speaker not working at all
#1
Got got around to assembling my 2.1 from Kickstarter. My speakers don't seem to work at all and the headphone jack only seems to work in the left channel. Any ideas? I'm using a Pie Zero 1.3.
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#2
Hey Simonsays!  

When we got this first run of circuit boards from the manufacturer, there were a few things we needed to fix by hand.  These things should be fixed in the manufacturing from now on.

One of them is directly related to your problem.  I had fixed these, and we tested each of them before shipping them out.  The exact issue you're talking about came up in a few of the boards.  Of course we fixed them and retested them before shipping.  

There is (most likely) a component that is making a bad connection.  It is likely not fully soldered.  My guess is that your board worked fine in our testing maybe because it was making contact but not fully soldered.  In transit (or when you were working on it), it moved slightly and is no longer making a good connection.

It is also entirely possible that this issue is on the Pi or related to the soldering on the Pi.  This would seem oddly coincidental, though.  It would have to be just the one line that is responsible for the same exact problem we saw in our tests.

So, if you happen to be comfortable with soldering the small components (likely a resistor) on the circuit board, let me know.  I'd get you more information about the likely cause.

If you aren't comfortable with that (which seems more likely), then the best way to fix it is likely to have us send you a replacement circuit board.

For now, though, if it's easy enough, could you send a couple hi-res photos of:
1)  The FPZ board near the headphone jack.
2)  The solder on the Pi Zero.

If possible, could you post them here or email them to me?
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#3
Simonsays,

Did you get any of this worked out? I want to be sure that everything is working well for you.
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#4
I'm having this exact same problem on a cm3  i just received last week. I just finished building it and have found the same left channel only on headphones and no audio through the speeker. I am comfortable with smb component soldering so if my issue with the cm3 board could be the same, I would appreciate those pictures and descriptions on how to fix it.
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#5
Hey Utvak315

I will try to see if Andrew can give you some tests to determine the problem. In the meantime could you give some good photos of both sides of the circuitboard? Maybe disconnect the Pi so we can see that area, too.

We test every CM3 board that we send out, so the audio should have gone through our testing. I can’t really imagine what would go wrong after that.
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#6
Here are the photos. I will say, even with the foam on the back of the speaker, it seems like it could have shorted against the volume wheel contacts as they pierced through the foam. Although i tested it with everything out of the case and it still acts the same way.

https://imgur.com/nnXaRdu
https://imgur.com/2hMv7OG
https://imgur.com/a/QMGi4
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#7
We will try to get you some tests to try, Utvak315. The right audio is what runs the amplifier and speaker. I guess we just need to determine why the signal isn't getting there. Andrew seems to suspect the volume wheel (potentiometer). We can test bypassing it with a wire. He'll get you a diagram for that. In the meantime, you could try pressing on the wheel (squeezing it) while using headphones to see if it might be loose and if audio might pop in and out of the right ear. You can try twisting it low-high (left right) while putting pressure on it either way (up down).

All this is assuming that you're using our SD image without any modifications. If you do have any mods, let me know.
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#8
Here are a couple photos of 2 things to try.  If you can jump these 2 spots with a tweezers or wire, it will bypass the volume potentiometer wheel for the noted channel (left or right as shown in the photo).

Try it using both with headphones and without, please.

If that doesn't "fix" the problem, try "jumping" R9 (which is very close to the headphone jack).  That will bypass the switch inside of the headphone jack that detects whether or not there's a headphone plugged in.  That's a long shot, but if you notice any chance when you jump that, it might give us an idea of what is wrong.

Also, you could just visually inspect the components around this area.  Maybe there is something that isn't fully soldered or something.  In fact, I feel like that's the most probably thing, since it passed our testing before shipping.  If there was something that wasn't fully soldered, it could make contact here and then move slightly in the cold/hot of transportation.

       
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#9
Actually while i had it completely out, I took the time to snip the excess off the leads sticking out from the volume wheel to help prevent it from shorting against the speaker housing. After which, I re-soldered the volume wheel and the headphone jack. After testing reassembly, everything is working as it should. I thought about re-soldering c12, as it looked like it might have a weaker connection but ultimately decided not to as it didn't seem bad enough to cause anything. I'm guessing there just wasn't enough solder flowing through on the volume wheel causing a disconnection. I'm assuming pads on the side of the wheel itself are the ones needed to complete the circuit and those are just a pass-through to the other side where it is soldered?
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#10
Yeah, I think you're right (if I'm understanding your question correctly). Do you think it was shorting against the speaker? After your inquiry, we've been inspecting some of the new circuit boards a bit closer. It seems that some of them have the volume wheel solder connections pushed through the circuit board further than others. This could create the situation that you encountered. One fix would be to just snip off any excess protruding from the volume wheel (and headphone jack) solder points.
Card Fighters' Clash 2 English Translation ( http://cfc2english.blogspot.com/ )
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