Quite difficult to see the solder points. If, as you state the USB plug is the one with issues, you will need to inspect the solder points to 1) ensure there is proper contact 2) ensure the solder is not touching any other points on the board. Also, try to inspect the area around hte board to see if anything was accidentally heated / melted (for example, we see the barrel connector is partly melted). If the board does not power up via USB (don’t keep it plugged in for more than a second), then try the battery pack.
Too much solder would not affect it unless it overlapped another component. However, too much solder may also indicate there may be no connection at all. Hopefully you did not solder the component with the unit powered or with the batteries plugged in? We would need a better image to determine where the problem is.
You will need to do some continuity tests using a multimeter (see this page on which connections are what on the USB port). You would check them against the corresponding pins on the FTDI chip (5V, GND, Tx, Rx). If there is continuity, proceed to the next one until you find where the bug is.
Not a problem. You set the multimeter to “buzz” and put one point at the GND of the USB plug, and the other on the GND pin ofthe FTDI chip or the GND of the arduino. If you hear a “beep” then it’s good. No been means the two points are not connected.
“Buzz” is not found on the PCB - you need a multimeter - it’s called a “continuity test” and often the symbol consists of three small to large arcs. When you touch the two leads, you should hear a beep or buzz.
Interesting question. You will note that AA batteries have different specifications (capacity, voltage, efficiency). We use rechargeable Energizer batteries and the 1000mAH LiPo pack for most testing. Normal use is about 1 hour (stop and go) so full speed would be about 20-30 minutes using 2400mAH batteries.
That means there is continuity with that circuit - so that is not the issue. You may need to test a few areas to see if there is a broken circuit somewhere (for example, put one end on the GND pin and the other inside the USB connector (you may need to search online to see which pin on the micro USB port is GND… I cannot recall immediately). the nuts would also be M4. If you can’t find the nut, then just replace both the nut and the screw.
Please contact us via the RobotShop Support Center (Exchanges / Returns department) and provide your invoice number and a link to this thread. We’ll take care of you. Next time, be sure to NOT modify or repair a product if something goes wrong and contact RobotShop first.
Welcome to the RobotShop Forum. Yes, plugging in the USB cable should provide power to the microcontroller; this will allow you to use the board like a normal Arduino Duemilanove and upload sketches and use basic functionality. However, the USB cannot be used to power the motors.
When you plug in a battery pack, the board is not powered unless you set the On/Off switch to On, which provides power to both the microcontroller and motors.
To test if the board is working, disconnect everything (no motors connected, no battery etc - just the bare PCB) and plug in the USB cable from the board to your computer. At minimum, the power LED should light up, and assuming you have the LED_SEL jumper in place, all 6 blue LEDs around the board should also light up. You should be able to then use the Arduino software normally.
If you do this and you don’t see any LEDs light up (with nothing else connected), try another USB port and another (thicker) USB cable to make sure it’s not the computer or the cable causing the issue. If you still don’t see any LEDs light up, we can consider the board to be DOA and arrange for an exchange.
If you plug in a USB cable, the microcontroller should be powered, but not the motors. The Lithium jumper does not affect this at all. If you plug in a USB cable and the PWR LED does not light up, then you have a defective board and we ask that you contact us via the Support Center to see about an exchange. If you have the LED_SEL jumper in place, all six blue LEDs around the board should also light up. The motors will only work if you have a battery pack connected to the white mini JST connected (3.7V LiPo, 4xAA rechargeable or alkaline) and the switch is set to ON.
1 - Is the On/Off switch set to On? This is towards the center of the board
2 - Double check to see that the batteries are charged and that you get 4.8V to 6V from the white JST connector on the board.*
3 - Do you see any components missing or burnt?
4 - Did you assemble the motor kit in configuration C? If not, then the other two configurations are too tight.
Note that often the reason for power outages on the board comes from the AA battery pack - rotate the AA batteries within the pack to ensure contact.
We await your reply and apologize for any inconvenience,
It depends on the situation. When you received the RMA, did it indicate you would receive a return label? We suggest you reply via the Support Center: exchanges / returns department.
The only LED controllable via code is the LED associated with pin 13. None of the other LEDs on the board* can be controlled via code. The LEDs next to this one are for power, Tx and Rx and show when the controllers is sending / receiving data. There are four LEDs around the motor controller which only show the status of the motor controller.
Note that there is an LED jumper located at the right rear of the board which you can plug into your choice of digital pins to control all 6 cool blue LEDs; one end will be connected to a digital pin and the other to GND.
The onboard voltage regulator provides 5V to the microcontroller; whatever voltage you feed to the JST connector goes straight to the motors. The 6 x blue LEDs are purely aesthetic - if you don’t want an RMA, you can might remove the LED jumper to turn them all off, or break off the other LED to make it symmetric. Nothing else on the board will be affected.
I recently purchased and assembled the DFRobotShop Rover Basic Kit and am now starting to program it. Unfortunately I have no programming background, though I was told this was a good project for a beginner. I’m therefore wondering if there’s anywhere I can find more information, like step by step instructions for programming and getting started.
