August 24, 2009 (0.5 hours):
Met as a team to discuss preliminary project proposal.
August 26, 2009 (1 hour):
Met as a team after class to discuss preliminary project proposal.
WEEK 01 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Submitted preliminary project proposal.
Weekly Work Total: 1.5 hours
Project Work Total: 1.5 hours
August 30, 2009 (4.5 hours):
Met as a team to create rough draft of block diagram and install Ubuntu on everyone's computer.
We also overviewed embedded Linux and the basic operational capabilities of our microprocessor.
September 1, 2009 (2 hours):
Met as a team to formulate PSSC for presentation in class on September 2, as well as design the
basic group website.
September 2, 2009 (1 hour):
Met as a team to research packaging and hardware layout, as well as source motorized faders.
September 3, 2009 (0.5 hours):
Met as a team to complete and compile the final project proposal.
WEEK 02 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: PSSC completed, website activated, and final project proposal submitted.
Weekly Work Total: 8 hours
Project Work Total: 9.5 hours
September 7, 2009 (2.5 hours):
Met as a team to discuss design constraint analysis and the processor layout of the mixer. Began ordering
parts for development.
September 9, 2009 (3 hours):
Met
as a team to begin prototyping work. We determined the logic necessary
to make the motorized faders operate, as well as how they mechanically
work. We also set up our lab station and installed DSP software to
begin development of the DSP portion of the project.
WEEK 03 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Devolopment parts ordered.
Weekly Work Total: 5.5 hours
Project Work Total: 15 hours
September 13 (6 hours):
Met as a team to begin formulating design constraint analysis. I finished installing and registering
VisualDSP++. Attempted to learn the program, and was subjected to licensing errors. Sent email to tech support about the issue. Continued to read
documentation on the SHARC ADSP-21262 and VisualDSP++, however I have had no success in gaining any type of basic understanding of how to run the
software, or how to code the processor.
September 14, 2009 (3 hours):
Met as a team to compare and contrast different microprocessors for the design constraint
analysis. I received notice today from Analog Devices tech support about the licensing issue. They told me how to fix it, and it works fine now.
I continued to read information on the SHARC processor, but still lack any understanding of how it is coded and its language.
September 15, 2009 (4 hours):
Met as a team to finish design constraint analysis. We also discussed daily tasks and landmarks
for the next 2 weeks.
WEEK 04 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Completed design constraint analysis, and began working on SHARC.
Weekly Work Total: 13 hours
Project Work Total: 28 hours
September 20 (6.5 hours):
Began working on packaging design. First, I started by drawing a rough sketch by hand on a
piece of paper. Then, I familiarized myself with Google Sketch Up, which I in turn used to create a scale 3D model of the packaging. I got the
basic box shape, faders, push buttons, display, and LED master level indicator completed.
September 21, 2009 (4 hours):
Completed CAD model of mixer console by adding RPG, LED bar graph, gain control knob, XLR jacks,
1/4" jacks, power supply jack, and power switch. Sourced and ordered RPGs, LED bar graphs, and H-bridges.
September 22, 2009 (6.5 hours):
Completed "Packaging Specifications and Design" homework, including a full length description of
our packaging, and a detailed comparison against the Soundcraft Si Series and the Korg Zero8. We then met as a group and completed the PCB footprint and
powerpoint presention on packaging to be presented on September 23. Finally, I began analysis of the power demands of the entire system in preparation
for power supply design.
September 23, 2009 (2 hours):
Met as a group to discuss PCB footprint. Sourced push button switches with integrated LEDs by Omron.
Contacted Omron about samples and was referred to a company in Indianapolis. It was after business hours, but I will follow up tomorrow. Also sourced XLR
and 1/4" jacks for inputs and outputs. They are a bit pricey, and I am in the process of finding dead mixer boards to get the XLR and 1/4" jacks of off.
September 25, 2009 (4 hours):
Discussed power supply options with Chuck and determined it would be best to use 3 different power supplies.
We will use a center-tap transformer for the +/- 12V power for the pre-amps, a serparate 9V switched power supply for the faders, and a third 5V linearly
regulated supply for powering the micros and all the peripherals. I used a schematic shown to me by Chuck to build a full wave rectified, +/- 12V power
supply capable of driving all of the pre-amps with room to spare. I hooked up one of hte pre-amps to the power supply, and it worked just fine.
