The safest way to measure the voltage is to use voltage probes with spring-loaded hooks, and connect the hooks before restoring power. You must be very careful, because mains power is present in the control box. Does the control box smell like burnt electronics? Are there any burnt components on the board? If everything looks okay, plug the control box back into mains power, turn the control box on, and check to see if the board is getting power. If you built the board from a kit, triple-check your soldering with a magnifying glass and a bright light sometimes a cold solder joint will work for a short time, and then fail. Inspect the RotorCard or Rotor-EZ, which will be called “the board” for the rest of this article. Unplug the control box from mains power and take the cover off. Often the easiest way to find a hardware problem is by inspection. If the problem does not seem to be software, then it is time to turn your attention to the hardware.

If the version string is received, then serial communications works.

Upon receiving that single character, the CPU should immediately return a version string similar to “ROTORCARD © IDIOM PRESS”. When using a terminal emulator to test serial communications, the best command to use is an upper-case “V”. Invalid commands cause the CPU to “lock up” the only way to recover is to switch the power off and on again. The CPU waits for a valid command, and then acts upon it immediately. When using a terminal emulator to talk to the CPU, know that the CPU does not echo keystrokes. A more advanced way to test whether software is the problem, for expert troubleshooters only, is to communicate with the RotorCard or Rotor-EZ CPU directly using a terminal emulator program. One way to test the software is to try a different rotator control program. Now might be a good time to see if software is the problem. Some other software programs, such as the Palm Pilot HotSync software, are known to take control of all the serial ports on a computer, so make sure that no programs that might take control of the serial port are running. The serial port or USB adapter should be set for 4800, 8, N, 1 (4800 bps, 8 data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit) with neither hardware nor software handshaking. Check to see if the serial port or USB adapter is configured correctly. The advice in this article is only meant to suggest troubleshooting steps to take the technician is solely responsible for his or her own safety, and the safety of the equipment.īefore taking things apart, you may wish to start with easy tests. This article should not be viewed as a complete guide to repairing the equipment.

So something happened, and now your RotorCard or Rotor-EZ isn’t responding to computer control? Or maybe you built a Rotor-EZ board from a kit, but serial communications don’t seem to work? This article will help you troubleshoot the problem. How to Troubleshoot Serial Communications

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