Troubleshooting – Pololu Qik 2s9v1 User Manual
Page 23
7. Troubleshooting
The following are some suggestions for ways you can troubleshoot your qik:
• Test for life: With nothing more than logic voltage connected, look for a green LED heartbeat. If you do
not see the green LED flashing, you either lack sufficient logic power (e.g. the voltage is out of range or the
power supply is too noisy) or your qik is damaged. See
for more information about logic power
requirements.
• Test your serial connection: Put on the fixed baud jumper (with the CRC jumper is off), connect your
TTL serial control source to the qik’s RX pin, reset the board, and send 0xBF (191) at 38.4 kbps. You should
see the red error LED turn on. If you then send the command 0x82 (130) at 38.4 kbps, you should see the
green LED pulse on (this might be hard to distinguish from the heartbeat LED), the red LED turn off, and, if
you have a connection to the qik’s serial output, you should receive the byte 0x40 (64). If you have a USB-
to-TTL-serial adapter, you should try this first with our
• Test your motors: Try running the qik in demo mode first without motors connected and then with
motors connected (see
for more information about demo mode). If the qik experiences problems
only with motors connected, this is a sign that your problems are likely due to insufficient motor power or
motor-induced noise. Ensure that your motor power supply can provide the current your motors are drawing,
and ensure that your motors are not trying to draw more current than the qik can supply (1 A continuous
per motor channel, 3 A peak). Make sure your motor power is sufficiently decoupled from your logic power
and take steps to limit motor noise (e.g. solder 0.1 uF capacitors across your motor terminals and use short,
twisted motor leads).
If your problems persist, please post on our
or
directly.
Qik 2s9v1 User's Guide
© 2001–2012 Pololu Corporation
7. Troubleshooting
Page 23 of 24