DIY: norns shield

[Hlp]

would like to ask since mit Norns wifi stoped working, if i update by Sd Card (update image into the proper folder)

-are the most recent script/app versions updated aswell?

-i think the update will be done within the norns UI so i dont loose any Data (samples and scripts)

correct?

I am confused bc the Docs point to UART and nothing about a Win Pc.
So i need to find the simplest, best way to update w/o wifi

[thrly]

Despite everything, I couldn’t remove the crystal and ended up melting the circuit area in the attempt. So a fresh start. Before I do anything wrong again , could I just check that this is the correct orientation for pin 1 (highlighted)… so effectively I’d just flip this chip up and over onto the board… (I’m pretty sure this is how I lined them up before, so worried its still backwards)

this time I’m going to pre-solder all the pads, then just try and melt the crystal in one corner at a time rather than apply solder to the corners direct…

EDIT: to clarify, I did try and check the datasheet on mouser, but couldn’t confirm that bevelled pad was pin 1, just the chip’s dimensions.

[GARL]

Just received my norns shield yesterday after a few months of wait, very excited. I put everything together, the screen doesn’t respond at all. Tried the troubleshooting tip of going over every solder points and it didnt help, tried to focus on the worst solder points (my soldering skills are not very good) still getting nothing on screen… What kind of advanced troubleshooting should i try ? Anybody here has a similar issue ?

Thanks for your time

[tehn]

what does the pi LED activity light look like?

also double check the main header, not just the screen headers

[bemerritt]

A picture can really help as well

[GARL]

The pi power led is red and constant, when i plug the usb c in there is a flash of green led activity that lights up. I forgot to mention i’m using a RPI 4 model B.

I checked the main header too and tried my best at getting the solder joints clean. But all in all my soldering skills are so low i was afraid a picture wouldn’t help a lot. I’ll take pictures

[dborowik]

Pi4 might be the issue, if you have a pi3 or 3b handy try that

[GARL]

Yeah i just remembered this is a pi4, probably my bad

[dan_derks]

was just typing the same. apologies if this wasn’t clear previously, we recently updated it in a few places on the docs.

[GARL]

Anyways thank you for your quick answers and the kind help, i’ll order a pi3 right now and find a cool way to use the pi4. Sorry i made you guys look into a useless report haha.

[tomw]

Looks like I spoke too soon. Everything is working with my shield except I get no audio in. I’ve been over the schematic and used the beep mode on my multimeter to test everything that seems related but can’t find any bad connections or shorts.

Any suggestions?

The fact that I don’t get input on either channel maybe indicates that it isn’t in the path from the socket to the DAC unless I managed to make a mistake on both channels.

[tehn]

does audio out work?

[tomw]

Yes audio out is fine, screen, encoders and buttons all work, just no audio in. Only Out is showing anything on the levels page and nothing from scripts such as tuner. Have tried connecting a phone, iPad, novation circuit headphone and line out but nothing from any of them.

[tehn]

on the mixer screen is your input level turned up? do you see anything on the meter?

in terms of the circuit, if the output works that means your soldering is gofod, but something might be messed up with the SMD (very uncommon, but possible due to handling during assembly or during manufacture). look closely at the components from the in jack backwards to the codec, check for broken passives or cracks. attach a photo and we can look

[tomw]

Yep, everything’s on max on the mixer but only output shows any movement. Input shows a 1 pixel high level whether anything is plugged in or not.

I’ve reflowed pretty much everything between the jack and DAC but no joy. Here are some pictures. Thanks for your help.

[needto]

The crystal listed in the BOM is out of stock at Digikey, should there be any drawback to using the version with 100ppm frequency stability (instead of the specified 50ppm)? Seems like it’s the only difference, according to the datasheet.

[anonymous_query]

Hello! I’m new to this forum, in fact this is my first time ever posting on a forum of any kind. I apologize in advance if I make some noob faux pas or if I’m posting in the wrong place…

This past week I built my new Norns Shield Kit (flashed with the 200106 disc image). All went well with the assembly and I spent a few nights playing with the default apps while waiting for my USB nub to arrive. Tonight I received the nub in the mail and immediately connected to my network and downloaded the latest update (200604). After the update finished it asked me to press any button to shutdown. I pressed K1 and it just returned me to the Awake screen. So, not really knowing what to do I selected sleep, put it to sleep then unplugged power. Now when I reconnect power the red LED turns on (near the USB/Power port) and then the green light flashes twice and nothing further happens. Prior to this it would just turn on by itself about 3 seconds after plugging in the power. I tried holding K1 for 3 seconds like it says in the Play doc, but still no response.

So, in my state of major noob ignorance I’m wondering if someone can help. I’m wondering if I should I re-flash the SD card and try the update again, or if there’s just something I did wrong/am missing…?

Thank you in advance! I’m really excited about Norns. Those first few days were magical!

[okyeron]

Dumb question - why did you get a USB wifi nub? The raspberryPI 3B and 3B+ (recommended) have wifi built in.

For your update issue - it sounds like the update did not properly finish something.

I’d suggest re-flashing the SD card then trying the update again.

[anonymous_query]

Thank you so much for your response and advice to re-flash and try again. That’s what I was thinking but I’m so new to this stuff I had the classic fear response of making things worse.

Re using the USB wifi nub – I am using a Raspberry P3 B+, and thought it had built in wifi, but when I tried to connect to wifi it wouldn’t scan or show any networks. Without knowing how to troubleshoot the Raspberry Pi side of the wifi, I decided to try a nub since they’re pretty cheap. With the nub it saw my network right away, so I’m not sure what I did wrong with the initial setup. I will try to connect without the nub again once I re-flash and get going…

[anonymous_query]

OK, so I re-flashed and that got it going again. This time the wifi worked fine without the nub, so I probably did something wrong the first time. Anyhow, I ran the update again and everything seems to have worked!

Thanks again!