A post fromJustin KN4FAW reminds us all that it is VERY VERY EASY to damage your Raduino.
Justin says “So, I assembled my Bitx40 kit, at this point it was just wires laying on my bench. I wired up the function button, tested, everything working great. Accidentally touched the ground from function button (orange wire) to 12v while moving stuff around. Now my LCD only shows squares, and I can not tune the radio. Am I screwed?”
Answer: Yes.
Watch out for the two orange wires on the two different connectors. Check and double check your wiring before powering on.
Justin isn’t the only one who has done this. Several other group members fessed up to doing the same, or similar. Arduino Nano pins are not tolerant of 12v. There are many other ways to destroy an Arduino Nano pin. You can read about 10 ways to destroy an arduino here. There may be quite a few more ways as well …
Mike Hagen WA6ISP comments:
“I recommend in building these radios that you change all ground wires to Black and all Power (5 or 12V) to Red. Reserve these colors for just 2 purposes. You can use the wires you remove for additions.
“Leave the molex pin on them. I have a lot of spare Brown ones. I can’t stand an Orange wire being B+ (the term for us old Valve guys)! 26AWG stranded works great. I purchased a bunch of colors at All Electronics. Molex pins can be acquired at Tayda and Mouser.
“You don’t have to be in such a hurry and blow things up. Check your wiring several times. You could even make a connector chart with J numbers and pin numbers with the associated wire color. Match it up to what is on HF Signals. It may mean you catch a mistake and save a lot of trouble shooting?”