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Offline flyboy42191

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Airsoft and Light Outputs
« on: January 28, 2019, 11:58:46 AM »
Hi all,

I have recently purchased and got my TCB running and installed in my HL Challenger 2.
I am using an FrSky QX7 and X4R-SB for communication.
For power i have a 2S 4000mAh LiPo.
I am using some cheapy 10A RC car ESC's off amazon for drive motor control, no big issues with them.

I have the main drive and turret drives all working great, nice smooth operation.

I then went through and started getting the accessories working.
First thing i did was hook up the headlights to the Light 1 port on the TCB and assign the on/off to a couple positions on my transmitter
When I snooped the board, i saw that the trigger was being processed correctly, however when i connect the LED's they are always on??
I tried them in the Light 2 port and re-assigned the on/off to that
Again snoop indicated that it was trying to turn the lights on and off correctly, but again they never turned off.

At this point i just unplugged them and moved on to the airsoft unit
I re-wired the stock airsoft unit to match the wiki instructions and youtube video
I went through and assigned the cannon fire command to a momentary on my transmitter
I double checked the snoop output and it appeared to be reading the command correctly

I then proceeded to connect the airsoft unit, it fired, then just kept firing.
I read through the post by Lotuswins regarding airsoft issues.
I tried a number of things to get the airsoft unit to NOT fire when the board was powered up, no luck
I tried enable/disable airsoft, i tried unchecking trigger with cannon, nothing seems to stop the power to the unit.
I also tried using a pair of pliers to short the trigger switch contacts together, no luck.

I did a quick visual inspection of the board to check for solder bridging or obvious flaws, but i found none.

If anybody has experienced anything like this, or had any advice please let me know.

Thanks,
Brad

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2019, 02:33:40 PM »
Hi Brad,

I hate to say this, but it sounds an awful lot like you have received a bad board from Hobby King, with the incorrect MOSFETs. I thought they had fixed that problem a year ago, but maybe a few have still slipped through the cracks. The behavior you describe is what we would expect with the wrong-MOSFET-problem, all the outputs they control will just be continuously on. You can read this thread for more information where we discovered the problem in the first place.

Look at the components highlighted in the photo below and try if you can to read the numbers on them (it will be very small). If you can make out the part number post it here and let me know. 

Q1-Q8.jpg
Airsoft and Light Outputs Q1-Q8.jpg
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Offline flyboy42191

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2019, 02:56:39 PM »
Hi Luke,
I will take a close look when I get home this evening.
I just read through some of that suggested post, and I did NOT see any hand re-working on the board.
I will take some pics of the MOSFET's, hopefully that is the problem and I can simply re-work it myself
Thanks for the help

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2019, 05:47:39 PM »
The absence of hand-reworking by itself doesn't necessarily signify anything, since by now we would expect boards to be coming correctly assembled straight from the factory. But possibly this is old stock that never got fixed, who knows. They tell me nothing and I'm not even sure how many production runs they made or if they ever made more more than one to begin with.

If you do decide to re-work the board yourself be sure you are comfortable with very fine soldering. It is not easy to do and you can always make things worse in the process. Getting a replacement from HK would be best but I pity anyone who has to deal with their customer service department so I won't blame you whatever you choose.
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Offline flyboy42191

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2019, 06:41:13 PM »
Hi guys,
So I pulled the board out and the MOSFET's say 23EG
All 8 are the same marking
I attached a picture that shows the markings

What do you think Luke?
20190128_163523.jpg
Airsoft and Light Outputs 20190128_163523.jpg
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Offline LukeZ

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #5 on: January 28, 2019, 07:09:51 PM »
It's confirmed, they are the wrong MOSFETs.

It's weird, after the super-low sale price on the TCBs over Black Friday, Hobby King was sold out for several months. Then just about a week or two ago they showed stock again but only in the US warehouse. I'm guessing this is when you bought yours? Now they are showing out of stock once more.

I wonder if they just found some old ones laying around and put them for sale. This could explain why you got one that was produced all the way back in summer of 2017.

