#345

that’s unusual. have you inspected the board for anything suspicious around the caps/resistors for the input stage? cracks or bad solders?

#346

I inspected the board and found two resistors that look like didn’t get soldered on one half, reflowed those and think i might have noticed a slight change, but hard to tell. Still with my OP-1 at 98 vol master L/R, 99 for the channel, with 25 gain going through my mixer with +6db and the Norns @ full volume output with a slight db gain on the reverb just about gets the volume right for my ears… Didn’t notice any other soldering issues on the board, maybe having those resistors not soldered could have damaged the DAC? Eh, maybe i’ll pick up another one and compare.

1 Like
#347

Hi Guys,

first post, so better introduced myself.

I’m Alex, from London. Long-time synth DIY builder and Eurorack modular obsessive.

Never used any Monome products before, but just bought myself a Norns shield PCB, and looking forward to entering the Monome universe!

To cut to the chase, does anyone have a source for the Norns display (in any colour). All the usual suspects seem to be out of stock, with the same 18-week lead-time.

I’m in the UK, but prepared to pay international shipping if necessary.

Cheers guys,

a|x

3 Likes
#350

It’s working!

IMG_1225
IMG_12253024×4032 1.94 MB

Quick thought about my issue with the soldering process: turned out I had the wrong type of iron and it didn’t really flow at all. It took me a couple of researches and tutorial on the web to acknowledge it, but after realizing it I went to buy the right one and it really took me about 40 mins to desolder everything a doing it again properly :slight_smile:

edit: Apologize: I’ve been using the term “iron” wrong, here I’m actually talking about the thread, not the torch, my bad (I wasn’t thinking about technical terms, italian language misled my english). The steel thread wasn’t the right one for this kind of components, I had to get one with flux. I used an iron with fixed-temperature (I found it fitting my experience and needs the best) with the slimmest model of tip (don’t really know if there’s a specific term to define it, it is meant to be used for this kind of components). Leaving this here just in case someone encounters the same difficulties.

IMG_1224
IMG_12243024×4032 2.85 MB
IMG_1223
IMG_12233024×4032 2.6 MB

@dianus @tehn @infovore I want to thank you once again for your precious advices, they really led me to a proper understanding of the PTH soldering methods and tools. :slight_smile:

edit: @infovore in the end I got a proper Raspberry Pi power supply and it works like a charm!

14 Likes
#351

@Ste_v looking good!

If you’re planning on doing more soldering work in the future, I’d recommend investing in a temperature-controlled soldering station, rather than a standalone iron.

I’ve also found that some irons come with quite a chunky tip as standard, and a finer one can help a lot, especially with surface-mount components.

Even with through-hole parts, some commonly-used component footprints specify very small pads around holes. These parts are easier to solder with a fine iron tip and smaller-gauge solder.

3 Likes
#352

You can order it directly from Newhaven
https://www.newhavendisplay.com/nhd2712864wdw3-p-9547.html

I’ve no idea about the shipping costs

#353

I have to apologize, I’ve been wrongly referring to the torch by using “iron” but I was actually talking about the steel thread, my bad. I’m gonna edit my post and put the note down there. That was actually the issue flawing my process: the thread I used previously wasn’t really flowing down the proper way.

I actually have both fixed and adjustable-temperature soldering stations, I used the smallest and slimmest tip throughout the build. Although, I encountered a bit more difficulties with the latter (I couldn’t really find the right temperature to keep the process clean and agile) so I switched to the fixed one in order to keep the proper amount of heat (I bought it in an electronics store, after consulting with the owner who reccomended it for this kind of works). It did work as expected, but I understand the advantages of using a variable one for different kinds of components and plan to practice more with it. Thank you for your suggestion anyway :slight_smile:

1 Like
#354

Mouser and DigiKey are both supposed to have new stock of the displays in February.

DigiKey:
White display (NHD-2.7-12864WDW3) due 16th Feb.
Yellow (NHD-2.7-12864WDY3) due in October!

Mouser:
White estimated dispatch 17th Feb.
Yellow no restock estimate

#355

No worries - glad you got there in the end. The joints in the final image look good.

1 Like
#356

everyone please remember to check https://octopart.com for sources. it’s a stock aggregator.

6 Likes
#357

I have settled on 354°C and it works a treat!

1 Like
#358

just got the knobs/buttons/etc soldered together and it works like a charm! super amazed by how straight forward the kit is. thanks for all the hard work getting this together brian!

2 Likes
#359

does anyone know what the power draw of the kit? i’m curious if it’d be safe to plug in to my intellijel usb power 1u :thinking:

#360

RasPi wants 2.5amps.

Intellijel thing is 1A

this jack provides 1A of power from an Intellijel power supply to an attached USB device.

Probably inadequate.

2 Likes
#361

yep, you’d be blowing past the cases psu limit anyway. Ah well, wall warts work fine

#362

Mouser will refund me the molex display AND I can keep it.
So I’m wondering if there’s a workaround to make it compatible with the shield before purchasing a new one.
Any clue?

1 Like
#363

I’ve submitted you a PR that also fixes it for inputs :wink:

3 Likes
#364

Basically you could cobble together an adapter.

So here’s a thing from adafruit - Adafruit FPC Stick - 20 Pin 0.5mm/1.0mm Pitch Adapter: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1325

Then get the appropriate 20-pin cable and a 20-pin molex FPC connector (maybe this one)

NOTE - THIS IS COMPLETELY UNTESTED - should work, but havent tried it yet.

1 Like
#365

I will change the knobs of my shield. It seems that I will need to put some force to pull out the ones installed. Maybe there is a secret trick to safely achieve this…

1 Like
#366

stereo swap fix, xtra verbose instructions for mac users:

on norns:
SYSTEM > UPDATE, then power back on

in mac terminal:
ssh we@norns.local
if questioned: yes
sleep
touch ~/reverse.txt

power cycle norns - it’s fixed !

9 Likes