WEEK 05 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Completed CAD model of packaging and "Packaging Specifications and Design" homework. Performed power consumption
analysis, and began design of power supplies. Breadboarded +/- 12V power supply.
Weekly Work Total: 23 hours
Project Work Total: 51 hours
September 28 (2.5 hours):
Began designing the 5V linearly regulated power supply with little success. I attempted multiple designs
with different constraints, but could not find anything that would provide the amount of power needed without getting too hot. I was also not sure how much
of a temperature increase was acceptable and/or able to dissipate with heat sinks.
September 29, 2009 (8.5 hours):
I discussed my design issues from 9/28 with Chuck and he gave me some advice. He said not to worry
about heat dissipation, as he had plenty of heat sink that we could dissipate heat with. From this, I decided to use a 6.3Vac transformer for the 5V
power supply. The parts store in EE happened to have one that was rated at 3.5A, which is exactly what I needed. From this, I designed the supply and then
breadboarded it. I am currently only using 1A diodes on the rectifier and output, and will need to change these to diodes capable of handling 3.5A in the
final design. We hooked up one of the ATMELs to the 5V power supply and used it to control the position of a fader with no problems at all. I also created
a schematic for each of the +/- 12V and 5V power supplies in PADs.
September 30, 2009 (4.5 hours):
Met as a team and found a correction to our pre-amp design. It was determined that we needed a +/- 15V
power supply instead of a +/- 12V supply. I redesigned this power supply, and corrected the schematic. I researched parts to drop the 5V power rail to
3V and 1.2V. I also determined the best way to run the motorized faders is to use a commercial 12V 10A power supply, and use linear regulators to step down
to 9V.
October 1, 2009 (4.5 hours):
Created footprints for all remaining linear regulators, the 5A rectifier for the 5/3.3/1.2V power supply,
and the 2A diode needed for the 9V power supply. Also created the 9V power supply schematic. Priced a parts order for all power supply parts still needed,
but want to check the parts room first for local, lower cost availability.
I discovered later in the day that the 12V commercial power supply that
we have is adjustable down to 9V. By doing this, it eliminates the need for 9V regulators. Also, since the rectified voltage going into the 5V regulator is
around 9V, I will be using this 9V input as the input for the 5V regulators as well. This will eliminate the need for another transformer and the 5A retifier.
Due to the large size of the commercial 9V power supply, the external transformer for the +/- 15V supply, and the heat sinks used for the linear voltage
regulators, We will have a separate case for the power supply. There will then be an umbilical running from this power supply case to the main console. This
is similar to how many high end commercial mixer boards are packaged.
WEEK 06 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Designed and breadboarded both the +/- 15V and 5V power supplies. Also created the schematic for all power supply
rails that are needed. Determined the need for an external case for the power supply, which will feed the main board through the use of
an umbilical.
Weekly Work Total: 20 hours
Project Work Total: 71 hours
October 4 (6.5 hours):
Changed the schematic for the power supply to match the new changes from October 1. I also incorporated them all
into a single drawing. Within the schematic, I made sure all of the footprints were correct to ease the process of transporting the schematic into a PCB layout. I am
actively trying to determine how to mount the heat sink onto the regulators while at the same time mounting the regulators on a PCB. Determined the requirements for
the power supply for the backlight. It needs 440Vac at 6mA to produce maximum brightness. I found an inverter to do this on Digikey, but we are going to see if one
from a cannibalized laptop will suffice, as a new one is rather pricey. David and I used a case lighting inverter as a temporary power supply to use for learning how
to run the display. I also completed the PADS tutorial on Schematic/Layout Design.
October 5 (6 hours):
I Began migrating the schematic to PADS Layout and PADS Router. I ran across some hiccups with the software and
licensing server issues. When I changed the net names and trace parameters on the schematic, it would not transfer to the PCB layout. Thus, I had to create
an entirely new layout from the schematic file. I ran the autoroute in PADS Router, and it completed 19 traces. I then had to go into layout and connect all of the
other traces manually. As of this point, all connections are completed, but I have not run the error checker.
