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The smell of Stupidity — Parallax Forums

The smell of Stupidity

doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,245
edited 2011-12-05 13:00 in General Discussion
We've all done it.

I do it more than most, I suspect.

Poof. The magic smoke is gone and you can't put it back. (I've tried!) :innocent:

So in less than 24 hours my new Spinneret Web Server goes in the dead bin. :(


Dang it!

What happened was this: I was using a regulated 3.3v supply at J1, pin 1 and every thing was fine. But when I got to the part in the tutorial about the SD card and installed it. I noticed power indicator LED on the Spinneret was twinkling ever so slightly and the Propeller Tool wasn't finding the Prop on the port consistently. After a couple of hours of troubleshooting I realized I had a brown out situation on my power supply (homemade). That's when I decided I should just use my new Li-ion Power Pack/Charger. Guess who forgot to switch form J1, pin1 to pin12. Yep. Stinks doesn't it.

Paul

Comments

  • $WMc%$WMc% Posts: 1,884
    edited 2011-12-04 10:14
    That does stink...!!!
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2011-12-04 10:18
    ah! there is no missing that odor.. Ouch..

    OBC
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2011-12-04 10:20
    Sorry to hear that.

    We've all been there, particularly if you are rushed or fatigued. I have a laptop with a 20 volt power supply that ends in a 2.1 mm jacket and looks exactly like the jack for my 5 volt adapter. Well one day I got the jacks confused and smoked some parts in an instant. The laptop was unimpressed by 5 volts and was fine. After that I labeled the ends of the cords.
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2011-12-04 10:50
    Best thing to do is hang up a few fried components airfreshner-style in strategic places all around the lab, workshop, house, or wherever potential complaints might be issued. That way the place always smells like that, so nobody (boss, wife, colleagues) asks questions when you smoke your project.

    I hear Parallax just released the perfect platform for aforesaid air freshner, just in time for the holidays:

    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?136341-Parallax-Christmas-Ornament-2011
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-12-04 14:02
    Yes, we've all done it, and I share your pain. That was not a cheap little chip.

    I certainly have done it, but I am pretty sure that I have done it less often than most by following an electronics version of the carpenters rule “measure twice, cut once”.

    I started this back when I was assembling my first S100 system and it has worked well for me over the years. Of course the fact that each board cost about as much as my weekly pay at the time was a great incentive to be very careful. The general procedures I use are attached for anyone that is interested.
  • TorTor Posts: 2,010
    edited 2011-12-05 00:35
    Martin_H wrote: »
    After that I labeled the ends of the cords.
    That.. is good advice. So easy to do, so why didn't I do it years ago? Will now commence.

    Thanks!
    -Tor
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2011-12-05 09:47
    Oh, if only I had only ever fried a Spinneret.

    Back around 1996 I was part of a team installing a custom built console at a state highway scale. We were using four programmable indicators, devices so new the ink was still wet on the documentation, one as a master and three as slave displays in order to meet the spec for display digit height in the state bid. These puppies were about $2,000 each (regulatory compliance in my industry is expensive). The three slaves worked off a serial bus driven by the master. There was also an input from the physical button console, which we weren't replacing, to tell our system to turn off the outside scoreboard display.

    Since we were in a hurry I used the same kind of wire for the scoreboard control as for the serial bus. You see this coming, right? Working in haste, I wired the scoreboard control on the serial bus.

    When we powered it up everything worked great. Then they asked me to turn on the scoreboard, not realizing I had turned the scoreboard button into a PUSH TO DESTROY ELECTRONICS button. We were fortunate to be able to scrape together four more instruments to rob for parts to finish the job; we had to get one in from another branch by courier.

    Oddly enough, even though it was obvious what had happened, the manufacturer insisted on replacing the fried main boards under warranty.

    Needless to stay, I still get ribbed about it to this day.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2011-12-05 10:52
    IMHO, stupidity smells more like burning hair.

    Don't ask how I know.
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2011-12-05 11:49
    erco wrote: »
    IMHO, stupidity smells more like burning hair.

    Don't ask how I know.

    LOL. Hopefully arm hair and not eyebrows.
  • MicrocontrolledMicrocontrolled Posts: 2,461
    edited 2011-12-05 13:00
    @Martin_H: Judging by stories I often read here on the forum, he may be referring to cat hair. :)

    (and to all you cynics, yes, I know cats have FUR and not HAIR)
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