Possible solder issue with audio
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 12:17 am
So first I want to say I did search and saw that the audio is a somewhat common issue to have. However, those threads don’t seem to completely relate to my issue.
This was my first real soldering project, so I was glad to get the free practice boards along with my MintyPi v3.5. I was very careful doing the practice board and checked it with my multimeter. It was all good and everything was making proper contact.
After moving to the actual boards and taking care getting them soldered correctly, I tested them and they all seemed fine. I loaded the micro-SD card up and did a test boot (with the speaker attached temporarily). It booted fine but there was no sound-I even tested with headphones.
I went back and re-tested the board with the test pads (all was fine). Then went and tested each soldered spot to see if any had made contact with an adjacent joint. They all seem fine, but after testing the pads several times, I notice that the pad to the left of the two 5V pins will SOMETIMES register contact to the 5V pin next to it (see attached photo).
This is the only thing I can think of that might be causing no audio. Unless you can think of something else? I’ve re-downloaded and rewrote the SD card three times now and that does nothing. Everything else seems to function (though I haven’t soldered the L/R buttons or installed everything in its case yet). Is there a way to test the speaker? Or could it be another solder joint somewhere else on the board like some other threads have mentioned? I know there are ways to test this, but could someone spell it out for me so I know I’m doing it properly? I’m a novice when it comes to this, including using a multimeter, so dummy-proof advice would be welcome.
I have some of that Chip-quick and a hot-air rework tool, but if that’s not the issue I don’t want to have to do it.
Thank you guys!
-Hawk
This was my first real soldering project, so I was glad to get the free practice boards along with my MintyPi v3.5. I was very careful doing the practice board and checked it with my multimeter. It was all good and everything was making proper contact.
After moving to the actual boards and taking care getting them soldered correctly, I tested them and they all seemed fine. I loaded the micro-SD card up and did a test boot (with the speaker attached temporarily). It booted fine but there was no sound-I even tested with headphones.
I went back and re-tested the board with the test pads (all was fine). Then went and tested each soldered spot to see if any had made contact with an adjacent joint. They all seem fine, but after testing the pads several times, I notice that the pad to the left of the two 5V pins will SOMETIMES register contact to the 5V pin next to it (see attached photo).
This is the only thing I can think of that might be causing no audio. Unless you can think of something else? I’ve re-downloaded and rewrote the SD card three times now and that does nothing. Everything else seems to function (though I haven’t soldered the L/R buttons or installed everything in its case yet). Is there a way to test the speaker? Or could it be another solder joint somewhere else on the board like some other threads have mentioned? I know there are ways to test this, but could someone spell it out for me so I know I’m doing it properly? I’m a novice when it comes to this, including using a multimeter, so dummy-proof advice would be welcome.
I have some of that Chip-quick and a hot-air rework tool, but if that’s not the issue I don’t want to have to do it.
Thank you guys!
-Hawk