October 6 (11.5 hours):
When I tried to show Chuck the error I had last night with migrating between programs, it worked flawlessly and almost
instantaneously. I double-checked the footprints that Adam and Susanne modified last night, and found a couple of them to need solder pads moved outward from the
body of the IC. I corrected these and verified them. I also verified the op-amps, the PCB mounted push-buttons, and the Sharc DSP. Finished the "nitty gritty"
connections on the audio board schematic and created one of the two audio PCBs.
October 7 (6.5 hours):
We determined that the individual channel peripheral PCB needed the power traces done manually before running the auto
router. While in the process of doing this and adding some extra noise reduction caps, PADS logic experienced several fatal errors. This caused me to begin all over
again on the PCB layout twice. We also realized that the ATmega32's needed the back grounded. It was determined that autorouter was not going to cut it, and David and
I had to route nearly the entire board by hand. The board is complete now, but there are issues with the verify design feature and clearances between traces. I will
look into this further after fall break.
October 8 (5 hours):
Completed the Channel 1-4 Audio PCB. Began and finished the Channel 5-8 Audio PCB which includes the D/A circuits
and output preamps. Also, added four final traces to the individual channel PCB. The audio PCBs have no notable errors in the design verification, and need only
minor additions such as ground plane, copper trim, and screw holes for standoffs. I have not run the design verification on the power supply PCB.
WEEK 07 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Designed and breadboarded both the +/- 15V and 5V power supplies. Also created the schematic for all power supply
rails that are needed. Determined the need for an external case for the power supply, which will feed the main board through the use of
an umbilical. Created PCB for power supply, Audio Boards, and Individual Channels.
Weekly Work Total: 35.5 hours
Project Work Total: 106.5 hours
October 14 (2.5 hours):
Met as a team to review PCBs that were finalized and turned in for the PCB homework. We also began work on the
Design Review powerpoint.
October 15 (1.5 hours):
Met as a team to go over our Design Review powerpoint. We then split up different parts of it for different people
to update. I updated the packaging, and also explained the power supply needs.
WEEK 08 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Performed design review and got feedback from professors and peers. I am considering using a radio shack proto board
to do the power supply. Chuck said it would be more convenient than having to wait for a PCB to come in. It will also be cheaper.
Weekly Work Total: 4 hours
Project Work Total: 110.5 hours
October 20 (2 hours):
Reviewed PCBs and got them ready for final fab. Worked on fixing errors found with PADs design verification tool
October 21 (6 hours):
Called Analog Devices to verify our set up with A/D, SHARC, and D/A. They told us that they do not to support over the
phone for the DSPs, and if we wanted help we needed to use their web form. I guess we'll just see if it works because we don't have time to wait for an email
response on this matter since we fab in 2 days. Added mounting holes to the PCBs and copper pours. Submitted to FreeDFM. Also discovered we are missing two parts,
so David ordered them and had them overnighted to us for footprint verification.
October 22 (2 hours):
Received FreeDFM feedback with a couple errors. I discussed copper pour errors with Chuck and we is looking into it.
We fixed the power supply board and resubmitted it to FreeDFM. The channel and main boards should be submitted today as well for quick response. Hopefully we can
figure out the copper pour problem and get it submitted for check before the end of the business day.
WEEK 09 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Completed PCBs and submitted them to FreeDFM for final check. Incorporated FreeDFM suggested changes, and resubmitted. The
hope is to submit our final revision of PCB to Chuck to send to FAB at the end of this week.
Weekly Work Total: 10 hours
Project Work Total: 120.5 hours
October 26 (2.5 hours):
Met as a group to delegate software tasks and deadlines for the week. I spent the rest of the time creating
a two dimensional scale drawing of the sheetmetal needed for the packaging.
October 27 (3 hours):
Submitted the sheetmetal drawing to Chuck. He said he would take care of getting it, but would let me know first
how much the front office was going to charge me for it. We also met as a group to put together the software design powerpoint for Wednesday's presentation.
WEEK 10 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Created 2-D drawing of packaging sheetmetal and submitted for ordering and fab. Software overview completed.
