I just finished my first panel. Quadrants 2 and 3 work perfectly. Quadrant 4 doesn't light up at all. Quadrant 1 is only lit when something is directly above it, it doesn't continue to light in alternating patterns for a couple of seconds after the object is no longer above it like 2 and 3. I don't see any LEDs or photo sensors backwards on the panel. Help!

Hi Stubstub,
These sound like minor but common soldering issues. I can help you pinpoint the problems and get things working again, but l may need to ask you a few specific questions-- please contact me directly by e-mail so that I can walk you through the process. You can use the "contact" link at the top of the page to do so.

-Windell.

I just finished my first board tonight and only quadrant 2 works 1 and 4 are dimly lit but i get no response from the ir leds (i used a camera and all are lit up) and the sensor seems to be placed in the correct polarity aswell

I also have quadrant 3 which is dimly lit yet 5 or 6 leds aren't on and they were tested before soldering and the polarity was checked but if i put my hand across the ir sensor for this quadrant it lights bright but then goes straight back to dim and if i hold my hand above it it starts to do the led pattern then flickes alot and doesn't finish this.

Are there any tips on how to get these quadrants that seem to work besides the sensor setting them off or know how to fix the other quad that doesn't seem to be doing the sequence right?

Since you have got one quadrant working, things are basically okay on your board, and what remains are-- in all likelyhood-- just a small handful of bad solder joints.

For quadrants 1 and 4, that the LEDs are all dimly lit means that all of the LEDs are good and soldered well, and also that the chip is on and working correctly. However, you do have a bad solder joint somewhere that is either before or after the sensor, which is preventing you from detecting motion. Carefully, look at the board in these quadrants-- try to see if you can identify any bad joints, and touch those up.

As for quadrant 3, the problem is also almost certainly a solder joint issue. If you are a little more specific about the exact problem, I might be able to give a more specific pointer. Is it 5 or is it 6 LEDs that aren't working, and which ones, and in which way aren't they working?

Thanks for the tip windell

I have got all the leds dimly lit thanks to the manual one of the leds wasnt making a connection which made all 5 not respond.

quadrant 1 doesn't seem to work if i turn the board on it flashes and dims doing the normal sequence same as quadrant 2 which works.

when i move my hand over the ir led nothing happens and i have checked the ir led is working and i checked the black ir receiver and that was in the correct oritation and a led does light up if i touch a led to the back of the board where the black ir reciever is.

quadrant 2 works fine quadrant 3 does the flashing and dimming sequence when first turned on but then still has the problem of when i move my hand over that quadrant that flashes the sequence once but then stops and if i hold my hand above the ir receiver it flashes the sequence once then rapidly flashes.

quadrant 4 seems to just be dimly lit and doesn't respond to the hand or the seqence when it first starts up it just starts up as dim and stays dim

i have checked the solder points and they seem to be touching properly so im not sure whats wrong any idea's?

quadrant 1 doesn't seem to work if i turn the board on it flashes and dims doing the normal sequence same as quadrant 2 which works.

Since it runs through the normal sequence, that means that parts R106-R108 are connected properly, and that C101 and C102 are okay as well.

Check carefully R103-R105 -- both the values of the components and the connections. Also check pins 5, 6, and 7 of chip U101 (the numbering is counterclockwise starting at the half-moon end. See this page for DIP chip numbering: http://www.amiga-stuff.com/hardware/pinnumbering.html )

>a led does light up if i touch a led to the back of the board where the black ir reciever is.

This suggests that R101 and R102 are okay as well.

quadrant 3 does the flashing and dimming sequence when first turned on but then still has the problem of when i move my hand over that quadrant that flashes the sequence once but then stops and if i hold my hand above the ir receiver it flashes the sequence once then rapidly flashes.

I'm not exactly sure what's going on here. If the frequency of oscillation-- once you take your hand away-- is actually different as you seem to be describing, then there's a problem with a component value. Check the values and solder connections of R305 and R306, and make sure that C301 and C302 are soldered correctly. (It is possible that C301 or C302 were damaged in assembly, which can cause something like that, but don't go replacing them until you're *sure* that it isn't something else!)

quadrant 4 seems to just be dimly lit and doesn't respond to the hand or the seqence when it first starts up it just starts up as dim and stays dim

No start-up sequence at all? Possibility 1: (less likely): There is a bad solder joint on BOTH R409 and R410. Possibility 2 (more likely): you have a short circuit (accidental connection) between two pins of U401 (pins 5-6 or 9-10). Possibility 3 (also likely): bad solder joint at R404, R405, R406, or on the pins of the chip numbered 5-10.

Most of these issues sound like ones that are caused by poor solder joints-- a solder joint that does not look shiny and wet is not a good one. See the figure 3 on this page: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/soldering-101.html

I finally got it to work i just resoldered everything and it started to work

Thanks windell 1 down 7 to go lol

I did recheck all resistors and ir sensors and all seemed to be fine and even the soldering seemed to be fine i resoldered everything and made the solder abit more prettier which seemed to help

I do feel sorry for you that you sell the kit and then get so many people asking for help when its really the users fault.

I'll try to make an instructables for making this kit and apply the problem solving you have given me and post the link to you

Hopefully that will help you cut down on people's questions on why the board isn't working

Dare he dream?

Quote by: ninja13

I finally got it to work i just resoldered everything and it started to work

Thanks windell 1 down 7 to go lol

You'll find that the next ones will go much more quickly, now that you know what to look for when soldering. Don't sweat the questions; that's what we're here for.

Thats the thing tho my solder joints look the same as they did before that's why i resoldered everything they were all wet and shiny i won't say im the best at soldering but im decent enough.

now to think up ideas for you guys to make muahahahhahah