New HAH up & running but problems with getting the LCD working
15 April, 2012 - 22:37
Having problems with my new HAH ! I have managed to buy a livebox of ebay and get up and running loading my current cost output onto pachube & over to pvouput, next step was to purchase the PCB kit but managed to pick up a second hand box with PCB already assembled last week which I now have working as per my original box but I cant get the LCD to work. The PCB has been built very neatly (probably better than my soldering would have been !), all I get on the LCD is 8 solid block's and adjusting the trim pot has no effect. The display on the virtual LCD is fine and I have also carefully checked the LCD wiring for correct orientation and have checked the continuity with a DVM all seem fine ! Have also checked power on the PCB to the LCD connector, pin 2 having 5v & 5v to the trim pot.
Can anyone give me any tips on what to try next ?
I havnt checked any other functionality on the board, thought I should start with the LCD first !
Dave
15 April, 2012 - 22:55
#2
Perhaps check that AVR has
Perhaps check that AVR has been correctly flashed and that the AVR has been seated corrected aka plugged in the right way around. Does the HAH web GUI say you have build 306/1.0 or 306/3.4 ? If you are seeing anything greater than 1.0 then you know the AVR is flashed as its reporting to the HAH its version. [3.4 is the latest]. If however you seeing 1.0, and you have a 328 chip, then it maybe that you have a bad AVR flash or a solder bridge somewhere prevent it from starting up.
Brett
16 April, 2012 - 22:49
#4
Alrighty an up and running
Alrighty an up and running AVR is a step in the right direction. So next question is this a 328 AVR or an M8 AVR ?
The M8 has 1.0 firmware and can't be upgraded to v3.4 as the chip isn't big enough. If you do have a 328 chip then its unlikely you are running 1.0 as it was never shipped on that chip and its simply a hardware detection error. If you determine you have a 328 you can get command access straight into the chip and find out what version it really is. There are ways to hardcode the version in xap-livebox.ini to force it to talk to it at a certain revision if necessary.
There are some hints on how to do this on the wiki http://www.dbzoo.com/livebox/hah_microcontroller
ALSO the v3.4 firmware will report this on the LCD as it boots up, do look for it.
Brett
Things like the relays, a DS18B20 and the input lines on the PCB. These are generally more useful than the LCD itself.
Also, check what version of firmware is on the AVR chip on your PCB. You should aim to get to V3.4
Answered in haste, getting late here.
Derek.