Weekly Work Total: 5.5 hours
Project Work Total: 126 hours
November 2 (3.5 hours):
I have not yet heard from Chuck about pricing or order status for the sheetmetal packaging. I will speak with
him today about this....Found out the Chuck from the machine shop was out for a while and just got back today. Should have price quote by tomorrow. Chuck Barnett
also told me PCBs would probably be in tomorrow. Spent the evening meeting as a group. I took inventory of all parts that we had on hand in en effort to determine
what needed to be ordered, and then order it. We found out the 9V power supply is internally fused, so I only need to externally fuse the pre-amp power supply.
November 3 (6 hours):
Chuck taught me how to solder, and I practiced it for 2 hours. PCBs were received today, and I began soldering
components on the power supply board. I completed the board and tested the +/-15V side of the board, which worked with no problem whatsoever. I then attempted to
supply power to the 9V side and convert it to 5, 3.3, and 1.2 volts respectively. Almost instantaneously upon plugging in the 9V supply, the 26 guage wires
connecting it to the PCB began smoking and caught on fire. After the smoke cleared and the commotion died down, we found out that the 9V and Ground traces are
connected at the trace level. This is either an error that was not caught by us, PADS, and FREEDFM, or it was fabbed incorrectly. We will seek solutions
tomorrow.
November 4 (2.5 hours):
Fixed the power supply short by using a dremel to cut out the connection. I let the power supply run for 2 hours
continuously with no load, and there were no problems. I began soldering capacitors to the Main Board.
November 6 (6 hours):
Continued soldering the Main Board 1206 surface mount components. David did not bring the display, so I was unable to
tap the mounting holes in it. I then soldered the ATMELS onto the individual channel interface boards, along with the remaining resistors and caps that were
missing, with the exception of filter caps for the ATMELS. The filter caps are out of stock and are on order for arrival mid week next week.
WEEK 11 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Inventory was taken and remaining needed parts were ordered. I learned how to solder. Power Supply PCB is completed.
Soldered all surface mount resistors and capacitors on Main Board, and soldered all ATMELS onto channel interface boards.
Weekly Work Total: 18 hours
Project Work Total: 144 hours
November 8 (9 hours):
Added one set of filter caps to one of the channel interface boards. Discovered that some of the filter caps
Susanne had soldered on were 0.01uF instead of 0.1uF, and helped her remove them. I began the safety and reliability homework, and calculated failure rate for
all three microprocessors and the 5V linear regulator. I located the mounting holes on the Mainboard using the display as a template, and drilled them. They work
perfectly. Finally, I added headers to the mainboard to do some checks with the hammer. It was discovered that the reset button for the DSP is tied to 5V instead
of 3.3V because someone messed it up in the schematic. We will have to green-wire this connection to 3.3V, otherwise the SHARC will be blown up. We also need to
probe every power and ground pin on the SHARC footprint to make sure they are the correct voltages. We will begin this process tomorrow, and I will continue to
work on the homework.
November 9 (3 hours):
Continued working on Reliability and Safety Analysis homework. Completed the text body of the assignment and Appendix
A.
November 10 (6 hours):
Found a 6'x2' sheet of 1/32" polished aluminum down in the machine shop and claimed it. My new plan is to make the
base and bend up the right and left sides. The front and back sides will be separate pieces with 1" tabs all around for mounting. Finally, the top will be a flat
piece with all the holes drilled in it, and user interfaces poking through. I plan to put the mirrored finish side out because it looks very clean. It was also
discovered that our current LM7805 regulators are only rated at 1A, and I need 2A on each one. Chuck gave me some 5A regulators to use, but I need to research
the data sheet first to see exactly how they work. He said they wre adjustable, but I dont' know how you adjust it when it only has 2 pins and a ground body. We
also discovered that the incorrect current draw values were used when calculated power used by the LED bar graphs. I had calculated them to use 2mA each, and they
actually used 20mA each. This would have caused an extra 1.3A draw on the 5V rail above what it was designed for. This would not be a problem with the new regulator,
but may pose an issue with the trace sizes. To solve this, we changed the current limiting resistors from 150ohm to 1.2Kohm. The LEDs are still plenty bright enough
to see, but only pull 4mA, which can be accomodated. Finished and submitted the Safety and Reliability analysis, and completed the powerpoint. I also updated the
resources page on the website, and separated it into presentations and homeworks. Many of the homeworks need to be added still, and all need to be convereted to .pdf
file format.
