AWR1243BOOST: Board issue

Hello Mohan,

Did you check the COM ports in the device manager? Are they all recognized as depicted in the Snapshot below (Ignore the highlighted part). In total, there should be 4 AR-DevPack Ports and 2 XDS110.

In addition to this, could you also check if the power supplies (5V) to both the boards is proper and the connections are tight.

Regards,

Ishita

Hello Ishita,

             I did check for the ports just to be sure. Also it was working till yesterday so I remember clearly I did install the drivers. Also I have attached the snap of my device manager for reference.

looks like a hardware issue to me. Looking forward to further insights from you.

Regards,

Mohan Sunderam

Hello Mohan,

I don't see the 4 new COM ports (AR-DevPack ones) in your attached screenshot, which is why you're not able to connect to the device. Can you update the FTDI drivers and try once again?

For doing this, please refer to section 2.3 in mmWave_studio_user_guide.pdf.

Regards,

Ishita

Hello Ishita,

         I figured just now that the COM ports of the DCA 1000 ports are not being recongnised at all (in the device manager). When I disconnect the BOOST board the 2 COMports also disconnect in the device manager. But when I connect or disconnect the DCA 1000 radar_fdti cable there are no COM ports that appear. Also as stated before the 5V_LED (green LED) on the DCA1000 board is not stable and flickering all the time when its connected. Thats why I assumed its an issue with board.

Also I tried to unistall all the drivers and reinstall all the required FDTI drivers and restarted my computer, but still I see two ports of the Boost board and not of the DCA board.

Lookinf forward to your comments/suggestions.

Best regards,

Mohan Sunderam

Also is there a debug TP on the DCA 1000 board where I can check whether its taking 5V from the power supply ?

Hello Mohan,

Looks like the DCA1000 board itself has gone bad, because the 5V LED is generally stable and bright if the board is fine.

-But before coming to that conclusion, you could try changing your USB cable or using a different USB port in your pc as well. 

-Also, could you confirm that no LED other than 5V is working on your board currently? Not even the FPGA done LED?

Below are the schematic files for DCA1000, please refer to page 4 and trace 5V supply. 

http://www.ti.com/general/docs/lit/getliterature.tsp?baseLiteratureNumber=sprr350&fileType=zip

Regards,

Ishita

Hello Ishita,

                               I had already checked the boards with different usb cables and also on different computers doesnt seem to work some how. Further I tried to check the 5V Led line as suggested and I get fluctuating voltage on the 5Vrail. one moment I get 5V and the next I get like some mV reading.

As far as the other LEDs are concered, I have cross checked it twice only the 5V LED is flickering. others when I switch on the board get activated (the error LED strips) for one moment then go off.

Also in the worst case that the board is gone bad is there something that TI could do, we bought the boards as recently as last year and would like to continue working with the same board if possible. Let us know what can be done.

Looking forward to your reply,

Best regards,

Mohan Sunderam

one more observation from our side: We see the WARMRST LED is blinking on the TI 1243 boost board . Normally I assume this doesnt glow too when the system is okay.

Waiting for further directions from your end.

Hello team,

               Do we have any updates about this already. Looking forward to your advice on making the board work again.

With best regards,

Mohan Sunderam

Hello Mohan,

Sorry for the delay. 

As you said, the WARM reset LED is continuously blinking which means the AWR board is getting reset every now and then.

Also, a couple of questions,

How are you supplying power to the DCA1000 board? Is it provided by the AWR board or the 5V DC Jack? Please tell us the current rating of the supply used. Did you try moving to the other mode as well? If you're using the DC jack, the current should be >4A, and if AWR supply, it should be >2A. 

The 5V LED in DCA1000 and Warm Reset in the AWR board continuously blinking point towards an unstable power supply.

Regards,

Ishita 

Hello Ishita,

              Thats what is also baffling me, why does the board keep reseting on it own.

The current rating of the 5V DC Jack is 3A(max) and I dont use the AWR board to power up the DCA board. I use two separate 5V DC jacks.

Also it was working well for a long time. I have been using the same DC jacks for almost a year now.

I tried to debug the voltage rails using the schemadtics you gave me but I didnt find anything. Is there something else you could do ?

Regards,

Mohan

Mohan,

Usually a 4 or 5A max rating is recommended.

Also, can you disconnect the DCA1000 and see if the Warm reset toggle is still happening in the AWR board?

Regards,

ishita

Ishita,

But it should still work with 3A current rating jack, right ?

Anyway it was working before, so I just assumed it was fine and regarding your second question, when I disconnect the DCA 1000 board the warm reset toggle is not happening anymore.

Regards,

Mohan

Mohan,

It definitely looks like a power supply issue now. Can you please change the power supply and check?

Make sure the current is atleast >4A.

Regards,

Ishita 

Ishita,

We have orderd the 5V and 4A DC cable jack. Once I try it I will let you know the results as soon as possible. Meanwhile is there are any other procedures or debugging that I can perform meanwhile.

Also another query regarding the worst case scenerio that the DCA 1000 board has gone bad, is there a possibility that we send it you maybe at Munich or Texas  to get it corrected or replaced ?

 (we are based in near Munich, Germany)

Regards,

Mohan 

Hello Mohan,

For that you will have to connect with our sales office there and follow the procedure.

Regards,

Ishita

Hello Ishita,

                        I tried with also a 5V 4A DC cable jack. I still find the unstable power to the DCA1000 EVM board. Meanwhile I reach out to the sales team and I get automated reply that for Evaluation boards we don't provide support. Kindly suggest how I could proceed further to repair/replace this non functional DCA 1000 EVM board.

Regards,

Mohan Sunderam

Hello Mohan,

As this board was working fine before and got damaged later, I'm afraid if a replacement would be possible. A query for replacement is mostly registered for boards that might have gone bad in shipping or something.

Now as you said, even after changing the power cable...the issue still persists, then the board is actually damaged.

If you want to continue with your development activities, you might have to buy a new board. 

Regards,

Ishita

Hello Ishita,

             The issue is still not rectified, so I assume the board has gone bad. I assume there are some specific components which has gone bad on the board and its somewhat easily repairable. I was hoping you can help us with that.

Or at least could guide us thorugh the same.

Regards,

Mohan

Hello Mohan,

Sorry for the late reply here. I was actually trying to get in touch with the DCA1000 team in order to understand our next course of action for this issue, but I'm afraid we don't have any insights on how to debug this further.

But in your recent post, I see you're trying to work with DCA1000 without mmwave studio. Should I assume you were able to debug this issue by yourself or have you bought a new DCA1000 EVM?

Regards,

Ishita

Hello Ishita,

           We brought a new DCA 1000 EVM board just for back up incase we cant make the previous one.

But I tried all the steps you asked me to do but it doesnt seem to work somehow. Do you have more info about this? The TI sales team assumed that there is some debugging still to be done. So if you clarify that at least I can get the board replaced.

Regards,

Mohan

Hello Mohan,

As I said earlier, I don't have any more debug practices for you as suggestions. I'm afraid the board has gone bad.

Regards,

Ishita