I use a 104Z capacitor and a header (that came with the OpenBCI package). 

I've tried holding the header on the board for a few hundred times and I think I am loosing my patience - is it OK to solder to the board (GND, RFRST, RFRX, RFTX)? Did anyone have to do this?

Or what else can I try?

Thanks, k

Comments

  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    Mentioning Joel @biomurph and AJ @pushtheworld. 

    The Cyton solder pads for the RFduino programming are NOT thru-holes, so soldering a header to the board may not be the best approach. Did you see some of the tips on this other thread:

  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    Thanks William, I'll try all of these voodoo things :)
  • pushtheworldpushtheworld
    If I am doing development with that RFDuino I solder wires to the pads on the bottom of the Cyton and then I just remove them when I'm done.
  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    edited February 2018
    Thanks AJ, by soldering to the pads, you mean these, right?

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/ruml7wb5zn8o55p/pads.jpg?dl=0
  • pushtheworldpushtheworld
    Yes
  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    edited February 2018
    Today I've tried the woodoo trick with both, dongle and FTDi Friend, updated the FTDI driver to most recent, changed all cables, changed USB for the FTDI friend, tried Safe Mode in OSX,  but still not uploading

    it's usually this:

    Sketch uses 0 bytes (0%) of program storage space. Maximum is 131,072 bytes.
    get
    fail.......fail.......fail.......

    rarely:

    Sketch uses 0 bytes (0%) of program storage space. Maximum is 131,072 bytes.
    expecting 14, got 00
    fail.......fail.......fail.......


    ... I still have to try using a 0.01uF capacitor (labeled 103) and soldering.

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  • pushtheworldpushtheworld
    > expecting 14, got 00

    1) This either from crossing TX and RX.
    2) Poor electrical connection.

    Has nothing to do with FTDI friend or dongle, or safe mode.
  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    Thanks. I'll keep working... 
  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    edited February 2018
    Soldering to the pads didn't work either and I think I have damaged the RESET pad a bit:
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/cri8mdr7ofympa2/pads2.JPG?dl=0

    So, the plan now is to solder straight to the RFD22301. I guess I can connect ground from the FTDI Friend/Dongle to any ground on the RFD22301, is this correct? 
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/btad0lquhrqoh9s/RF.jpg?dl=0

    Thanks. k
  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    edited February 2018
    Tedor, hi.

    Looked at your damaged Reset pad. It does look rather brown and oxidized; drained of solder. You have a soldering iron. Does it have the right kind of small chisel or point tip? Low wattage? Do you have a decent solder with integrated flux channel? You should be able to reflux / solder each of those pads. There are also inexpensive solder suckers if you need to remove any extra solder. When repaired, the pads should look close to what they were like originally: slightly rounded surface with shiny solder. They are really a mess right now.

    Are you sure you had good connections with your wires when they were attached? If wires are attached you could use an ohmmeter to check continuity between the wire end / pad and the RFduino pin.

    I WOULD NOT solder directly to the RFduino. There is NO WAY the pad to RFduino internal Cyton PC board traces could be bad. Because those same pads were used to program the RFduino the first time.


    Regards,

    William

  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    Thanks William, 

    I think I just really wanted to get it working... so I rushed into decisions :( 

    I used point tip, 220V 60W on 200 Cel. I'll have to investigate what flux channel is, but I think the board might be beyond repair now:
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/vtktobu45pd1ggi/board.JPG?dl=0

    I'll try to sync the channel with the app and upload the DefaultDevice, then perhaps I could get a WifiShield and use it without the dongle.

    We'll see :)





  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    edited February 2018
    I just meant "rosin core solder", decent quality (perhaps not the cheapest Chinese stuff.). Sorry for the confusing 'integrated' term. Rosin core means the center of the solder contains the rosin flux. 

    No "I think the board might be beyond repair now". I disagree. Do you have an electronics repair shop nearby? Just have them solder on four short wires. They can repair the brown pad with the right solder tip, solder sucker and rosin core solder.

