It's one of the most frustrating things in this hobby, when a single tiny mistake might cost you hours of troubleshooting, and sometimes you second guess your sanity, or whether this hobby is not for you..
Don't let frustration sow doubt as to whether it's the right hobby for you. Look at mathematicians, not only is their prowess determined by intelligence it's also their resistance to giving up.
Man, this channel is a life saver. Just straight how to and information, no unnecessary rambling or nonsense. Thank you for the instructional and informative videos.
Very timely recommendation as I drove myself nuts trying to flash an ESP32-cam for the first time. 20 hours later of troubleshooting, it turns out that one of the ground pins is broken on the device and swapping to another fixed the timeout error while trying to flash. I pride myself in problem solving, but these little things during what is supposed to be a pleasurable hobby drive me nuts!!!!
if sb wants to practise all the excellent advice you presented, I recommend one of my projects, which almost drove me crazy at the time. It‘s the attempt to transmit data, using 2 arduinos, each connected to a Hope FM RF module. At some point I lost confidence in the RF modules, still being alive. I discovered, that the clock, they provide for the controller can be adjusted by configuration. When the signal on the scope changed accordingly, I knew, that the modules were fine. That was the first feedback I got from them. And eventually, as so often, the real problem was the external battery pack, not being able to provide enough current at transmission.
Love all your videos. My goal is to watch every one of them at least once. Oh, and also to organize my workroom to resemble yours. Lofty goals but I'll get there.
Trouble shooting within the Analog work is usually somewhat strait forward. You follow the signal from start to finish locating the Causes. In the Digital realm you have piles of Side Roads to deal with. Dealing with not only hardware issues but Processes created by software.
I was given an ESP8266 to play with coupled to an OLED display. It worked perfectly when it was given to me, but when I transferred it to solderless breadboard it just did not function at all. Thinking I'd blown the OLED (knowing they're somewhat sensitive to reverse polarity) I bought a new one. Same story - no functionality. After a lot of headscratching and tinkering, believe it or not the problem was the ground link jumper lead from the chip to the OLED (51:25)! When replaced the thing worked perfectly again. Since you've had the same problem, it may be that DuPont jumper leads may be worth checking for continuity if bad things happen.
Very nice presentation of troubleshooting techniques. However, I thought you dismissed the possibility of a software problem prematurely. When you did step 2, establish a theory, you mentioned that the program might not be outputting to the servo correctly. When you did the program trouble shooting you checked whether the potentiometer was being read correctly. To me, that was unnecessary since the limit LEDs were functioning correctly so the potentiometer must be being read correctly. After you did the potentiometer troubleshooting you announced that the program was not the problem without ever looking at the servo functionality you had mentioned earlier as a potential problem. I thought that was an omission. You would have discovered that the program was at fault later if you had discovered that no pulses were being sent to the stepper by the Arduino so the omission made no difference in your example. Since pulses were being sent the outcome was not affected by not checking the stepper program functions, but it just seems to me that you ruled out the program as the trouble prematurely. Overall a very nice presentation however. Using the "For Loop" as the fault in the second demo was very appropriate. Many of my project problems in the past have been due to bad parameters in For Loops. Very well done. Keep up the good work!
Most of my projects never work right or work at all lol. Yeah some days I feel so defeated, I just want to sell off all my equipment and supplies. I used to be good at electronic projects, not so much as I get older. Maybe I will sell everything at some point but for now I will give it another go!
I just had an issue with an ESP32CAM and was about ready to throw it along w the FTDI out the window but then I got out the multimeter and checked every single jumper wire I owned. about 6% of them lacked continuity. I would switch them out or move between projects and eventually I had these random issues. And with a number of wires running and all indicator LEDs working it can be a real head scratcher. ALWAYS CHECK CONTINUITY OF JUMPER WIRES
I am really enjoying this video, but being a little ocd I am troubleshooting your screwdriver order just over your right shoulder and wishing the blue and yellow screwdrivers positions were reversed. Once done each would benefit from a 90 degree turn to maintain the handle pattern. :)
Thanks Bill, a very informative tutorial. I purchased a logic probe and I am now using it in my problem solving. A simple device and well worth the £12.00 I spent.
Very fun to watch... yes, I was hooked for the full video. You made it game, fun and yet informative. May I comment on a comment from Desert Vox? I feel your frustration ;-)
Logical video but dismissing a software problem seemed premature e.g. writing the value to the servo if the variable is spelt differently than in the earlier declaration. In this case the leds would work but the servo would not move.
Sorry but you flowchart is not as per code. In the code you check the angle and if greater than 175 then the red LED is set on otherwise it is set off and the same for thee green LED if less than 5. In the flow chart both LEDs will stay on once set.
after a bunch of stressful hours of troubleshooting, i now code first and make sure everything checks out in the serial monitor. then start with LED 13, and go from there. after all my inputs are checking out in the serial monitor, then i start adding the outputs and actually wiring everything else.
One thing that should be added is that breadboard sockets are smaller than the tips of multimeter probes. Forcing probe tips into the sockets can damage the sockets, causing them to be too loose to properly connect to components & jumpers. Using wire that's too large in diameter will cause the same problem.
Hey just a single request to make your long videos(more than 15 mins) into different parts so we do not have to watch it in a single stretch, it will be really benefiting for us...it will give you more views too😉
My last project had a bunch of issues during development. I thought it was all code, turned out the majority of the issue was the I2C PCA9685 PWM extender chip has inconsistent Oscillator Frequencies. Had to borrow an oscilloscope and slowly tune the settings for the internal Oscillator Frequency for the four chips to get the needed 50Hz PWM for the ESCs I was running.
Love your videos! Happy New Year 2020 and lots of GREAT ELECTRONS to you and your subscribers/visitors....! What logic probe brand and model number do you use? If you had to buy one today, playing with electronics, Arduino... would you buy today?
The CompTIA method isn't what I use, and it doesn't appear to be what you use. :-) I use the half-divide or binary method, of splitting the problem domain roughly in half at each step. That is exactly what you did. Is it the gear or the user? It's the gear. Is it the software or the hardware? It's the hardware. Is it this half of the hardware or the rest of it? It's this half. And so on.
Am I only one that want ICD support for arduino. I think there are some other arduino compatible environments that support ICD (In Circuit Debug). Breakpoints are nice and you can see whole chip state when you break the code execution.
I was building a galvanic skin response monitoring device and I just couldn't get it to work. I started to panic and presto! Problem solved. * * not a true story. :-D
@DroneBot Workshop, I am new to Arduino and a fairly new "electronics" person (been programming since 1982) so I plan on doing a lot of follow along type of videos to complete a few projects I want to do. I was wondering if you could recommend some "kits" that I should purchase for my new Arduino Mega that I just received. I have no resistors, transistors, pots, breadboard, PSU's, none of it. Is there a good kit(s) I could buy and / or supplement? What would you recommend for a new person that will be doing a lot of future projects? I have bought and plan on running stepper motors, thermocouples, load cells, SD cards for reading and writing, ultrasonic measurement, temperature and humidity, solid state relays, using the SPI bus, etc. Budget is 100 USD, maybe more if needed and I believe in buying in quantity for saving $$$. Any thoughts would greatly help and thx in advance...
I know that you just copied the sketches into one ... Do you offer somewhere to download these versions, to save me some time? I know that in this case it would be a learning experience, but time is in short supply. Thank you very much.
Hi there, you won't believe it, I cannot upload this sketch!I get an error reading on the "servomotor.attach(10);" line which reads(invalid preprocessing directive #servomotor. I have checked the sketch at least 3 times and I cannot find the error. I am an absolute novice on the Arduino and would find the fault finding very useful. Can you advise, please Best regards
There should NOT be a “#” in front of the servomotor command. For a novice, it is very important to type programs exactly as they appear. Extra punctuation, slight misspellings or changes of capitalization can change or break the program. Eventually, as you learn the significance of each item, you can take shortcuts or even modify the code, but when you are learning - Don’t change anything you don’t already understand. In this case, the problem has to do with the way the arduino program/sketch is compiled, i.e. changed from (mostly) English words that you (hopefully/eventually) understand to the “1s and 0s” that the Arduino understands. SOME statements (such as #include) REQUIRE the “#” to let the preprocesor know to get the library from somewhere else and “include” it into your program. Once that process happens, then the “real” compiler takes over and translates english to binary.
Can you make a video to help with the Arduino IDE sketches and libraries. I’m trying to learn this language better but am having trouble knowing what some key definitions are actually relating to. Eg this video it highlighted (servo), and (attach). Is there a source for definitions other than the Arduino pocket reference. I didn’t find the pocket reference as useful as I was hoping.
![[UNCUT] “บอสณวัฒน์” ลากไส้!! ใครหนุนหลัง "แม่ตั๊ก ป๋าเบียร์" I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์ I 30 ก.ย. 67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QlD7mU2KKRk/mqdefault.jpg)
It's one of the most frustrating things in this hobby, when a single tiny mistake might cost you hours of troubleshooting, and sometimes you second guess your sanity, or whether this hobby is not for you..
However the satisfaction is great after fixing and understanding is deeper, confirming your knowledge or updating it :)
Don't let frustration sow doubt as to whether it's the right hobby for you. Look at mathematicians, not only is their prowess determined by intelligence it's also their resistance to giving up.
One of You tubes best teachers. He's explanations are well paced and clear Unlike so many on You tube his projects always work. First rate.
Enjoyed this video very much. This is a subject rarely taught in depth. Thank you.
Man, this channel is a life saver. Just straight how to and information, no unnecessary rambling or nonsense. Thank you for the instructional and informative videos.
I was looking all over how to use a logic probe. Thank you for posting the video.
Bravo Mill! Another great video for new year! I *ALWAYS* hit Thumbs-Up before I watch your video's. I know it will be a winner anyway!
Very timely recommendation as I drove myself nuts trying to flash an ESP32-cam for the first time. 20 hours later of troubleshooting, it turns out that one of the ground pins is broken on the device and swapping to another fixed the timeout error while trying to flash. I pride myself in problem solving, but these little things during what is supposed to be a pleasurable hobby drive me nuts!!!!
Always a good way to find the source for a problem is, to explain it to someone else. Even when it's your pet or a stuffed animal ;)
Thank you for making the effort and allow me to benefit.
if sb wants to practise all the excellent advice you presented, I recommend one of my projects, which almost drove me crazy at the time. It‘s the attempt to transmit data, using 2 arduinos, each connected to a Hope FM RF module. At some point I lost confidence in the RF modules, still being alive. I discovered, that the clock, they provide for the controller can be adjusted by configuration. When the signal on the scope changed accordingly, I knew, that the modules were fine. That was the first feedback I got from them. And eventually, as so often, the real problem was the external battery pack, not being able to provide enough current at transmission.
Thank you for this excellent video! I watched it several times
Love all your videos. My goal is to watch every one of them at least once.
Oh, and also to organize my workroom to resemble yours.
Lofty goals but I'll get there.
Another great video. Basic skills are always important.
Trouble shooting within the Analog work is usually somewhat strait forward. You follow the signal from start to finish locating the Causes. In the Digital realm you have piles of Side Roads to deal with. Dealing with not only hardware issues but Processes created by software.
Exceptional video! I'm going to integrate this troubleshooting methodology into my Arduino course.
I was given an ESP8266 to play with coupled to an OLED display. It worked perfectly when it was given to me, but when I transferred it to solderless breadboard it just did not function at all. Thinking I'd blown the OLED (knowing they're somewhat sensitive to reverse polarity) I bought a new one. Same story - no functionality. After a lot of headscratching and tinkering, believe it or not the problem was the ground link jumper lead from the chip to the OLED (51:25)! When replaced the thing worked perfectly again.
Since you've had the same problem, it may be that DuPont jumper leads may be worth checking for continuity if bad things happen.
Lovely clear, logic lesson, thank you. More on troubleshooting techniques please.
Excellent video! Thank you!
