Is my pgFocus broken?

[sophies...@gmail.com]

Hey guys!

I have just started a new project that I would like to integrate a pgFocus into. I have a pgFocus that has been left over from a previous project by another person, who is no longer in my lab, and I am now having trouble getting the system working.

When I plugged in the USB cable the green LED on the board flickered on but then quickly turned off. When I plugged it in today it didn't turn on at all. Is the green LED supposed to be on all the time when pgFocus has power? I got suspicious when I noticed this, and my computer also didn't recognise the device being plugged in at all. I measured some voltages on the different pads with markings on the board and got very low values, very far off what was indicated on the board. I tried using another USB cable and another USB port on the computer, but that made no difference. Something is definitely not right, so my main question is, do you have any idea what the problem might be, and whether it is something I can fix or not?

Best,

Sophie

[Karl Bellve]

Hi Sophie,

You are referring to the large RGB LED, correct? The light from that should be red if pgFocus has power, but doesn't have a focus return beam. It should turn green when it detects a peak in the return beam. 

If you are referring to the green LED at the front of the pgFocus board, that will show green if pgFocus has power. That is a simple 5V circuit from the USB line. If that isn't showing green, I would check your USB cable, or switch USB ports on your computer. It would be unlikely that that would fail on pgFocus since it is just a trace from the 5V USB line to a LED-> Ground.

Hope that helps.

Cheers Karl

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[sophies...@gmail.com]

Hi Karl,

I was actually referring to the green LED on the front of the card. I don't think my board has an RGB LED on it(?) Two different USB cables gave the same result. I also noticed that the card heats up quite a bit, is that normal operations or another indication of it being broken? 

If it turns out my board is broken past repairs, what are my options for getting a new one?

Best,

Sophie

[Karl Bellve]

Hi Sophie,

Sorry for the late reply. I am away this week.

Not that it matters, but did I make your particular pgFocus? The reason I ask is you say yours doesn't have a rgb led. I want to make sure it is built on my design. It is harder to fix a variant...

It shouldn't heat up much, unless the DAC is being over driven, and it shouldn't be driven at all after a power cycle.

You are welcome to send yours to me to take a look at it, and/or I could build you a new one.

Cheers Karl

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pgfocus/89023da7-9794-4479-aeb7-d13856020871%40googlegroups.com.