    Kester makes some of the best, you can get small tubes of this for $5.


    Here is one of the Q&A answers on that listing,

    ----

    Question:I need some solder for r/c car battery wires and connectors. 10,12 and 14g wires to posts. Also smaller 22g wires to each other.

    Answer:I have been working in the electronic manufacturing and repair industry for over 50 years, here are my views:

    Kester 44 Activated Rosin Core Solder 63/37 (63% tin/37% lead) in .031 inch diameter is the best solder for most all around electronics work. The ratio of 63/37 gives this solder the lowest melting point of all other tin/lead alloys. This allows you to get on the connection, heat it up, solder it quickly and be done without having to heat up the wires and connections way too much. If you need a thicker solder you can look for it in .062 diameter or even .125 diameter. The thicker diameters are good for soldering larger connections (like a 10 or 12 guage wiring points). You can also twist together two or three smaller diameter solder wires to make a thicker solder if you need too. You can get all kinds of these solders at your local radio scrap store in 63/37 and 60/40 ratios, but the impurities in that cheaper solder could make your soldering job a bit more difficult. Also the fluxes that are used in other solders might not work as well as the Kester brand. All of these solders are available in smaller quantities, you shouldn't need a full pound roll unless you are doing a LOT of R/C work. 
    A few things to remember: 
    It is difficullt to make a good solder connection if your iron is not hot enough or if it does not have enough thermal mass to transfer the heat quickly. 
    Best to use a hot iron of 60 to 80 watts so that you can do the soldering quickly. 
    Do not use acid core solder or acid fluxes for electronics work, the leftover acid can can be conductive and can cause electrical leakage and corrosion.
    There are "No Lead" solders available, but they require more heat to make a good connection. As a beginner, it might be best to use the tin/lead alloy solder and just remember not to eat the solder and not to lick your hands while you are working. Then wash up after your soldering session.
    For a good solder connection, follow these steps:
    1. Position your work such that nothing can move while you are soldering the joint.
    2. Make sure your iron is at full heat and that it is tinned with fresh and shining solder.
    3. Put the soldering iron tip on the joint.
    4. Immediately, put the solder wire at a point where it is touching the joint and the soldering iron tip.
    (This will allow a thermal bridge to be formed between the tip and the joint)
    5. Now hold both the solder iron and the solder on the joint and when it gets up to temperature, the solder will melt.
    6. Feed solder into the joint until it is filled and fully wetted.
    7. Back off.
    8. Let the solder joint cool without moving anything.
    9. Inspect the joint. 
    10. It should be shiney and solid with no cracks or crystallized areas.
    Hope this helps [:)]x
    Joe
  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    Thanks for the tips!
  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    Hi William,

    My friend fixed the board, however when trying to
    upload new firmware to the Device, there is still the fail, fail, fail
    message.

    I don't recall dropping, damaging the board, but in
    case the RFD22301 is broken, is it possible to test it somehow while it
    is on the board?

    Many thanks! k


  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    K / Tedor, hi. I've run out of suggestions. Have you tried emailing to contact at openbci.com ? Mentioning @openbci.

    William

  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    Thanks William,

    Not yet.

    As you have mentioned/added them to this thread, I'll wait a bit and if they don't get reply here, I'll email.

    Best wishes, k
  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    Email them directly. They get a notification, but it is lower priority. You'll be assigned a ticket number with a direct email.
  • khofstadterkhofstadter Colchester, U.K.
    Hello William,

    Quick update:

    Good news is that my friend Fredrik knows magic and fixed the board :)

    The rfduino module was broken. He found that the serial tx pin had no connection to the nRF51822 chip (broken via under the shield).

    Then he managed to update the pic32 with using the autoscan trick in radio configuration menu in the GUI app.

    Now there is data streaming in python.

    Thanks for your help! k




  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    That's great news, congrats K and Fredrik.

    William

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