WEEK 12 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Safety and Reliability Analysis completed. SHARC overvoltage issue found and corrected. 5V regulator and LED error found and a
solution was created, but not implemented. Sheet metal was sourced and acquired for the packaging.
Weekly Work Total: 18 hours
Project Work Total: 162 hours
November 16 (5 hours):
Created a drawing using pencil and paper with dimensions for individual channel components on the board. This was to be
used for a test run in the machine shop to determine if my measurements were correct for the final fabrication. Chuck Barnett then told me that I needed to use
etching and simply mark where the holes needed to be. I completed this for one channel interface PCB, XLR connector, and fader.
November 17 (15 hours):
Took the etched sample down to the machine shop where I was informed that they wanted a drawing with dimensions. I gave
them some of the hole dimensions, and told them to just put the holes where they were etched. I then measured where the holes actually were. I created a full paper
and pencil drawing with dimensions for the entire top panel of the case. This panel contains all of the user interface. I will double check some measurements tomorrow,
and then send it off for fabrication. The dimensions as of now are 28" wide by 16" deep for the user interface panel. I then replaced the old 5V regulators with the
new, beefier ones, and also fly wired the outputs together to help with power and heat dissipation. Finally, I soldered the op-amps, A/Ds, and D/As onto the audio
boards.
November 18 (6 hours):
Finished, double-checked, and copied the design of the user interface panel on the case. I realized that I had
mis-measured the width of the display by 1", and corrected it. I took my design down to Chuck in the machine shop, where he informed me that the panel was too big for
his mill. He and the ME machine shop supervisor are working to fab fixturing to accomodate it. Chuck and I then began importing the design into AutoCAD.
We then met as a group minus Susanne, and finished all of the channel interface boards, including programming all of the them. We then wired up one of the boards on
the I2C interface and ran a test between it and the Hammer ARM9 which was relatively successful. We are getting random errors with the bus, and some of the
peripherals, but shouldn't be too hard to debug.
November 19 (2 hours):
Finished confirming design on AutoCAD with the machine shop. Discovered that my individual dimensions did not quite
add up to the overall dimensions, and I corrected it. I also centered the LED amplitude display o nthe right side of the screen. It should be finished by Monday
after Thanksgiving.
WEEK 13 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Replaced regulators on power supply. Designed 2D layout for user interface panel on case and send it to the machine shop.
Weekly Work Total: 28 hours
Project Work Total: 190 hours
November 23 (12.5 hours):
Created a drawing in AutoCAD for the box part of the case. I also populated all of the missing parts on all of the
PCBs. When plugging in the mainboard, noticed that regulators were really hot, and so were the oscillators. It was then discovered that the footprint was created
incorrectly, and they needed to be inserted from the back to be wired correctly. I also cut and attached the heat sink to the linear regulators on the power supply.
The display wasn't working properly, and it was discovered that the pclk pin was shorted to the Vdd via underneath the zif connector, and we need to wait until
tomorrow when Chuck can help us remove it. We have no more extras, so we cannot distroy this part. We also discovered an error in the schematic for the audio boards.
David, Adam, and I spent most of the evening debugging, cutting traces, and fly wiring to make the preamps work correctly.
November 24 (1.5 hours):
Made minor modification to case per Chuck Harrington's request. He also informed me that the commercial cost of
fabrication of our case would be around $5,000. Chuck Barnett fixed our ZIF connector, and it's working great now.
WEEK 14 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Populated all PCBs. Fixed audio boards. Put heat sink on power supply.
Weekly Work Total: 29.5 hours
Project Work Total: 204 hours
November 29 (4 hours):
Set up Christmas Tree, then began creating wiring harnesses for the faders. It is very difficult to solder stranded
wire onto headers without any clamp to hold the header, and with only two hands. The one and only clamp that has been floating around the room is in use holding
another group's project upright. Hopefully I can talk to Chuck tomorrow and get one for me to use for soldering. I also updated the website resources page by
adding all of our submitted homeworks as .pdf files.
