multimeter
Picked up a NexXteck multimeter and check the power supply at the soldered pins on the back of the board what else should I check and the best way to. The power supply was good. Its a 15 range digital reader.
Fantastic
You got a nice featured multimeter. Good acqusition.
I would just like to add this linky for reference:
https://www.robotshop.com/letsmakerobots/node/75
Frits did a nice breakdown of what all those pins and pads are used for on the 28X1 project board. You might find it useful.
First get out your bot and multimeter and turn the meter knob to the continuity test mode (looks like a little sound wave/radio icon). Plug in your motors and servo but not the battery yet. Touch the end of one of the probes to the leg on the 28X1 for output 0/pin 21 (the bit exposed part of the leg between the chip itself and the top of the socket). Touch the other probe tip to the exposed piece of the metal crimp for the servo signal wire in the servo connector:
If there are no breaks between the chip leg and the servo connector then the buzzer should sound on the multimeter. If you get silence then something is wrong. Touch the probe down the line: chip leg to socket leg to solder pads, connector crimp to header pin to solder pad. At some point the buzzer will go off and you will know where your offending connection is. Repeat this process for the motors but start at the legs for the outputs on the L293D chip and the solder tabs on the motors.
You can use Frits' tutorial and check all the V+ and ground connections that you're using as well. Usually manufactured boards are free from flaws but occasionally one will slip through QC and end up in your hands.
Let us know what you find.
**continuity test **
My meter does not have a continuity knob.
meter
my multimeter measures AC Dc voltage up to 500 volts DC current up to 200mA and resistance up to 2m
Continuity
is a fancy way of saying low resistance connection between pins. Put your meter on ohms/resistance and measure the resistance between the pins you think should or should not be connected. Low resistance 0.0xxx ohms means a direct connection. No reading means no connection, ie no continuity.
I took a guess that you got
I took a guess that you got this multimeter. All the ones I have continuity is tested under the same setting as the diode checker. Birdmun is right though, the same thing can be checked through resistance. The buzzer is a nice audible feature that leaves your eyes free to focus on probe connections.
ohm
i have 5 settings
200 2k 20k 200k 2m
new
ya its new picked it up from rado shack (the source) today
**yes **
its that exactly
Hmm, well it’s got a diode
Hmm, well it’s got a diode tester but maybe it’s not buzzer equipped. Just test your connections as birdmun described.
**setting **
does the setting matter?
I appologize for all the questions!
No, setting shouldn’t
No, setting shouldn’t matter. As birdmun describes, if you have even an ohm of resistance you have a problem somewhere.
ignore this
too many ideas, lets get somewhere first.
ristence
ok so I am not getting any reading on the pins that should be connected
I have tried both a an b motor pins and also the servo pins and also the ir pins not sure what that means
If by no readings you mean
If by no readings you mean the display on you meter doesn’t change then you have bad connections somewhere. That or your technique with the meter is not quite right. I say that since the IR sensor is returning a signal but you say you get nothing from the meter. Perhaps a view of a multimeter and/or soldering tutorial video on youtube can help you get the most out of both.
start
Just to be clear once a progam has been accepted there is no other start sequence needed and the Picaxe cable does not have to be removed. If it says download complete, then it was successful?
The program will begin
The program will begin executing immediately after the download is complete; nothing needs to be done or disconnected.
I’m bummed to see you seem to still be having problems. How are things progressing?