Hot Propeller

leemhenderson

I'm using the Parallax Propeller Quickstart board. I created a simple circuit to prototype a design and supplied an external 3.3v. Then had a Prop pin connected to capture the result. The Prop immediately quit responding. So I disconnected everything and reconnected just the Prop to the computer. I can run my program but I'm noticing the Prop chip getting too hot to touch. If I recall correctly this chip normally generates very little heat. Is that correct?

Lee

Publison

leemhenderson wrote: »

I'm using the Parallax Propeller Quickstart board. I created a simple circuit to prototype a design and supplied an external 3.3v. Then had a Prop pin connected to capture the result. The Prop immediately quit responding. So I disconnected everything and reconnected just the Prop to the computer. I can run my program but I'm noticing the Prop chip getting too hot to touch. If I recall correctly this chip normally generates very little heat. Is that correct?

Lee

Welcome to the forums.

Were you trying to interface with a 5 volt device?

A simple schematic would be helpful to check the problem.

A picture of your setup would also be helpful.

leemhenderson

At this point it's just the stock Quickstart board. Each time I connect it, the chip heats up quickly. I haven't found any physical damage to the components under a microscope. So I'm working under the assumption it's internal. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't forgetting that this chip normally gets hot.

Lee

Lawson

Nope, the Propeller is only supposed to get hot if you do stunts with the counters and make every pin toggle at 300MHz.

Have you doubled checked the voltage of the 3.3v supply for the propeller on the Quickstart? You might have damaged the regulator. Another thing to watch out for is an external supply in your device feeding back to the propeller's supply. Linear regulators generally do nothing if there output voltage is above the set point.

Marty

Publison

leemhenderson wrote: »

At this point it's just the stock Quickstart board. Each time I connect it, the chip heats up quickly. I haven't found any physical damage to the components under a microscope. So I'm working under the assumption it's internal. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't forgetting that this chip normally gets hot.

Lee

That's not normal. The Prop chip should not even be warm to the touch under normal operation.

Time to call Parallax Tech Support. 888-512-1024

leemhenderson

Thanks folks. Just wanted to be sure. It was likely a simple matter of a crossed voltage wire on the breadboard that I didn't notice. Just too many jumpers too close to one another.