Troubleshooting
Have a problem with your Polaron? Here's some tips for finding and solving problems with your build (please help me improve this page as you encounter/solve problems, others might have too).
The debug mode helps to check if all LEDs and buttons work correctly. To start the polaron in debug mode press and hold the top track button (the top most push button on the right side, right below pot2) while powering up the polaron.
In debug mode
- all LEDs are turned on and should light up
- when pressing any button, the corresponding LED is turned OFF
- when turning the pots, the color of the LEDs change
- when pressing track buttons, the corresponding sound is played (yes, use debug mode for a quick jam...)
If some LEDs or buttons don't work, check the following sections on how to find and fix the problem. To leave debug mode, unpower the polaron and start it again.
Its quite common that after a fresh build, not all LEDs are working right away. The LEDs are all connected in series, they form one big chain. If one LED in this chain doesn't work, all others that follow, will most likely show issues. The following image shows how the LEDs are ordered on the PCB starting from 1 to 30.
If your LEDs work up to a certain point, e.g. LEDs 1-7 work, LED 8-30 don't
- The problem is most likely a bad soldering joint on the erroneous LED itself, or on the LED that is RIGHT BEFORE this LED in the chain (in the above example, check LED 7 and 8). Carefully re-solder all connections again to fix the problem (melt the existing solder again, maybe apply some more, make sure it flows nicely between LED and PCB pad)
- Check that the orientation of the LED is correct (small triangle on one corner of the LED needs to match the small 1mm line on the PCB footprint - check the building instruction again for more about this)
If a button is not working, it could be a bad soldering connection on the button itself, in the resistor that belongs to the button, or in the shift-register (IC chip) the button is connected to (you can see the connection from the button to the shift-register on the front side of the PCB). Carefully check all soldering joints of all components involved: Heat up the solder again to make sure the joint is fine. Also check for any short-circuits/solder bridges/lead leftovers on the PCB