Jimcat33 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 I just burned through two pixcon's. The u9 chip started smoking and now one whole bank (1-8) doesn't have any control. We can still control one bank (9-16) using the pixel editor just fine. Then we thought maybe it was a bad chip and had a second pixcon laying around so we tried plugging that one in and burned up the U9 chip on that one too. It started smoking so we unplugged it. Our power supply is a 33amp 12volt. We have one for each bank. What do we do?!! We need the lights working by sat!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 If the same power supply burned up two different boards then you obviously have an issue with that power supply. There are a few things you should always check before you apply power to any board: 1) Always check the 110-220v switch and insure it is on the correct setting 2) Always check the output voltage with a multimeter, sometimes they come cranked up and you will have to adjust them before powering the board. I have had some as high as 14.3v fresh out of the box. 3) Always double check your wiring, pos, neg and grnd. These things should always be checked before powering the boards. If these all check out and you still smoke a board then it was just a bad power supply to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Just curious. If all checks out good for the power supply with what you listed, how is the power supply bad? If all checks good then I would lean to something else causing the problem. Just my thoughts in the troubleshooting world of electronics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Some power supplies go bonkers once under load such as the inability to regulate the voltage causing spikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santas Helper Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 That's a good reason. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOR Staff Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 You also need to check the loads/pixels on ALL 8 of those ports to make sure you don't have any shorts/etc. Are you power injecting? If so, ARE YOU SURE you did it correctly? We probably have the chips, or we can probably find where you can order those chips from, but getting them to you by Saturday is going to be very difficult. Please open a help desk ticket (if you have not already). Be prepared for a large shipping charge to have them overnighted or worse - overnight saturday delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimcat33 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Thanks for your responses. Using a volt meter, it looks like we have a short. There was voltage coming back down the data line. Anyways, since I have two pixcons, can I 'rob' one of the chips off one of the pixcons and resolder it on the other? Are all of those chips (u8, u9, u10, etc) the same? Or if I could buy one of those chips in my town, can I just solder it on? Does it need any programming? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOR Staff Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 We can send you spares. Please check your ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimcat33 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 great thanks. i opened a helpdesk ticket last night before coming onto the forum, but i never received an email confirmation. should i open another help desk ticket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimcat33 Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 DevMike- I got the spare chips and they work great. Thank you again for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts