bought used hl2 upside down shim. damaged componets. fixable?

[No Name]

I bought a used hl2 and it does light up. The run clk led flashes. the 100 hw led is on solid. lnk flashes as does act led on ethernet port. 

I removed the backwards shim and "o" labeled surface mount jumper fell off. those 2 jumpers from what i think are bias to fianls are missing. I found a page showing test points to check for power supply shorts. I cant find the page now but I got a few readings that were less than 500k ohms for a few test points.  I have tried sdr console and sdr spark and directly to 2 different computers and routers. not found. So I cant see how it isnt damaged. is this possible to repair? is it cost effective to repair?       Im sure alot of people have installed the shim wrong so this must be a common problem with a solution. Again, i bought mine used. The p.o. never got it to work.

Thanks

kg7hvr

[Ron Lewkowicz]

This photo points to components that might be damaged with incorrect heat shim installation...

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wiki/softerhardware/Hermes-Lite2/pictures/j31j32.jpg

From the final assembly instructions on this page...

https://github.com/softerhardware/Hermes-Lite2/wiki/Final-Assembly

[No Name]

yes, I mentioned this. The 2 smd "0" jumpers were removed by the shim.  unit doesnt connect. 

[No Name]

i followed this test here:      https://github.com/softerhardware/Hermes-Lite2/wiki/Hardware

• Vbias and GND
• Vsupply and GND
• Vop and GND
• Vpa and GND
• +3V3 and +2V5
• +3V3 and +1V2
• +2V5 and +1V2    ALL READ LESS THAN 500K OHMS

[Steve Haynal]

Hi KG7HVR,

Please replace any components which may have been stripped off due to installing the heat shim incorrectly. You can post high resolution phone pictures of the front and back of your HL2 so others can help you spot anything wrong.

Stripped components around the heat shim should not affect the ability to connect to the network. Please review the network trouble shooting wiki page and in particular try to boot and then connect in recovery mode:

https://github.com/softerhardware/Hermes-Lite2/wiki/Troubleshoot-Network#temporarily-recovering-from-an-unwanted-fixed-ip-address-or-mac-address

73,

Steve

kf7o

[No Name]

Thanks Steve. I figured that was the case. I did that some time ago and carefully soldered jumpers in place. it still doesnt connect. I have no idea if the previous owner didnt do something weird softeware or gateware related. I suspect he did. ive tried shorting all the wires on a stereo plug into key ptt while poering on. doesnt seem to do anything.  the first led (RUN) just flashes and the last one (ADC 100) is on solid. never changes. act and lnk flash on the ethernet.

[Steve Haynal]

Hi,

Please review this thread:

https://groups.google.com/g/hermes-lite/c/8_YzVYPNKGg/m/pDMaXDhnAAAJ

In particular, please share the blink rate of the RUN LED (1Hz or 2Hz), whether there is a ksz9021 or ksz9031 installed on the unit, and the value of R34.

73,

Steve

kf7o

[No Name]

how can i tell the blink rate? seems pretty close

[No Name]

I made a quick video of the unit. heres a link to it on youtube. hopefully im allowed to share that. i would guess thats a 2hz flash rate?

https://youtu.be/Rl7pXedSEzI?si=L2aKG9IydS2aaIZE

[Steve Haynal]

Hi KG7HVR,

You determine the blink rate by counting how many times the LED comes on per N seconds and then dividing by N. Your blink rate is 1Hz. This means a ksz9031 should be installed per the thread I already linked to. Please confirm if you have a ksz9021 or ksz9031 on your HL2.

Also, in the network trouble shooting guide you have already been pointed to, it says that D4 should light if a network connection is established. Your D4 is not lighting. This can be due to a bad poor connection ethernet connection. Have you tried various ethernet cables? Also, please provide high resolution phone photographs of the front and back of the quarter of the HL2 board where the ethernet connector is.

73,

Steve

kf7o

[No Name]

ive tried 2 cables so far, also 2 different windws pc directly as well. both running windows 10 home version as i recall.

ive taken some pictures. the chip is indeed a ksz9021rni. 50mp with s23 samsung photos. i will up load a video clip of the board in close detail shortly. the camera is picky with that sort of detail in video.

[No Name]

[Steve Haynal]

Hi KG7HVR.

Thanks for the pictures and video. Your board has a KSZ9021 and the proper value of R34 for the KSZ9021, but the blink rate of the RUN LED is at the slower rate expected for the KSZ9031. (I was wrong about the 1Hz/2Hz blink rates. Your blink rate is 2Hz, but the KSZ9031 is 2Hz and the KSZ9021 is 4Hz.) The FPGA reads a register from the KSZ90x1 and configures the blink rate and the KSZ90x1 based on what is read. If the FPGA gateware is assuming a KSZ9031 but you have a KSZ9021, then you can see the no connection problem you are seeing. There are several possible reasons for this.

The connection between the FPGA and the KSZ9021 may be compromised. Visual inspection of soldered pins may identify something. In one case, resoldering the pins of the KSZ9021 fixed a bad solder joint for a similar failure.

The previous owner may have installed gateware, including recovery gateware if they used a USB Blaster, that does not properly detect the KSZ9021. If this is the case, you need to reprogram the FPGA gateware with a Raspberry Pi or USB blaster.

The FPGA and/or KSZ9021 ICs may be bad. If this is the case, I'd first try changing the KSZ9021.

73,

Steve

kf7o

[No Name]

I dont own a Raspberry pi except my mmvdvm hot spot.  or a usb blaster. And im certainly not capable of replacing anything surface mount like a ksz9021.  Can Isend it to you for repair? 

[No Name]

Can Isend it to you for reapir? Or is it better to buy a new board? I'm not capable of fixing this or programming it.  Unless someone near Prescott Valley Arizona can help, I will need to send it to you for repair or buy another board or just give up and move on to something else.

Thanks 73 de kg7hvr

[Steve Haynal]

Hi KG7HVR,

Sorry, but I am not currently accepting any repair work. Someone else on this list may be willing to help.

73,

Steve

k7o

[No Name]

I wasnt asking you to fix it for free. Im aware I didnt purchase it directly. I was waiting to get an idea on how much it would cost to repair it or if it was even fixable before I ordered a new board from makers fab.  Thanks for your time. 

[Steve Haynal]

Hi KG7HVR,

Makerfabs offers a 60-day warranty for the original buyer:

https://www.makerfabs.com/warranty-and-return.html

There is no financial incentive equal to or less than the cost of a HL2 board which would motivate me to take repairs. I try to provide discussion and information on this list which can help others potentially repair a HL2. Your HL2 may be repairable but it is still difficult to tell if it is a simple repair or a more costly IC replacement. Maybe someone else will agree to take a look if payment is involved.

73,

Steve

kf7o

[No Name]

Yeah thanks Steve. Appreciate the help for sure. Jon kn6tyf who ive heard on the radio a few years or so heard me on 80m tonight talking about the hl2 and hes going to see if we can figure it out.  Hes alot more of a tech savy guy on these thing. me i fix old radio and amplifiers now and then, so anyway. we will see what we can do remotely or something as we are a state away.  I probably should just order a new unit lol. 

73

kg7hvr

prescott valley, arizona dm34

[Ron Lewkowicz]

Did you try to just reflow the solder on that IC?  Put a small amount of flux then briefly touch each pin until solder melts. 

I'd probably just order a new board and try to fix the old one later.  If you have to pay a cell phone shop to do the repair it may not be cost effective. Really hard to say what damage the previous owner may have done to the board by shorting things out with the heat shim.