.red_overlord - Good evening everyone. First of...
Good evening everyone. First of all let me say I am a big fan of the discord server. You guys are rockstars. With that being said, I'm reaching out because I've been having an issue with my tidbit build. The first time I tried building it, after flashing my Bit-C PRO (RP2040) it would only register 9 and * (no backlights). Then after many reflashes it started registering 9, * and 7 (no backlights) Okay, no problem, I prolly damaged the PCB and the BIT-C Pro, (because I'm a noob) so I decided to buy a new tidbit kit and 2 Bit C Pros. That way when I solder, I only do whats necessary and less margin for error. Got the RP2040s first in the mail and was able to replicate the errors of my first Bit-C Pro with a brand new chip. I then got the new PCB kit and went to town, carefully soldering only what was necessary, so no backlights and no jack. I went to flash the second newest chip and... nothing... okay, maybe I fried the second chip when I tested it on the first tidbit build. So I opened the brand new chip, flashed it with nullbitsco_snap_rp2040_via.uf2, and even though my mac didn't recognize ANY of the keys being pressed, at least the via website was able to show me I had a tidbit present.
I tried all the tidbit firmwares, to include: the default one, oled and via and anything that said tidbit. I tested the numpad on both linux and mac (arm m2, my main). I seriously dont know what could be. I attached some pictures for ya'll. Thanks in advanced.
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Unknown User•2y ago
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this is the old pcb. I soldered the second newest MCU I had to it for testing. The behaviour of the all the BIT-C PROs is that when they are in bootloader mode, they would pop up on my mac and get mounted. I am able to drag-and-drop the firmware into it, then the LED will flash and turn off. Thats it, after it turns off it wont turn back on until I disconnect it and reconnect it. The LED will flash once and turn off. I replicated this with all 3 MCUs I own. The way I test is by taking tweezers and simulating a button press by jumping both circle things in each button cluster. Ive also tried physically mounting a switch to each hole and pressing the switch. No joy. I did do some advance troubleshooting with my multimeter to see where and if there was a break somewhere in the PCB, and tested each diode for resistance. they all give me ~60 ohms more or less.
Unknown User•2y ago
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they are.
Unknown User•2y ago
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got it. I'll go one by one and make sure they are fine. Quick question. When using VIA, how do I save the configuration to the tidbit? I see I'm able to download a json file, but what do I do with it?
Unknown User•2y ago
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I have flux. So VIA is just for backup. Got it,
Unknown User•2y ago
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Now I know lol wow, no wonder my copper wick wouldnt absorb the solder sometimes. My plan is to go one by one and reflow, hopefully today I get some results.
Thank you for your help @ahren_with_an_h
Unknown User•2y ago
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Do you have any tricks for keeping the switches in place when soldering them? I'd like to keep them as straight as possible.
Unknown User•2y ago
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Thanks again, I'll report back.
Good morning, I was able to fix the build. I loaded the VIA firmware and saved the default config to the tidbit. After power cycling the board, the keys started to respond 🥳
I want to say reflowing seemed to have made the trick.
Unknown User•2y ago
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