Anyway, you have the two choices discussed - try to get a refund/replacement from HK, or replace the MOSFETs yourself. Since HK are out of stock, I don't think you'll get a replacement. If you seek a refund, it's possible they may let you keep the faulty unit, but they might also ask you to send it back. They were known to take both approaches back in the day, so who knows.

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Offline flyboy42191

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #6 on: January 28, 2019, 07:24:13 PM »
Thanks Luke,

I think that since they are out of stock and I have cannibalized the original HL board for connectors i am going to keep the board.
I work at an aerospace company, so I think i can get the electrical shop to do the component swap.

For replacement MOSFET's it looks like the ones suggested back in 2017 are no longer standard stock items on DigiKey or Mouser
This looks like an option https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/infineon-technologies/IRLML6246TRPBF/IRLML6246TRPBFCT-ND/2393880

Let me know if those look compatible or if you have any other suggestions
At least i can drive things around in the meantime

Thanks again for the quick help
20190126_102411_2.jpg
Airsoft and Light Outputs 20190126_102411_2.jpg
Views: 659

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #7 on: January 28, 2019, 07:43:02 PM »
Ok then. Good luck with the swap, it is certainly doable for someone with experience and a steady hand. Hobby King got some hapless Chinese guy to redo countless of their boards and although they looked awful they did work.

You're right about the IRLML2502. The one you listed will be a perfect replacement.

I'm quite sorry about this state of affairs and the trouble it's caused you. I am very happy Hobby King decided to produce these boards on my behalf, but their service, level of quality, and other issues which are not publicly apparent have been a complete disappointment. I wish it were not so.
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Offline flyboy42191

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #8 on: January 28, 2019, 08:39:04 PM »
No worries Luke,
I get that you are frustrated with the poor service from HK, but I knew what I was getting myself into.
I am still in the hunt to find another TCB for my T-90, so this hasn't scared me off yet

I will put in an order for a batch of those MOSFET's

Your customer service is better than most

Thanks for the help

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Offline larryzhou

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2019, 11:13:10 AM »
It seems I met the same problem. Lights always on

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #10 on: February 07, 2019, 12:31:04 PM »
Do your MOSFETs also say 23EG? It would seem that HK dug up some old stock boards from 2017 that did not have the correct parts, and have been selling those at the very end. Guess they couldn't say goodbye without a parting gift.
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Offline larryzhou

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #11 on: February 07, 2019, 07:25:16 PM »
Do your MOSFETs also say 23EG? It would seem that HK dug up some old stock boards from 2017 that did not have the correct parts, and have been selling those at the very end. Guess they couldn't say goodbye without a parting gift.

bingo, 23eg!

well, we should think the bright side, that, at least, I have 2 openpanzer boards, and driving ,turret, sound functions are normal.

^_^

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Offline flyboy42191

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #12 on: February 11, 2019, 03:08:55 PM »
larryzhou,
I was able to pick up the replacement parts for about 5 bucks.
I was actually able to replace the 6 of 8 that I needed for my application with some patience and a soldering iron.
No pulled pads or other damage that I can observe and I now have fully functioning lights and airsoft.
I am saddened to see that these are no longer available from HK as I was hoping to convert my second project to OP TCB.
I am however very pleased that Luke gave me the pointers that I needed to get the board fully functioning.
Thanks,

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #13 on: February 11, 2019, 08:41:01 PM »
Hey Brad, glad to hear you got your board fixed, good job on the soldering. Maybe some TCBs will show up on the secondary market, if I hear of any I'll let you know.

I wish HK had told me in advance they were going to discontinue the product, I would have stocked up on extras to hand out to active members!
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Offline Brian Tulk

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Re: Airsoft and Light Outputs
« Reply #14 on: February 27, 2019, 05:55:52 AM »
hello all ,brian from south aus here ,regarding tcb availability ,i have today 27th feb received a tcb from aus warehouse for 1/2 price less shipping of course .havent tested it yet but doesnt have 23eg printed on suspect mosfets.Thought i'd grab it as i see they seem to be going out of production.Luke any chance of that wiring diagram for 'turret lock" set up have all the bits as recomended, just need some assistance not to wreck board, thanks ,brian