SILICON CHIP LC METER PROBLEM

[bluesky]

Hello everybody,have assembled the SILICON CHIP magazine(JUNE 2018) LC meter,based on Arduino UNO and rellevant sketch.
Everything appears on LCD but instrument does not respond to inductance/capacitance values less than 10mH/10uF!!! also noticed that
it does not show any frequency al all ,again for the high valued components ,10Hz or something....Also connected to serial monitor and followed the instructions,again without any result.....can anybody involved give some idea whats going on?? thank you!

 

[Bluejets]

Suggest double check your wiring.
As it apparently comes as a pre-assembled unit, if the above does not show anything unusual, take it back to where you bought it and ask for another.

 

[Delta Prime]

This is the only opportunity I feel comfortable pulling out of blue sky, (pun intended)
SILICON CHIP magazine(June 2018)
you didn't post it. can't read it.
You might want to check July,August 2018 of the before mentioned periodical for corrections.

 

[kellys_eye]

Don't Silicon Chip run a forum? Most big magazine writers do so perhaps check in with user comments there? Or perhaps post a schematic and we might spot something there.

 

[bluesky]

Hello Bluejets,thank you for yr time to respond,well,don t you think that if it was something so simple,should have alerady
checked the wiring?have assembled two of them,the second one very carefuly checked components and so on ,th e result
is the same....this unit/project is totaly dependent on its sketch(firmware).
Also,for the other fellow asking /looking if tried to contact them but their response is better not to refer here....and then comes
the diappointment....

 

[Bluejets]

don t you think that if it was something so simple,should have alerady
checked the wiring

No mind readers here chum.

Kellys_eye has a good suggestion.............

 

[bluesky]

Hello Kellys_eye,have posted the wiring diagram and its operation..... as I have spoted,if any component-
cap/inductor-less than 1uF/mH is connected,there is no measurement,also the frequency shown on the lcd
is always 0,can also post shots of the lcd screen how it appears when working properly or erratic
like mine...

 

[kellys_eye]

Given the use of glass-encapsulated reed relays I'd suggest one or more has been damaged - easily done. Check that the right relays are operated (coil voltage measurements) and check for them sorting/opening as they should when the relevant relay is activated.

 

[bluesky]

Hi kellys_eye,kindly note that the relays used are quality dil relays-not glass encapsulated-made by GI and as
I have already mentioned in previous post,have assembled two units,all components of second one
have been carefully checked...the result is the same for both units,everybody understands that this is NOT
a hardware problem...but also suspect if something wrong/missing on the electronic diagram....

 

[kellys_eye]

OK, scratch the 'glass' bit!!! Can you still test for relay operation in regard to the correct relays operating properly for the required range?

Did you use a pre-programmed arduino or load the code yourself? Did you use the right version of Arduino (official or chinese knock-off etc) and have you searched for comments from others that have a similar issue? ISTR someone, somewhere, talking about this but can't recall exactly where!

 

[Bluejets]

this unit/project is totaly dependent on its sketch(firmware).

Wouldn't agree with that statement.

Did you build the "shield" board yourself...??

A few photos of what you have in front of you might be helpful.