November 30 (10 hours):
Updated the 3D CAD model of the packaging for the user manual and final report. I finshed fabricating the fader
harnesses, and also created power harnesses for the power board, main board, and audio boards.
December 1 (10.5 hours):
Added terminal blocks for power distribution, and put spade connectors on all power runs. I color coded the
distribution blocks to prevent connecting the wrong thing. I also determined I am going to use distribution blocks for the 120V AC connection as well. I
created a data harness for the A/D components and D/A components.
December 2 (11 hours):
Added 120VAC terminal blocks. Recreated both A/D and D/A harnesses because there is noise and they can't talkt to the
DSP properly. Discovered that CAT5 insulation is too thin to use heat shrink, as the insulation melts and the wires short together. The A/D lines still didn't
work so we made yet another harness. The box came in without the top panel, and I assembled it and mounted the terminal blocks in it.
December 3 (11 hours):
Panel came in for the packaging, but the mounting holes for the channel interface boards were offset the wrong
direction from center. I fixed this and mounted the channel interface boards, channel faders, display, mainboard, LED level indicator array, power jack and power
switch, and audio boards. One of the A/D chips went up in smoke today, and David and I determined the cause was because DVDD had 3.3V connected on one side,
and 5V connected on the other side. The Reset pin was also tied to 5V, and the chip is a 3.3V device. We ordered 6 new chips overnight, and asked Chuck to remove
the remaining chips so that we could cut traces in preparation for fly wiring.
December 4 (3.5 hours):
The new A/D converters came in, and Chuck soldered them onto the audio boards for us. Made a power harness for one
of the channel interface boards. I attempted to test it and blew up an h-bridge. I also sourced 2 case fans for cooling and mounted one of them temporarily. I
still need to find bolts to mount it permanently. I attempted to put headers into the boost converter for the backlight inverter, and failed to remove the solder
from the holes where wires were previously inserted.
December 5 (11 hours):
Bought some twin conductor shielded microphone cable to use for connecting the XLR and 1/4" jacks to the audio
board, but then realized that it is too stiff to use inside the case. This is because these connections are very close to the hinge point, and the wires need
to be flexible. I originally wanted a 3 conductor cable with 2 insulated wires and one bare wire that contacts a foil shield. This is a second type of audio
cable that is used for more permanent applications such as snakes, conduit, and the interior of boards. It is a lot smaller, and a lot more flexible. I then
created one harness for the XLR, 1/4", and gain potentiometer using standard 24 AWG wire. I wrapped the ground wire around the signal wires, and will try to
test it tomorrow to see if it works. If not, we will have to go to Fry's Electronics to pick up some of the foil wire. We also determined the problem with the
h-bridges with the help of a friend. We will need to fly wire upwards of 40 connections to the channel interface boards in order for the h-bridges to work
and not blow-up or over draw the power supply. We ended up blowing 2 more h-bridges today, for a total of 3 blown h-bridges. Finally, I mounted the second case fan
and mounted the power supply PCB to the case. David fininshed fly wiring the audio boards, and I mounted them into the case.
WEEK 15 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Set up Christmas Tree and populated packaging. Found errors in audio board and channel interface boards, and determined
ways to fix these errors. The audio board was fixed, and the channel interface board repairs were started.
Weekly Work Total: 61 hours
Project Work Total: 265 hours
December 6 (6 hours):
Mounted gain potentiometers and soldered jumpers to them. Tested channel 1 preamp with both a 1/4" input and an XLR input.
It was determined that the pots were hooked up incorrectly because David told me the wrong way. Two of the wires were reversed, it was corrected, and tested to be working
properly. I then mounted all of the 1/4" jacks on the input channels as well, while Susanne made the header end of the audio harnesses. As a group, updated our PSSCs
to more accurately reflect the focus of the project. It is also believed that the SHARC is non-fuctional. It runs very hot, so hot that you get burned when you touch
it. Also, it gives sporadic data.
December 7 (15.5 hours):
Soldered half of the harnesses to the 1/4" and XLR connectors. Procured screws and mounted XLR connectors and case fans.
