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Smoking Electronics Parts, Procrastination, and a Six Segment Display — Parallax Forums

Smoking Electronics Parts, Procrastination, and a Six Segment Display

Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
edited 2010-07-29 01:20 in General Discussion
I was breadboarding a circuit this morning and managed to turn a seven segment led into a six segment led when I accidentally bypassed a resistor. Which raises two interesting issues/questions.

What do you do with a six segment display?

The other is after smoking a part I become noticeably more reticent to power on and test the repaired circuit. Being careful turns into procrastination and I need to force myself to over come it. Does this happen to anyone else?

Comments

  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2010-07-26 09:57
    If we knew which segment it was we might be able to come up with some suggestions.

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    Leon Heller
    Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
  • Jorge PJorge P Posts: 385
    edited 2010-07-26 14:56
    Just stand back, and keep your face away from the top side of the PCB that may contain capacitors. I learned that one through experiance, and the cap was non polorized!

    If your working with anything above 36 volts that has high amps, wear non conductive gloves or your muscles may cunvulse at 50-60hz depending on your local, lmao.

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    ---
    http://WhatsAvailable.org Software and Gadgets for Windows 7.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2010-07-26 15:01
    Yes, I have projects galore that I've failed to debug. But after several years of looking at them I do gain some insight from such and get back into them. (I am even still attempting to revive my chopstick printer that uses an HP inkjet head.)

    In the case of things like 7-segment displays and uCs, I generally use a socket and verify all the voltages before I insert them.

    And now I am considering committing to using bridge rectifiers on all power inputs so I never have to deal with reverse polarity - at least on things I tend to plug and unplug alot.

    In sum, it does get easier and we do work smarter - for me it has been a slow process as I sometimes take a day off to think about what to do next.

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    Ain't gadetry a wonderful thing?

    aka G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse] 黃鶴 ] in Taiwan
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2010-07-26 23:14
    Leon, top segment, so 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, C, E, and F are all out of the question. I suppose I should keep it as an all purpose indicator LED.


    Loopy Byteloose, using a socket on the breadboard is a good idea. I test continuity all the time and it's a snap to test voltages too.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2010-07-27 03:19
    You could still create some readable values:

    The bottom four for 0
    The bottom three for C
    Bottom two for 7
    etc.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Leon Heller
    Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
  • Desy2820Desy2820 Posts: 138
    edited 2010-07-29 01:20
    You could also use it as a dedicated "one" display, like a clock hour or the leading digit of a voltmeter.· That's where the 1/2 in 3 1/2 digit comes from, a display that only shows "1" when on, and is left off if not needed.
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