I just measure the voltage at that pin and got 4.9 volts. Just to make sure you did attach to the second pin from the right on the top row? Do your problems go away if you disconnect the knob board? If so I should look for a different attachment point. Let me know any info you find out.

>I just measure the voltage at that pin and got 4.9 volts.

No doubt about which pin, thanks.

Mmm.. okay. So maybe the low voltage is the problem. I think I saw a note somewhere once that suggested the display board is fed 12V, and uses an onboard regulator or transistor to generate it's own +5V and +60V supplies. Ring any bells anyone?

No I just installed the resistor... thats it, didn't even get to the button LED's (it was a totally stupid mistake, basically rather then get the kit from Brian I ordered my own parts and got the wrong size LED) I had the right resistor so I just left it on the board and thought I'd wait til my parts came in, plugged in empeg and bam problems, I then took it apart and removed the resistor array, put back together and got the same thing. I think something is funky on the board.

I thought my problems might have been from turning it on with no LED's installed, with the resistor in place. But apparently thats not the case. I think we've fried a component on board

I'm wondering whether static damage could be a cause for these problems. Dry winter air isn't the electronic techs' friend.

Okay, replaced the fuse, and it works just fine.

Hugo said that pretty much the only cause for a blown fuse there is a misaligned connector. So, I must have plugged it in wrong.

Tip for the wise: remove the hard drive & cable completely before testing this, so as to get unobstructed visibility of the connector before reattaching the cable.

Now.. to look at adding dimming capability to Hijack for these.

Cheers

In reply to:

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Ok, um, that is bad. What are the odds that two of the first three people to try and install this (besides Brian himself of course) would make the exact same mistake and blow the same thing?

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Make that 2/4. I did this and it works perfect. No problems.

Just so everyone knows here and doesn't get too scared about this...

The problems MLord and Lopan had were just because they plugged the display back in wrong. The connector was off by one pin. They didn't do any permanent damage. They merely needed to correct the position of the plugged-in connector and then replace a blown SMT resistor.

So, everybody, be real careful when plugging the display back in!

And Mark, to your comment about how tiny the parts were: I was not kidding when I said "flea with anorexia", huh?

Yup, that was my prob, I left the HD connected and couldn't tell that I was off by a pin. The connector itself is a little confusing because there is an extra connector spot on both sides of the connector, so if it's flush on one side, it's not on right. Live and learn....

Just so everyone knows here and doesn't get too scared about this...

Weren't you the one who first *got* everyone scared about this?

I wasn't trying to scare anyone, I was trying to tell everyone to be realistic about whether or not they could do it. I thought I was pretty darn good with a soldering iron, but that resistor pack tested the limits of my skill. That's all I'm saying.

> Weren't you the one who first *got* everyone scared about this?

There is a difference between too scared and just the right amount of scared.

This was certainly the former for me, I'm extremely glad it got solved.

I gotcha. I wasn't criticizing your approach, in fact, I think scaring people away from doing this is a *good thing* since it's clear it's not a Radio Shack 100-in-1 electronics kit project. I just thought it was funny to see a big bold disclaimer on how difficult it was and then see you say "before anyone gets too scared." Kinda like putting up a big sign saying "Shark infested area, swim at your own risk" and then saying "come on in, the water's fine!"

I think the net result is that most people will be scared away from doing it, and that's a good net result.

well just confused.. maybe brain shodl put all the soilder parts on a picture next to a quarter to give people and idea of how small they are? brain?

I would say that the resistor is a little smaller than an uncooked piece of white rice.... no kidding.

Would that be long-grain or short-grain rice?

a picture next to a quarter to give people and idea of how small they are?

The quarter would be so large you wouldn't recognize it as a quarter. Besides, what about people in other countries?

Better would be the tip of a number two pencil, I think.

That 8-contact resistor pack is about the size of the "ok" under the Menu button of the Rio Remote. I'll post a picture of it shortly.

-ml

Okay, now that I've completed my crash course in button hacking, I am now offering my services and experience with it to anyone who wants to mail me a display and parts.

Fee: C$50 for Canadians, US$50 for others, includes one-way return postage. All you need to send me is the displayboard and button kit; I'll test it with (and risk) my own player. Or you can send your entire unit if you like (or visit me if you live nearby).

