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Did I toast my KFlop??

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2022 3:05 pm
by Koep
Hi Tom!

After years of trouble free service I started getting Autodisconnect readfail errors.
First time 2 months ago. I changed the USB cable and issue went away.

2 days ago the error came back.

Testing with new cable did not correct the issue.

Kflop leds kept blinking and readfail kept on popping up.
Win dev manager showed Kmotion controller popping up and away.

I disconnected the usb cable, removed the external 5VDC power, connected J3 jumper for usb power
and tried again to no avail, KFlop still blinking trying to connect but no success.

I disconnected the usb cable, reconnected the external 5VDC power and forgot to remove J3 jumper for usb power.

Now I do not get any signs of life on the KFlop :oops:

So Please Tom the verdict: Did I toast it?

If so then is there any guesses as to which components to replace?

The PC USB port seems to be in order, if functioning mouse and keyboard can be seen as indicators.


Rgds,

Tapio

Re: Did I toast my KFlop??

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:06 pm
by TomKerekes
Hi Tapio,

Sorry to hear that.

I would have tried a Flash Recovery. But if no LEDs blink with everything disconnected except +5V then the board is damaged. Did you check the supply voltage?

Leaving in J3 with external power wouldn't normally cause damage. Its just that two power supplies are connected in parallel. If one wants to regulate to 4.9V and the other to 5.1V then they might fight each other.

If the LEDs don't flash then the board isn't booting and most anything could be wrong. We don't find it cost effective to try to repair boards.

Re: Did I toast my KFlop??

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2022 8:48 pm
by Koep
Hi Tom,

The external power reads 5.05vdc measuring from disconnected connector.

No it definitely is not cost effective to trouble shoot and repair.

I have a spare board just for these cases since I use them in business.

I will install a new board and the old goes to my tinker/lesson learned pile.

I will need to order a new spare in coming weeks.

I hope you have them in stock

Rgds,

Tapio

PS: I have not been active on the forum for a while and only recently learned about the Chip.exe by Rick Caddell.
I found that very interesting but was there any wider interest?

Re: Did I toast my KFlop??

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2022 9:50 pm
by TomKerekes
Hi Tapio,
I hope you have them in stock
We do.
PS: I have not been active on the forum for a while and only recently learned about the Chip.exe by Rick Caddell.
I found that very interesting but was there any wider interest?
I'm not aware of anyone using it. I think it is fairly customized for Rick's specific machine and workflow. Hopefully pieces of it are useful examples for Users.

Re: Did I toast my KFlop??

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2022 7:32 pm
by Koep
Hi Tom, It's me, the boy that cried wolf :oops: :oops: :oops:

It turned out that my KFlop is OK and my years of trouble free service had been riding on pure dumb luck.

After swapping in the spare KFlop I got no boot on the spare either.

I have the back plate that carries Kanalog mounted on drawer slides so that I can pull it out for better access and doing so the
KFlop suddenly booted up. Digging deeper revealed that the KFlop power supply ground wire was stuck so deep into screw connector that
the wire insulation was under the screw.

Worst thing in this is that I can not be 100% sure I have made that connection myself, which means that I may have paid some "pro" for the job :evil:

Rgds,
Tapio

Re: Did I toast my KFlop??

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2022 8:54 pm
by TomKerekes
Hi Tapio,

Thanks for taking the time to post back.

Consider using Ferrules as they can greatly increase robustness.

ferrule.jpg
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