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Expanding on the virtues of socketing MCU

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Also added some troubleshooting items
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Thomas Haukland
2024-09-07 22:05:14 +02:00
parent 9f516c7945
commit f88ff80895
2 changed files with 17 additions and 6 deletions
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5
doc/orderingguide.md
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@@ -75,10 +75,13 @@ These are the items I really recommend in addition:
| Part | Quantity for 1 keyboard | Quantity in sold package | Notes |Price (USD) | Url |
| --------------------|------------------------:|-------------------------:|------|-------:|-----|
| Sockets for MCU | 1| 5| Choose the single row silver plated(cheapest...). These are lower profile, and easier to solder straight, but more expensive: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006248653180.html (9P PH3.5 Female Header). Socketing is a long term choice: you can reuse mcu for another build, or more importantly replace it easily if it breaks. | 2.01 | https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001122376295.html |
| Sockets for MCU | 1| 5| Choose the single row silver plated(cheapest...). These are lower profile, and easier to solder straight, but more expensive(one downside is diode legs do not work, this socket needs more sturdy pins, so use the pins that comes with the rp2040-zero, even though they are more difficult to clip and also get out of the header they are in...): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006248653180.html (9P PH3.5 Female Header). Socketing is a long term choice: you can reuse mcu for another build, or more importantly replace it easily if it breaks. | 2.01 | https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001122376295.html |
| Silicone bumpers| ~20| 100| 5 mm wide and 2 mm high is fine. If you know you will only use the keyboard on a mat or with a case, you might not need this, otherwise you want them. | 1.65 | https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005592713123.html |
| Hotswap sockets | 36| 40| You want the mx one, NOT the low profile | 3.04 | https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006610157756.html |
Its very easy to underestimate the advantage of socketing the MCU. Think of it as an insurance. Desoldering the the pin-headers that come with the mcu is VERY difficult... If something goes wrong, you might need to switch the mcu(if you fry it because of a bridge between gnd and vcc, or if it is defect from the factory...), or if the pcb is damaged, you could re-use the mcu in a new pcb if you manage to remove it... Also, when things are not working, its very easy to tell if the
problem is on the pcb or the mcu, by removing the mcu...
These are some nifty items I really like, but not necessary:
| Part | Quantity for 1 keyboard | Quantity in sold package | Notes |Price (USD) | Url |

18
doc/troubleshooting.md
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@@ -30,10 +30,18 @@ Try different cables, if one is working fine, this is your issue.
## Suddenly my cheapino outputs A LOT of random characters
This will happen with some cheap encoders, they may not de-tent properly, and get stuck in a position which creates problems for the firmware. The solution to this is just to turn the encoder a little, and it should go away...
This will happen with some cheap encoders, they may not de-tent properly, and get stuck in a position which creates problems for the firmware. The solution to this is just to turn the encoder a little, and it should go away... (this should NOT happen on v2...)
## I Ordered a beta of the version 2 and the 2 middle columns on each side are not working
## The keyboard outputs random/none/wrong keys
Make sure you flashed the version matching your PCB. V1 firmware will NOT work on V2, and vica versa.
If in doubt, just download from the release section and flash again.
## The keyboard/mcu is heating up really fast
This can happen if there is a short between gnd and vcc. Check continuity and find the short, and fix it with som solder wick or a pump.
## None of the above helped!
Open up an issue! I just think its fun to troubleshoot, this project is a really nice hobby which I enjoy spending time on!
This is my fault... You need to run a bodge wire between 2 points on each half:
![Missing connection on v2 beta](images/bodge.png)
![Fixed on both sides](images/bodge2.png)