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Solved Matter Control & Arduino are not connecting.

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by BrooklynBay, Jan 1, 2021.

  1. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    The number was lowered to 555 to make it more stable, and I still get an intermittent glitch. It seems like some things trigger it off faster such as when I use the power supply in the printer to run the screen. The power supply in the computer running the USB seems to be more stable, and doesn't trip it as fast but it does trip. I suspect that there might be power line EMI. I ran the screen with a battery pack to rule out this possibility, and it still acts up so it's not from EMI. Would an upgrade to Marlin 2.0 from 1.0 help?
     
  2. Rod Smith

    Rod Smith Member

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    Is this with a genuine 12864 or with the BTT TFT35-E3? (Sorry, I've lost track of all your changes.) If it's with the BTT TFT35-E3, I'd recommend upgrading its firmware as a first step. It's pretty easy; you download the files from the BTT github page, put them on an SD card, and reboot the screen with the SD card inserted.
     
  3. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    This is a cheap 12864 clone that came in a kit with a mixture of good & bad parts. I think that this display has issues because it should work better after the Marlin codes were installed.
     
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The cheaper LCDs from China have for the past few years been mostly junk.
    I have had both the RepRap Discount and Full graphics ones be dead out of the box on several occasions.
    I don't use them any longer so I can't speak for the past year or so ... but before that, they were crap.

    Now all of mine have an OctoPi instance in front of them with an LCD On the Pi -- those have yet to fail me :)
     
  5. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    It's similar to what I went through with the cheap clone Arduinos. I ended up spending a little more to get a working original Arduino. I have an original 12864 coming in the mail which cost more, so I hope that it works better than the cheaper ones.
     
  6. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    Here's an update. I bought two extension cables, and have been using the controller for several hours. The screen never shifted, and looks normal. I saw several posts saying that longer cables pick up interference, and could cause similar issues to what I've been experiencing. I'm confused since it works better with long extension cables connected to the original cables. Maybe I'll remove the extension cables, and see if this acts up again.
     
  7. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It Could have been as simple as a loose connection and swapping in the extensions sorted it.
     
  8. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    I tried one cable extension at a time but it had the same issue. I went back to not using the extensions but it was no good. It only works with extensions.
     
  9. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    So far after using these extension cables, I didn't see the display act up. I disconnected the extension cables, and the problem reappeared. I'm waiting for the Reprap LCD to come in the mail. I want to test that without the extension cables. The TFT35 was okay without the extension cables so this is a mystery.

    On a side note, Amazon had a good deal for a nickel plated copper nozzle. I thought that I would try it since I was having issues with various nozzles. So far I've noticed that I could print ABS at a lower temperature without clogging the nozzle, and print at a lower speed as well. The print quality comes out better. It's a no name brand nozzle so it was cheap but appears to be good. I'll see how it works after using it for a while.
     
  10. BrooklynBay

    BrooklynBay Active Member

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    The Reprap 12864 came in the mail on Friday. I've noticed several differences between the Reprap, and the clone 12864 displays:

    1. The clone has a brightness adjustment on the lower left hand corner while the Reprap doesn't.
    2. The color of the pc board is different on both models.
    3. The Reprap has a D shaped encoder shaft while the clone has splines. Only the clone comes with a knob for the encoder. You have to print your own case, stop button, and control knob. WWW.Thingiverse.Com has a lot of different versions to choose from.
    4. The Reprap has better construction around the display where the clone has a lot of LED light coming out all over the place.
    5. The Reprap has the rear plastic sleeves around the electrical connectors upside down. The clone has the plastic sleeves in the correct orientation. The display will flash & beep if you plug both cables in the way the notch out is set up. I was able to plug the cables in the correct way without modifying the plastic sleeves. It just requires a little force, but it fits without any modifications.
    6. I had an issue with the display shifting constantly on the clone until I installed extension cables. The Reprap & TFT35 displays didn't have this issue.
    7. The Reprap came with a case, two cables, RAMPS adapter, 8 GB class 4 micro SD card, and a micro SD card to full size SD card adapter. The clone just came with 2 cables, RAMPS adapter, and a control knob.
    8. The encoder knob on the clone selects a function when you turn it counter clockwise. The Reprap & TFT35 12864 select a function when you turn it clockwise.
    9. The beep tone isn't as loud in the Reprap as it is in the clone but is still loud enough to hear.
    10. All of these displays lack documentation, software, information on how to use them or where to download a case, buttons, knobs or in the case of the LCD35 where to download firmware or how to edit your printer's firmware to enable the Reprap Smart LCD Controller.
     
    #130 BrooklynBay, Feb 13, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2021
    mark tomlinson likes this.

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