Replies to This Discussion

ModeratorPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on April 19, 2010 at 8:34pm

I hate to ask, but are you powering the board? If you don't power the board (6-16v on the barrel connector) it, well, won't have power!

• ▶ Reply

ModeratorPermalink Reply by Thomas J Coyle III on April 20, 2010 at 4:22am

Chris,

The ArduStation can be powered by the FTDI cable for programming purposes as long as the Xbee module is not attached. I believe that Cooper has not programmed the Arduino with the ArduStation software yet so he will not see anything on the display.

Just a thought.

Regards,
TCIII

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Cooper on April 21, 2010 at 7:06am

yes.. chris. it does have power because the FDTI cable is connected and the red light on the ArduStation is lit. but the LCD seems like its getting no power since it doest illuminate at all. plus i have an extra red switch(as shown in the photo). should there be an on switch, or does it just light up as soon as it gets power?
tom, r u saying that i need to program the Arduino with the ArduStation software before testing to see if the ArduStation LCD gets any power? ok, i will load the code to the arduino board now.

thanx guys.

• ▶ Reply

ModeratorPermalink Reply by Thomas J Coyle III on April 21, 2010 at 9:02am

Cooper,

Once you get the ArduStation programmed, there should be two pots on the board that control brightness and contras. Adjust them as desired to get a readable display.

Regards,
TCIII

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Leonardo Lisboa on April 21, 2010 at 12:31pm

Exactly what Thomas said... run the programming steps and see if no errors happens (don't forget to install the drivers in your Windows).
Then reset your board and see if something appears on the display. If not, adjust the two yellow pots (brightness and contrast).
Ensure to have the modem plugged in to test the board. If the modem is not plugged, it enters in a loop trying to startup the serial comm and wont display nothing.
If you'd like to test without the modem, comment the line Serial.begin(38400); //Serial in the Ardustation_V12.pde and upload the code to your board.

cheers,
Leonardo

• ▶ Reply