Fried my Eggfinder transmitter.
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DavidMcCann
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Finally got some batteries for it. Got a little to anxious and hooked up the battery backwards. :eyepop:Needless to say, Ill have to get another one. I didnt even get to use it. Live and learn lol.
Are you sure you fried it?
Talk to Cris - there may only be a couple of components that need to be replaced.
Note these comments from the instructions:
"Solder the leads of your battery connector to the two pads marked BATT. Because of the
bridge rectifier between the battery and the regulator, the polarity doesnt matter. You cannot
connect the battery backwards; it will work exactly the same either way."
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i did the same with a Quark. Cris sent me a few components he thought were faulty but it was toast!
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It'll run 3 times longer.....
I use oversize mah batts too..
Good for many flights...
Teddy
Ok, this thread is to figure out what I did, what I am doing. At this point, Im lost and really dont care. I bought a Turnigy battery charger to charge the Turnigy 7.4v battery. I also bought a battery tester to check voltage on my new battery. Plug it in to my new eggfinder and same thing, got so hot I couldnt hold it and smelled like fried computer ****. At this point, Im laughing it off I guess. It seems so simple. Pooooof, done. Im sad, Im laughing, F it.
Edit. Even matched the polarity on the battery terms.
Edit. Even matched the polarity on the battery terms.
Ah, you've hooking up to the balance charging plug instead of the output leads. The three wire connector is ONLY used when charging with a balancing battery charger to get both cells fully charged. The other one is used for actually powering devices.
Cl(VII)
Chris Bender
Are you using the three male pin programming part on the TX to power it through the 3 pin female balance plug on the battery? That would definitely be a problem.
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scsager
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I fried My first Egg- kit. I also learned a lot from the experience. Just a couple of notes here -
1) Those egg instructions are some of the best written instructions around. For the best result, you should always read the instructions once or twice first. Don't begin building until you have a solid grasp of what you are doing.
2) Work slowly, and inspect your work closely (with a 10x magnifier) to be sure it's right, before you go to the next step. Patience is required.
3) When you power it up, and you see smoke, or it gets hot, or it does not work. It can almost always be fixed !.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Search YouTube for Soldering Skill videos. Practice soldering kits can be purchased on Ebay. If you don't know what your soldering skills are, do some practice soldering first.
- Chris usually offers an "oops" discount - if you want to purchase a second kit.
- Almost EVERY COMPONENT on the board can be replaced at very little cost. Purchase replacement parts from Mouser.com.
I fried my first Eggfinder, and got a second one from Chris. I was more careful with the second one, and it works perfectly. ** Then I bought all the replacement parts (including the GPS chip) from Mouser and re-built the "fried" Eggfinder, Now I have two working TX units. The only thing I didn't replace was the radio (rf) board.
1) Those egg instructions are some of the best written instructions around. For the best result, you should always read the instructions once or twice first. Don't begin building until you have a solid grasp of what you are doing.
2) Work slowly, and inspect your work closely (with a 10x magnifier) to be sure it's right, before you go to the next step. Patience is required.
3) When you power it up, and you see smoke, or it gets hot, or it does not work. It can almost always be fixed !.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Search YouTube for Soldering Skill videos. Practice soldering kits can be purchased on Ebay. If you don't know what your soldering skills are, do some practice soldering first.
- Chris usually offers an "oops" discount - if you want to purchase a second kit.
- Almost EVERY COMPONENT on the board can be replaced at very little cost. Purchase replacement parts from Mouser.com.
I fried my first Eggfinder, and got a second one from Chris. I was more careful with the second one, and it works perfectly. ** Then I bought all the replacement parts (including the GPS chip) from Mouser and re-built the "fried" Eggfinder, Now I have two working TX units. The only thing I didn't replace was the radio (rf) board.
I had it assmebled for me. EXCELLENT WORK.
I feel so stupid. I had a drone with a little camera that used..........Damnit!!!! It used the 2 pos and neg for the battery. I feel like an idiot. Im 41, got all the proper tools recommended by the forum, battery, charger, tester, have a fresh unit built and fry it again. I can install a supercharger on my Corvette, I cant hook up a gps battery for a rocket, wtf!!!!!!!!!
