(Fixed it!!) My failed attempt at building an EggFinder

OK, so I attempted a build of an EggFinder. Instructions are pretty clear, but my skills might be way off.

TX powers on fine, turns on and off fine, syncs with the RX and blinks in time fine.....but never gets a GPS lock. I've looked at every joint like 20 times under a 10x loupe, and everything looks fine.

Where should I look to begin trouble shooting, as everything fromm the manual checks out? What say you?

Did you take it outside, in a completely open area, and leave it running for at least 15 minutes?

WillMarchant said:

Did you take it outside, in a completely open area, and leave it running for at least 15 minutes?

Click to expand...

Yes, stood outside for over an hour. No joy.

Can you post some photos? Front & back. Maybe there's a bridged solder joint somewhere?

Pictures. Not my best day ever.

On another note, I downloaded all the 'correct' drivers for the USB RX (blue cable) as well, and it connects to my computer, but the GPS data I get in the monitor window of Visual GPS is gibberish symbols. Any ideas?

This is what I get ™[øÿ¤$›Y‘d XX™¸Ø ^XŒ1]]ü™_™ÿX¥4X!˜

Is the joint on the upper right of the GPS unit in pic 6 a good joint?

Also did you use flux? Instructions note not to and if that is flux, it would probably be good to clean it off.

Are you sure the RX is working right? If you have anyone near you/at your club with an Eggfinder (even on a different frequency), you can have them use their RX to see if they can find your TX, that way you can narrow down the issue to which unit.

Finally, I find that sometimes I'll have to start the TX way in advance near a window, then after a few to 10 minutes, start the RX. If it doesn't lock, I'll shut off RX and back on again. YMMV

Best luck to you!

A friend of mine, who's hands are MUCH steadier than mine, helped me out with some of it, so not sure if he used any flux or not. I'll have to ask.

I touched all the joints on the GPS unit with some heat again, and I've got it now to the point where I have a GPS fix.

BUT, the GPS data coming through the link into VisualGPS is as posted above, total gibberish. Nothing on the signal strength meters, nothing. Just stuff like ™[øÿ¤$›Y‘d XX™¸Ø ^XŒ1]]ü™_™ÿX¥4X!˜

The two 2.2K resistors are mounted incorrectly, they should be "up and down" instead of "sideways". Check the silkscreening on the board. Those control the data output format from the GPS, so that's gonna be it (unless you also have a solder joint bad on the module too).

cerving said:

The two 2.2K resistors are mounted incorrectly, they should be "up and down" instead of "sideways". Check the silkscreening on the board. Those control the data output format from the GPS, so that's gonna be it (unless you also have a solder joint bad on the module too).

Click to expand...

Fixed it. Thanks.

Cris is the man! His support extends to the forums and he seems to regularly respond to issues. Big fan! :clap::clap::clap: