tk1337,
Thanks for the photos (and the improved ones
), as well as the rest of the investigation. Looks like the Quality Assurance department was asleep as the rush to build and ship the units took priority. Hopefully Beastlymac and other members of the Blue/Red Fury organization will take this into account if/when there are additional batches built.
Just wondering if some of the inconsistencies that you found were in the 'solder mask' (the paint layer that covers the copper tracks to prevent solder adhesion during wave soldering or SMT placement) or were the tracks partially missing or shorting?
Cheers
Some of the mask layer was missing in some areas, other areas had full run-on when it shouldn't have (example R15 pad1 actually connecting to pad2), some went as far as connecting R15 to R16 on two or more pads. My guess is underneath the resistor (since there was such an extremely close gap (1-2mm?)) that it could have caused a connection underneath the resistor (possibly bypassing it
). I'm no PCB expert, I usually stick to coding, however I have been replacing/fixed/soldering circuit board components (as a hobby) for a good 20 some years. Also to note, I don't have a completely 'dead' fury, so I'm not going to attempt this yet (I might, who knows) but inspecting most of the board under a magnifying glass pretty thoroughly, I found for the most part, it seemed like this was only an issue around R15 and R16.
What I will say is earlier in my posts I couldn't get a reading on R15 with a multimeter, thought it might be the multimeter (as it was one I borrowed), later bought a new one... still no reading this bugged me, as I was getting a reading on other resistors in the area on the board. I was of course trying to read the fury sticks I had issues with... now here's the more interesting thing... now that they seem fixed with the 9.53k ohms resistor and careful placement, I get a reading. So, that raises a question of, was it somehow bypassing that resistor with the pad underneath being extended/spilled over into the other pad(s), since it would make a direct connection pad to pad first or maybe sometimes? I'm not sure, I'm speculating right now.
And I the 3 I did tonight I put 10k ohms on and they run 'okay' but it really seems that 9.53k ohms is a sweet spot, so I'm going to put an order in for more of those, maybe a few 9.1k/9.2k.
Oh and btw, I always have cooling on all my components. (Even if they are stated to not require it...) and I will say I don't have any of the Blue Furies with the black heatsink (anyone wanna sell me one so I can test?), mine have the larger silver heatsink (which I'm debating on sanding down some and giving giving a little bit more space between the fins for better airflow when I anodize them blue), however the Red Furies with the red heat-sinks which have a slimmer heat-sink profile, while it's a longer heatsink, it doesn't do the job as efficiently as the Blue Furies I currently have, without air on it, it heats up much hotter than the blues.)
I would also like I am in no means trying to disrespect Beastlmac, Big Picture Mining, or the Red Fury team. I am simply trying to help them out, as I hope for another production run, just with possible issues addressed (if these are indeed valid issues). I know they've had a lot of hard times trying to get things thus far, personally if the production factory which did the PCB's failed at some level and tried to rush things just to get the boards out due to all they delays they were causing, if I were in Beastlymac's shoes, I would definitely want to know about it so I can correct it for future production.
With all that being said;
If anyone has any Fury devices deemed, 'broken' and they don't want to deal with it, I'll be glad to buy them...
Likewise I would like to get my hands on a Blue Fury with the Black Heatsink, so looking for one of those to purchase as well...
I would really like to do some more testing and try a few other things I've noticed other than just replacing the R15 resistor.