I have work for 3 days and you solved it in 15 min.
thank you, another one in the books.
Helpful information
Very nice presentation of troubleshooting techniques. However, I thought you dismissed the possibility of a software problem prematurely. When you did step 2, establish a theory, you mentioned that the program might not be outputting to the servo correctly. When you did the program trouble shooting you checked whether the potentiometer was being read correctly. To me, that was unnecessary since the limit LEDs were functioning correctly so the potentiometer must be being read correctly. After you did the potentiometer troubleshooting you announced that the program was not the problem without ever looking at the servo functionality you had mentioned earlier as a potential problem. I thought that was an omission. You would have discovered that the program was at fault later if you had discovered that no pulses were being sent to the stepper by the Arduino so the omission made no difference in your example. Since pulses were being sent the outcome was not affected by not checking the stepper program functions, but it just seems to me that you ruled out the program as the trouble prematurely. Overall a very nice presentation however. Using the "For Loop" as the fault in the second demo was very appropriate. Many of my project problems in the past have been due to bad parameters in For Loops. Very well done. Keep up the good work!
Most of my projects never work right or work at all lol. Yeah some days I feel so defeated, I just want to sell off all my equipment and supplies. I used to be good at electronic projects, not so much as I get older. Maybe I will sell everything at some point but for now I will give it another go!
I just had an issue with an ESP32CAM and was about ready to throw it along w the FTDI out the window but then I got out the multimeter and checked every single jumper wire I owned. about 6% of them lacked continuity. I would switch them out or move between projects and eventually I had these random issues. And with a number of wires running and all indicator LEDs working it can be a real head scratcher. ALWAYS CHECK CONTINUITY OF JUMPER WIRES
I am really enjoying this video, but being a little ocd I am troubleshooting your screwdriver order just over your right shoulder and wishing the blue and yellow screwdrivers positions were reversed. Once done each would benefit from a 90 degree turn to maintain the handle pattern. :)
Thanks Bill, a very informative tutorial. I purchased a logic probe and I am now using it in my problem solving. A simple device and well worth the £12.00 I spent.
I am the King of Foot-Shooting. I am the trouble
Thanks Bill, it was a great refresher vid.
Very fun to watch... yes, I was hooked for the full video. You made it game, fun and yet informative. May I comment on a comment from Desert Vox? I feel your frustration ;-)
Logical video but dismissing a software problem seemed premature e.g. writing the value to the servo if the variable is spelt differently than in the earlier declaration. In this case the leds would work but the servo would not move.
One thing that's very helpful too: let someone else look at your code! It's quite hard to see your own mistakes1
Sorry but you flowchart is not as per code.
In the code you check the angle and if greater than 175 then the red LED is set on otherwise it is set off and the same for thee green LED if less than 5.
In the flow chart both LEDs will stay on once set.
after a bunch of stressful hours of troubleshooting, i now code first and make sure everything checks out in the serial monitor. then start with LED 13, and go from there. after all my inputs are checking out in the serial monitor, then i start adding the outputs and actually wiring everything else.
One thing that should be added is that breadboard sockets are smaller than the tips of multimeter probes. Forcing probe tips into the sockets can damage the sockets, causing them to be too loose to properly connect to components & jumpers. Using wire that's too large in diameter will cause the same problem.
Hey just a single request to make your long videos(more than 15 mins) into different parts so we do not have to watch it in a single stretch, it will be really benefiting for us...it will give you more views too😉
So helpful! Thank you!
My last project had a bunch of issues during development. I thought it was all code, turned out the majority of the issue was the I2C PCA9685 PWM extender chip has inconsistent Oscillator Frequencies. Had to borrow an oscilloscope and slowly tune the settings for the internal Oscillator Frequency for the four chips to get the needed 50Hz PWM for the ESCs I was running.
Thank you.
very much useful,thank you
Love your videos! Happy New Year 2020 and lots of GREAT ELECTRONS to you and your subscribers/visitors....! What logic probe brand and model number do you use? If you had to buy one today, playing with electronics, Arduino... would you buy today?
