so,
I've been working with Arduino since June of this year - not a long time and I would have to say, although I have a strong background in IT, my education in electronic/microprocessor engineering is close to nil.
My experience in Programming has also been lacking in the field of I/O, so all in all, you could say I'm starting from scratch, here.
That being said, I've always been interested in Robotics and it has been my desire for the past year or so, to build an Inverted Pendulum Robot. (one that balances on 2 wheels, alone).
I've done a lot of research to both educate me in the ways of Arduino programming, and also in using sensors, starting with distance sensors, then using Gyro & Accelerometers. Learned how to use I2C. (still need to probe into Interrupts.)
As I managed to get those things under my belt, I started to get to the practical part of the project and got me a coupla Stepper Motors. I've burned out a few boards in that the Stepper Motors i purchased were pushing the limits of the Driver Boards. (It's all a process, eh?)
But my point is, I'm not perfect. In my quest to get as far as i've gone, my inexperience (and stupidity) has led me to burn out (ruin) a number of boards. not just Motor Drivers, but a few temperature sensors, a GPS board, and yes, more to the point, some Digix boards.
I currently have
3 Digix Boards that I have successfully disabled
(Through my own doing!) over the past 2 weeks. Staying up too late at night trying to get configurations to work has caused some horrific wiring blunders to take shape, and one time an errant jumper touched onto a Digix board and caused some fireworks. (not my best moment).
It's taught me a few recommended steps to follow that I'm sure most of you have already under your belts.
1) Don't work when you're over-tired.
2) Keep the work area clean.
3) Check and RE-CHECK wiring.
4) READ specs carefully and thoroughly before using a device.
5) Pay attention to Loads. Be aware of Voltages, and Currents.
Ok - there's more I'm sure- and I don't mind anyone adding to that list...
but here's the thing...
As I mentioned, above, I have 3 Digix boards currently out of commission. (I've ordered 2 more new ones and they're on their way... I look at it as helping out the Digistump company with sales
)
I'm going to send these 3 boards back today for repairs that I will gladly pay for, but I'm wondering if there were some things i could check for on these boards to see (maybe) if i could find the component that is causing the failure and possibly spare the "Repair Department" @ Digistump some time.
The way i figure it, for the Repair team @ Digistump to diagnose the board and then do the repairs and testing - this has GOT to eat up enough time to make it almost worthwhile to just throw the board away & send out a new one.
I guess I'll find that out when I find out how much they charge for repairs per board.
So, should I just stick to sending back the boards, or is it worth it for me (and Digistump) with the help of you out there, to start troubleshooting (on a superficial basis, meaning the basics.) the boards when I do something to cause them to fail?
OR, should I just leave well enough alone & have the Digistump repair department busy?
Russ from Coral Springs.
