F4 Differential Receiver v1.01

[wilkija]

I have three v1.01 diff receivers that are no longer working.  Is there anything that can be done to troubleshoot or fix them?  Is the IC on these programmable?  I have a picKit, so if the chips just need a reflash I could do that but I don't see any downloads available.

[breese]

What do you mean no longer working?
Did they all fail at the same time?
Is correct power going to them?

[JonD]

I have never seen any firmware for the smart receivers.  I believe there are hardware changes for each version, and the different version numbers has nothing to do with software.  The 1.01 does have a flaw... see below.

NOTE: Differential Receiver Boards manufactured prior to October
2019 (v1.00, v1.01) had an incorrect resistor installed which does not
properly terminate the chain, and results in problems such as
flickering in some cases. Boards purchased before that date will
have a special termination board sent to all those who ordered these
receivers. This board will plug into the Data Input/Output Port which
is not being used on the last receiver in the chain. The position of
the Termination switches does not matter for these versions of the
Smart Receiver. Boards labelled v1.02 or later will not need the
special termination board. To make you own termination cable rather
than using the special terminator board, go to the following link: DIY
Terminator Link (link is no longer working)

[wilkija]

What do you mean no longer working?
Did they all fail at the same time?
Is correct power going to them?

Not working as in no output to the attached pixels.  Two failed in a storm/after I unplugged during the storm and plugged back in last night.  One failed a couple years ago and has just been in a box in the garage.  I'm just trying to get some spares available.

 Correct voltage and pixels work.  I put F48 in test mode and no response from two receivers.  All four fuses are good.  I have multiple working smart receivers and my two older v1.01 failed after a storm the night before last.  I found two spares and swapped them out and the new ones work fine with no other changes.   So...I am figuring something happened to these two boards during the storm.

[wilkija]

I have never seen any firmware for the smart receivers.  I believe there are hardware changes for each version, and the different version numbers has nothing to do with software.  The 1.01 does have a flaw... see below.

NOTE: Differential Receiver Boards manufactured prior to October
2019 (v1.00, v1.01) had an incorrect resistor installed which does not
properly terminate the chain, and results in problems such as
flickering in some cases. Boards purchased before that date will
have a special termination board sent to all those who ordered these
receivers. This board will plug into the Data Input/Output Port which
is not being used on the last receiver in the chain. The position of
the Termination switches does not matter for these versions of the
Smart Receiver. Boards labelled v1.02 or later will not need the
special termination board. To make you own termination cable rather
than using the special terminator board, go to the following link: DIY
Terminator Link (link is no longer working)

You're right there is no firmware.  I went back through some emails where I talked with David and he said there is no programming that it's just a simple circuit.  I may look at ordering some of the IC chips, if it makes sense to order small quantities to try and fix these.

[JonD]

Two failed in a storm/after

That typically is not a good sign.  Are the capacitor caps swollen?  They would be recycle material at my house. 

[wilkija]

Two failed in a storm/after

That typically is not a good sign.  Are the capacitor caps swollen?  They would be recycle material at my house.

No.  There is no visible damage to the boards.  I went ahead and ordered the ICs from Mouser for a few dollars, so if that fixes it great, if not..eh it was cheap.  I'll purchase new ones wen they're back in stock.  I was just wanting some spares in case others fail.

I'm assuming these boards were prone to failure from surges as I have 4 newer ones on this F48 and they're all fine.  The only two that failed are the v1.01 versions.

[JonD]

https://pixelcontroller.com/store/products/72-4-string-differential-receiver-v200-board.html

The new 2.01 blue version should be backwards compatible.  I have a couple dozen of them off my F4v3s and F16v3s and they work just fine.  They appear to be in stock now.

[wilkija]

Oh thanks...they weren't in stock last night.

Edit - I see these are the new ones.  I guess I was looking at the older version that was out of stock last night.  Thanks

[Sawdust]

May want to look at your rj45 pins.  I had one with a jammed pin.  Pushed with a little screwdriver and now works fine