GG PP USB vs GG PP

Rsadeika

Well, I have had the GG PP USB for over a week now, and it is dead. Looking at the back of the board, it looks like the trace between the barrel plug and the external battery hook up dodad has been fried. All that I have used as a power source has been 6VDC. No, I am not going to return the board for my money back, I just learned another valuable lesson.

From this point on, I will probably be using the GG PP. When I look at the board it looks like an industrial version. I like the hefty power supply, and the general size of the board. It even looks like you could do some serious stuff with it, without the traces being fried. The only draw-back is that I have to solder the thing together, I would not mind paying a few extra bucks, if it came all soldered together.

I am eagerly waiting for the new rechargeable power solution that Parallax will be coming out with. I think that will be good addition to the GG PP. It should work out quite well for a remote project that I have in mind. With a solar cell, a weather proof case, and the GG PP, this would make a good start for a remote weather station, just to name one possible project.

Ray

max72

This is rather strange, and I'm sorry for you both.
I have the USB board and it works very well.
In my opinion it is also a sturdy board with well (over)dimensioned components, and while it suffered some abuses it still works.
I'm not sure, but before frying a trace you need a lot of amps.

Massimo

PS: Unrelated to the topic... if you use solar panel remember to put a protection diode in series with the panel

WBA Consulting

Ray, That is very odd as the traces are designed to handle the power levels specified for the board. How did you have the board wired up when it died? Was the bottom surface near metal? Were you using a rechargeable battery pack that was capable of a significant amount of current? Can you post pictures of the board? (I have done a lot of "fried" board forensics through experiences at work)