If Bruno wants his done, I'll do it for free if he meets me for a beer in Toronto some weekend when I'm down that way.

Cheers

That includes the knob LED's as well, Mark?

I think you have a customer... Just gotta order the stuff from Brian.

Do the button and knob LED's automatically turn off when the unit's in standby?

Yes, that price is for both buttons and knob. I don't think anybody would want only the buttons.. or would they?

The latest Hijack kernel (v227) has full dimmer support for the buttons. By default, they stay on (very dim) when the player is in standby (yellow led flashing), but that can be adjusted from full-off to very-bright in config.ini. There's also a menu item for adjusting the "on" brightness.

I have posted pictures of the (unassembled) kit on my webserver, just to supplement Brian's photos. http://rtr.ca/buttonhack

Cheers

Holy cow that resistor pack is miniscule! That's 8 contacts that need to be soldered?!?!?! Whew. Way over my head. The soldering I've done for my MAME cabinet is nothing

I think I might do this, but I might want to wait for Brian to figure out how to get better light dispersion on the buttons. He said he was going to work on that... I'd like a more uniform glow from the whole buttons if it's possible.

Also, since my lens is "smoked" it'd be nice to have either light green-ish or even clear buttons... But if red and blue are all that's available I guess I'd go with blue... Red and green would be nice for Christmas, though..

Brian, if you're reading, any progress on changing the button compound?

Heh, yeah, and the photo is of a single-shot resistor with (relatively) huge contacts, one on either end. Those were the EASY ones.

Mark, how about a closeup photo (on the remote) of the 8-pad resistor pack, too?

(Edit: Never mind, already there, it was the photo IN the package I hadn't looked at yet.)

There is one, right next to a single one.

I would also prefer buttons that come close to the green from the smoked lens. But either way I'm sure I'll be sending mlord my riocar and the button kit!

Assuming the attachment works:

OK, to show what the job is like, I took a picture of a few different sizes of
resistor from my parts box. The sizes are, from left to right, 1206, 0805, 0603, and
0402. Note that the 8-pin resistor pack for the buttons is physically the same size
as a 1206 component, but with four terminals down each long edge the size of
the 0603 component.

The screw on the left, by the way, is one of the M2.5x6 screws that hold an
empeg drive tray in place. This should give an idea of size.

As you can see at the top of the image, I'm using 0402 components in most of my
designs at the moment. The part of PCB you can see is a small PSU board, fairly
low density really. It's about 10x30mm, double sized construction. To hand-solder
0402 parts you need a really fine-tipped soldering iron, tweezers, and good
eyesight. It helps to have a lot of practical experience. (during the
development of the empeg, I think I clocked up about 40K-50K solder joints. Most
worked.)

I had a look to see if I had any of the resistor packs in the parts box, but I don't
seem to stock anything that big at the moment.

pca

Speaking of photos, I've added one more to my buttonhack page, showing the completed unit, in the home-office docking bay.

I took a little time today to drop some 5-minute epoxy into the new knob, lined the mounting projection on my player with thin plastic wrap (so I could separate them again after the epoxy hardened), and then stuffed the two together, face down on the table, for 20 minutes.

The result, the knob now fits my Mk2a player perfectly, without the little rubber washer thingie that threw it slightly off-center.

(for those who didn't know/notice, the knobs Tony and I got were molded from a Mk2 template, rather than a Mk2a. The mounts are slightly different on the two models).

Cheers

-ml

mark, what "colour" lens is that on your empeg in the picture?

That would be the stock amber lens. The title on the picture's page says "The completed hack (blue buttons, amber screen)."

Hey does anyone who's familiar with the Empeg smoke fascia think it would look lame to have red buttons and a blue knob? Kind of a R-G-B motif... I can't mentally picture it so I'll probably draw it up in Corel Draw before I buy the buttons. Hmm... Green-ish buttons would be ideal though. I hope Brian considers doing a Mk2a knob template as well.

That soldering is *insane*. I have serious respect for you guys who did it. I have the manual dexterity to do it, but definitely the soldering expertise or the equipment. My soldering gun is a garbage $12.95 Radio Shack job.

Yeah, the screen is amber, but my camera tends to show it as more white than it really looks -- due to the incandescant white balance I used to get the other colours mostly correct.

Cheers