PokerJones
Well-Known Member
If all else fails
https://www.eggtimerrocketry.com/attachments/File/Eggfinder_Users_Guide_RevB6.pdf
:clap:
https://www.eggtimerrocketry.com/attachments/File/Eggfinder_Users_Guide_RevB6.pdf
:clap:
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The 3-pin header is NOT for connecting a battery, it's for programming the frequency. The power input goes directly to the circuitry, it's designed for a 3.3V regulated input like you'd get from the matching connector on the Eggfinder LCD receiver (which you use for programming it). If you connect a 2S LiPo battery to it, you will instantly and irreversibly damage both the GPS and the RF modules. The battery inputs are polarity-protected so you can't mess those up.
Oh my gosh, someone connected a battery up to the header? Ooooops. Weeeeeelllll, toss it in the junk drawer in case one needs a component or two off the
dorked board.
Stuff happens when assembling kits. It's worse when it's a $400.00 or more amplifier or such. I had a Ham radio amplifier the size of a brick that
would put out close to 100 watts on the 80 meter band with 5 watts in and about 60 watts on 10 meters. I had to feed it with a 36V 10 amp power supply
and it would not tolerate a mis-matched antenna. The two IRF510 power transistors would eventually give up the ghost as the automatic antenna tuner wasn't
fast enough to make the match. Yes, I did the tune-up with 5 watts with the amp bypassed but when the full power output was asked of it, the tuner would
have to "tweak" the match and that stressed the IRF510's. Fortunately, they were 79 cents each and I could replace them and setup the amp again in about
an hour. After 3 years something else on the board went and that was it.
Was fun getting so much power out of a little brick but invested in a 12V amp with proper foldback circuits so's to protect itself from mis-match.
Bottom line is the pricier the kit the more it hurts if one can't get it going. The EF kits are reasonable and doesn't hurt as bad if something adverse happens.
I've messed up my share . Some I salvaged, some I wrote off. Kurt
dorked board.
Stuff happens when assembling kits. It's worse when it's a $400.00 or more amplifier or such. I had a Ham radio amplifier the size of a brick that
would put out close to 100 watts on the 80 meter band with 5 watts in and about 60 watts on 10 meters. I had to feed it with a 36V 10 amp power supply
and it would not tolerate a mis-matched antenna. The two IRF510 power transistors would eventually give up the ghost as the automatic antenna tuner wasn't
fast enough to make the match. Yes, I did the tune-up with 5 watts with the amp bypassed but when the full power output was asked of it, the tuner would
have to "tweak" the match and that stressed the IRF510's. Fortunately, they were 79 cents each and I could replace them and setup the amp again in about
an hour. After 3 years something else on the board went and that was it.
Was fun getting so much power out of a little brick but invested in a 12V amp with proper foldback circuits so's to protect itself from mis-match.
Bottom line is the pricier the kit the more it hurts if one can't get it going. The EF kits are reasonable and doesn't hurt as bad if something adverse happens.
I've messed up my share . Some I salvaged, some I wrote off. Kurt
Eric
Well-Known Member
I toasted mine last night as well. Accidentally touched the header mount pad with 7.4 volts. Paying my OOPS invoice now.....
Yep, once the Magic Smoke escapes, it's all over.
Eric
Well-Known Member
Mine didn't smoke, get hot or smell like electronics burning. Power touched the wrong spot for one second, while I was looking for the LED flash. but no light. Leasing learned.
Yeah, I once connected up a 9-volt battery backwards to one of those cheap 3 transistor FM transmitters. A 25 uf capacitor blew off in my face. It actually exploded like a large firecracker. The weird thing there was I just replaced the capacitor and the thing worked again! Kurt
Ok. I had Connor assemble it so Ill admit I didnt really read the instructions. Just saw the 3 prong connector and figured thats where the battery goes. Does the battery pigtail get soldered to the 2 holes under that 3 pin connector?
If the battery pigtail does get soldered there, it looks like on the bottom side of those 2 holes there is already something soldered near the + hole. Is it ok to have the battery pigtail sharing that hole?
If the battery pigtail does get soldered there, it looks like on the bottom side of those 2 holes there is already something soldered near the + hole. Is it ok to have the battery pigtail sharing that hole?
Eric
Well-Known Member
yes. you solder to those two holes. And the + hole does connect to that diode. the hole was plugged while the diode was soldered to keep it clean.
I did an "Eggfinder mini build" post a few days ago. the pictures in post #2 shows that connection well.
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?142081-Eggfinder-Mini-build
I did an "Eggfinder mini build" post a few days ago. the pictures in post #2 shows that connection well.
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?142081-Eggfinder-Mini-build
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