Great video BTW do you use your tools?
The CompTIA method isn't what I use, and it doesn't appear to be what you use. :-) I use the half-divide or binary method, of splitting the problem domain roughly in half at each step. That is exactly what you did. Is it the gear or the user? It's the gear. Is it the software or the hardware? It's the hardware. Is it this half of the hardware or the rest of it? It's this half. And so on.
Do you think you could help Boing out, they seem to have a software/Hardware problem they can't solve. LOL
Hey I want to learn hardware programming where do I start?? And what can I do to follow the best practices from the very beginning
Am I only one that want ICD support for arduino. I think there are some other arduino compatible environments that support ICD (In Circuit Debug). Breakpoints are nice and you can see whole chip state when you break the code execution.
I was building a galvanic skin response monitoring device and I just couldn't get it to work. I started to panic and presto! Problem solved. *
* not a true story. :-D
u r a sweet person
@DroneBot Workshop, I am new to Arduino and a fairly new "electronics" person (been programming since 1982) so I plan on doing a lot of follow along type of videos to complete a few projects I want to do. I was wondering if you could recommend some "kits" that I should purchase for my new Arduino Mega that I just received. I have no resistors, transistors, pots, breadboard, PSU's, none of it. Is there a good kit(s) I could buy and / or supplement? What would you recommend for a new person that will be doing a lot of future projects? I have bought and plan on running stepper motors, thermocouples, load cells, SD cards for reading and writing, ultrasonic measurement, temperature and humidity, solid state relays, using the SPI bus, etc. Budget is 100 USD, maybe more if needed and I believe in buying in quantity for saving $$$. Any thoughts would greatly help and thx in advance...
Just a quick look - something like this maybe
www.jameco.com/z/KIT-EFK-BUNDLE-Components-Bundle-for-Electronics-for-Kids-Book_2244720.html
Waiting for video on the AT328...
I know that you just copied the sketches into one ... Do you offer somewhere to download these versions, to save me some time? I know that in this case it would be a learning experience, but time is in short supply. Thank you very much.
1:47 That's funny!!
“All you’re going to need for software troubleshooting is your brain.”
Well there’s my problem.
Is the code available for download?
This would have saved me 50 s in blown electronics 👍😀
Hi there, you won't believe it, I cannot upload this sketch!I get an error reading on the "servomotor.attach(10);" line which reads(invalid preprocessing directive #servomotor. I have checked the sketch at least 3 times and I cannot find the error. I am an absolute novice on the Arduino and would find the fault finding very useful. Can you advise, please Best regards
There should NOT be a “#” in front of the servomotor command. For a novice, it is very important to type programs exactly as they appear. Extra punctuation, slight misspellings or changes of capitalization can change or break the program. Eventually, as you learn the significance of each item, you can take shortcuts or even modify the code, but when you are learning - Don’t change anything you don’t already understand.
In this case, the problem has to do with the way the arduino program/sketch is compiled, i.e. changed from (mostly) English words that you (hopefully/eventually) understand to the “1s and 0s” that the Arduino understands. SOME statements (such as #include) REQUIRE the “#” to let the preprocesor know to get the library from somewhere else and “include” it into your program. Once that process happens, then the “real” compiler takes over and translates english to binary.
Thank you sooooo much!
How do you use a load cell on an arduino
www.google.com/search?q=load+cell+arduino
Out of habit I added a semicolon at the end of a statement. The problem? It was a for loop. For(stuff); {do stuff}
Lol
i 💓 MECHATRONICS
your site , dronebotworkshop.com, is not visible from Russia
nice
Can you make a video to help with the Arduino IDE sketches and libraries. I’m trying to learn this language better but am having trouble knowing what some key definitions are actually relating to. Eg this video it highlighted (servo), and (attach). Is there a source for definitions other than the Arduino pocket reference. I didn’t find the pocket reference as useful as I was hoping.
What to do when it won’t work? Walk away awhile. Then come back and soldier it.
And if it already is?
Ei toimi
Since comptia is lobbying to stop people getting repairs done on iPads I stopped watching your video.