I also procured flush fasteners for the faders so that the knobs will let the faders go all the way up and down. I also mounted the 9VDC power supply. We spent the
majority of the day troubleshooting the Hammer. The designer of it told us several things that could be wrong, as it worked just fine in the dev board, but not on
our mainboard PCB. After adding transistors to the SPI and removing the oscillators, among other things, we finally determined that the Hammer was bad. The final
factor was when we put it back on the dev board, and it froze. We are currently working with the designer of the board and with Team Venture from Spring 2009 to get
another Hammer here overnight.
December 8 (5 hours):
Got a new Hammer overnighted to us from Tin Can Tools for free thanks to David's contributions to the wiki. I completed
a few of the audio harnesses, and then called it a night. I wanted to mount some hardware in the board, but my drill battery was dead and I didn't feel well.
December 9 (12 hours):
Finished the audio harnesses and mounted the backlight inverter and power runs. Adam and Susanne continued to flywire
the h-bridges by doing the ones on the mainboard. These were checked with the current limited triple output power supply to ensure the h-bridges would still at least
work. I mounted each channel board and new flywire board. I also created power harnesses for each channel interface board.
December 10 (21.5 hours):
Continuation of last night. Channel two blew an h-bridge and we replaced it, then channel one blew an h-bridge and it
was replaced. There were still many issues with these two channels, so both atmels were replaced. Channel two now has an ATMega32A, but channel one has an ATMega32L.
The difference is that the L is an 8 MHz chip whereas the A is a 16 MHz chip. We still had problems with channel two, and had to disconnect the entire board. I re-made
the I2C harness to fit the packaging, and created permanent harnesses for the master and effects faders. I also reorganized the power terminal blocks so that the
power feeds are primarily on the bottom, and the outputs are primarily on the top. This is how the wires are running, so it made sense for them to tap off of the
terminal block on that side.
I essentially completed the packaging by adding a harness and mounting the inverter for the backlight. Also made harness for output channels. Added a screen to the
interior side of negative pressure cooling fan to protect wires from goign into the fan blades.
December 11 (9 hours):
Worked on getting audio to work, still unsuccessful at this point. We can get the A/D to send audio data to the SHARC,
and the SHARC appears to be receiving the audio and sending a signal to the D/A. It is possible that the D/A is fried, but we can't think of any reason why it would
be. It was connected correctly from the start, so it may have just been a bad chip from the beginning. We are also still using the emulator for the SHARC instead of
booting it on it's own. We still need to check with Professor Meyer on whether or not this is acceptable. We then got channels 3-8 working for a presentation to
ECE 270 students. We then showed David Collins our progress when we returned to lab, and burned up an h-bridge on channel 5.
December 12 (0 hours):
David Estes determined that the D/A chip was bad, and informed me of it. We decided to wait until tomorrow to replace it,
and to take a day off for rest.
WEEK 16 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: PSSCs updated. Completed PSSC 2, 3, and 4 and signed off by DGM.
Weekly Work Total: 69 hours
Project Work Total: 334 hours
December 13 (9 hours):
Updated team private notes and notebook. Briefed by David Estes on his progress in debugging over the past 2 days. Worked
on getting pass through audio to work. The essential component at this point is the D/A chip which was not working properly last week. Discovered that when we cut
traces and flywired the right audio board, we forgot to fly wire the +15V back into the output preamps. We corrected this, and things are looking up. David went to
Best Buy and bought a CAT6 cable that we are using to create new audio data harnesses for both the A/D and D/A channels. The D/A harness is complete, and almost
completely noise free. One thing that we noticed is that on power off, the speakers attached to output channels have a funny sound that they make. D/A seems to be
working like a champ, but there is bus fighting occuring on the SPI because of the A/D chips all booting as master. We still do not have talkthrough.
December 14 (8 hours):
Reviewed the final report and added my individual contribution page to it. Completed Senior Design Report and poster,
and submitted all 3 documents. Continued working with David to get full functionality. Attempted to add master faders, but it appears that the ATMEL controlling them
is fried. Fixed the I2C bus error, but now we have random errors with faders going to negative infinity when they are activated, or the button not registering that
it was pushed to activate the channel.
December 15 (4 hours):
Created final presentation and video
WEEK 17 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Completed and submitted final reports.
Weekly Work Total: 21 hours
Project Work Total: 355 hours