CF Adapter Problems

[deplanche]

Based on Rick's post (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login), I thought it might be a good idea to check the connectivity between the CF card adapter pins and on PCB on mine before I started assembling them, and I am certainly glad I did.

There are a total of 50 pins between the adapter and the PCB, and I checked each with a digital volt meter to measure the resistance between the tip of the pin and the solder point on the PCB.  I checked each of these on the 5 conductor/slave boards I received (they appear to be the same for either).

On 2 of my boards, all 50 pins had connectivity. Woohoo!!   

On 2 others, less than half of the pins had connectivity.   

On the final board, not a single pin was connected to the PCB. 

What I did notice in checking this is that the flatter the solder was on the PCB, the more likely there was a good connection.  If it was raised at all, there likely wasn't a connection.  I tried to take a photo of this, but I can't get my camera to focus that close, and show the subtle difference in height.  On the ones that had some working and some not, if I ran the lead from digital volt meter over the solder points (making sure not to touch the pins), I could feel the difference and even hear it... sort of like hitting a rumble strip on a highway.  Of course, don't push too hard or you'll damage your board, but even a light touch indicated a problem.

I am posting this for 2 reasons...

1 - To urge everyone to check there adapters before you start assembling it.  I am guessing this is going to be easiest to fix before you have lots of other things mounted on the board.

2 - To ask how we fix something like this?  These are surface mounted solder points, which I am guessing is why they were pre-made.  Putting a hot iron on it just seems like it is going to create a bridge between pins and still might not be enough to make the connection at some point.



 

[dcwehw99]

Excellent point on checking the pins before you start assembling the Conductor.  Once the MP3 board is mounted on the Conductor PCB, there's not much room between it and the pins on the reader.

Denny

[rmp2917]

You can easily tell which pins are soldered and which are not by using the tip of a small screwdriver and gently pushing on the pin. If it moves around on the pad easily, then it is not soldered. If it is solid and doesn't move, then it should be OK. Just don't push the pin hard enough to bend it out of alignment or move it off the pad. It just takes a very light touch to tell if it moves.

You can fix any pins that aren't soldered by adding some flux to the joint. Then, get a small amount of solder on the tip of your iron and touch it between the pin and the pad. It should easily flow onto the pin. If you don't get too much solder on your tip, you shouldn't create a bridge even if you touch two pins at the same time. If you do create a bridge, you should be able to easily remove it with some solder braid. A small tip and a magnifying lens will probably be helpful.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this, I would suggest getting some help from someone.

[einstein2883]

I wish i had check it before I put all the parts on my board.  About 1/4 of my pins were not soldered. Luckily I was able to fix it with a smaller tip I had for my iron.

[JonB256]

May be time for the COOP person to send a message to all the Conductor owners.

Many of them have probably not started to assemble yet.

[twooly]

Ill just say it again, do check the reader before hand.  Not a single pin on mine is soldered to the pad, I can pull mine all the way off.

[cavu2u]

It appears to me the several pins in the photos below are not soldered - take a look and tell me what you think.

It appears like Conductor2.jpg(the unbuilt one) has more unsoldered connections than the first. I was gonna quickly build it to replace #1 which was not working.

When connected via router to the Conductor Control Panel, I got the "Card Error" spoken about.

Just prior to flashing the Etherdongle to the Conductor firmware, it was working with the DMX firmware.

I dunno if my soldering skills are up to tackling something this small - I'm skeert.

[cavu2u]

Photo 2

[einstein2883]

From your pictures it kind of looks like some of the pins may not soldered.  The best why is to take a small screw driver or tooth pick (with the power off) and gently push on the side of the pin.  If it moves you have a problem.

[deplanche]

On your 2nd photo, counting left to right, pins 1, 4, 6, 7, 8,  etc., don't look to be soldered.  Anything that is rounded like that, likely has a problem.  The flatter looking locations (2, 3, 5, etc), are likely good.

If you are worried about bending pins using a screwdriver, put a DVM meter on it.

[cavu2u]

From your pictures it kind of looks like some of the pins may not soldered.  The best why is to take a small screw driver or tooth pick (with the power off) and gently push on the side of the pin.  If it moves you have a problem.

Sounds like a problem since I can move several pins with a small probe.

I saw mention of this, and a solution, in the Conductor Coop thread - You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login.

Thanks for lookin

[cavu2u]

On your 2nd photo, counting left to right, pins 1, 4, 6, 7, 8,  etc., don't look to be soldered.  Anything that is rounded like that, likely has a problem.  The flatter looking locations (2, 3, 5, etc), are likely good.

Thanks for that - I was thinking about it backward - I thought the rounded ones were the good ones.

[complacent_one]

I use one of theseYou are not allowed to view links. Register or Login on my Weller Iron....that and a Helping hands vice with Magnifying glass......

Steady hand and take a breather if you get the "shakey hand".....

[chrisatpsu]

Use a multitester, and check continuity from the pin coming from the socket, to the solder just after the end of the pin. That should give you a good idea as to which ones are connected.

[deplanche]

I used the nice photo that was posted to indicate what I think are likely to be bad connections so it is a bit more clear for everyone.