phoenix reader jaycar

[xfiles_2007]

i have a phoenix reader - jaycar one which i assembled and has been running perfectly for a few months....

for some reason it has stopped working... i have not touched any jumpers/switches etc...the lights work fine... however the card is not being read...no atr is being read now for any card inserted...i also notice the reader is getting very hot... doesnt seem normal...

any suggestions on how to go about fixing this or where the problem could be ?

thanks in advance.

[xfiles_2007]

ok worked it out thanks to this post! the middle leg track was no good...soldered a direct connection..



cheers !

[hillbilly]

its a top bit of info that!

[gw1]

Ah, that's why everything was getting hot - the logic ICs were being hit with 12V or so instead of 5V (because the broken track crippled the regulator). You're lucky they survived.

I can see now how that mistake occurred. The new CAD footprint Jaycar used for the TO-92 regulator, with very tiny pad compared to the hole size, is fine with plated through boards because the plating ensures conductivity. The mistake Jaycar made was to use that footprint with a single layer board, and to rush the job out the door without checking. A CAD design rule check may have caught it, a 3D CAD preview would probably have caught it, and visual inspection of the new boards after the change certainly should have caught it.

Jaycar could redeem themselves by sticking an errata slip in each box on their shelves, but what's the chances of that happening?

[fandtm666]

i got an email back from the designer and it was just the same dribble

"we will look and add comments if needed"