[Skimmertalk] Weird malfunction - solved

[Pete Smith N4ZR]

Turned out to be a perfectly simple piece of pilot error - I had 
forgotten that my QS1R now requires a GPSDO external clock, which I 
hadn't set up.  Argh!

73, Pete N4ZR
Download the new N1MM Logger+ at
<http://N1MM.hamdocs.com>. Check
out the Reverse Beacon Network at
<http://reversebeacon.net>, now
spotting RTTY activity worldwide.
For spots, please use your favorite
"retail" DX cluster.

On 8/13/2016 9:23 PM, Bob Wilson, N6TV wrote:
> Pete,
>
> Sorry to hear this.  I assume that you've tried to power cycle the QS1R,
> then start Skimmer Server, in that order.  If you don't see the "FPGA
> loading" message, or it repeats, it probably means a component in the QS1R
> has failed.
>
> See
> http://dayton.contesting.com/pipermail/skimmertalk/2014-December/001323.html
> .
>
> But you're seeing a different symptom it seems.
>
> In my case, it was the 1.2V voltage regulator, an LD1117 (rated for 800 ma)
> that failed.  This is common if you add no extra cooling or heatsink and
> use the recommended "Universal" 5V 2A power supply required for running
> Skimmer Server.
>
> You can measure the input and output of this component with a voltmeter to
> see if that's the component that failed.  See the pin diagram (labeled
> "DPAK"):
>
> http://www.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/pdf/22690/STMICROE
> LECTRONICS/LD1117A.html
>
> At my request (16 months ago), N8VB replaced the failed voltage regulator
> with a LD1117A (rated for 1000 ma), and also glued a big copper tube to
> that component, which acts as a large heat sink.  No other components were
> affected.  My QS1R has been running fine ever since, but since I'm using no
> fans or additional cooling, heat will eventually take it's toll and it will
> probably fail again some day.  The box still becomes quite warm, so I'm
> careful to leave plenty of space around it, nothing stacked on top.
>
> As you may know, others like DL9GTB have gone through extensive
> modifications to the QS1R to add additional heat sinks and cooling fans.
> See
>
> http://torsten-ernst.de/modules.php?name=Gallery&file=categories&cat_id=47&page=1
>
> 73,
> Bob, N6TV
>
> On Sat, Aug 13, 2016 at 2:15 PM, Pete Smith N4ZR <n4zr at contesting.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Yesterday, I was testing my QS1R, which has run like a train for years but
>> not been used since May, at a new QTH.  It seemed to run fine at first, but
>> the next time I restarted it.  Now Skimmer Server seems to start normally
>> and then cycles every few seconds between SDR receiver OK and a repeating
>> error - "SDR FailureUSB_control_msg failed".  I can't get it back to normal.
>>
>> Device Manager says the QS1R driver under libUSB is working properly, but
>> the event viewer for libUSB shows "Warning    8/13/2016 4:58:59 PM
>> DeviceSetupManager    123    None"
>>
>> Any ideas?
>>
>> --
>>
>> 73, Pete N4ZR
>> Download the new N1MM Logger+ at
>> <http://N1MM.hamdocs.com>. Check
>> out the Reverse Beacon Network at
>> <http://reversebeacon.net>, now
>> spotting RTTY activity worldwide.
>> For spots, please use your favorite
>> "retail" DX cluster.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
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