Troubleshooting
The OEPS FED3 is not detected in the Arduino IDE and will not flash when I connect to the microUSB port on the PCB
There are three potential solutions to this:
- The small switch must be in the "ON" position to flash the FED3.
- You must use the microUSB port on the Adalogger M0 board to flash the OEPS FED3. The microUSB port on the OEPS PCB is for charging only.
- The Adafruit Adalogger board needs to be in boot loader mode to accept code. To do this, "double-click" (2 rapid pushes) the reset button. The red LED on the board will start "breathing" indicating it is in boot loader more, see video of what the LED should look like here.
The date and time are set on the real time clock (RTC) chip and maintained with a CR1220 coin cell battery that should last about 5 years. If the battery has died or is not inserted correctly you may see a time of 165/165/2165 on the screen. If this happens replace the CR1220 battery. If the battery is good but the time is set incorrectly, you will have to set the time again by flashing the "SetClock" example that comes with the FED3 library. After flashing this you will see the correct date and time on the screen and you can re-flash your behavioral code to operate FED3.
The RTC will drift, it is recommended that you flash
SetClock.inooften to keep the clocks in the correct time (<1 min error).
This indicates that FED3 cannot find a valid SD card at startup. FED3 requires a valid SD card to boot. If you are having trouble with a specific SD card you can try re-formatting it with the formatting tool developed by the SD association or replacing that card.
FED3 is sluggish to start up, it takes a few seconds before anything happens after I hit the reset button
FED3 initializes the SD card and file structure during startup and if the card contains a lot (>100) of datafiles this can cause delays at startup. Try removing some of the files on the SD card to speed this up.
Jamming is a potential problem with any pellet dispenser. If you FED3 is jamming the most likely cause is that the pellet disk is rubbing against the inside of the hopper and the friction is stopping the FED3 disk from dispensing. To address this, first remove all pellets and blow out any pellet dust with compressed air. Cleaning the hopper out with compressed air regularly is a good idea to keep things moving smoothly. Then start a dispensing routine and watch (and listen) to see if the disk is rubbing on the hopper. If so, loosen the screws holding the motor in place and adjust the motor to stop the rubbing. Let the motor turn for several minutes after adjustment to confirm the disk moves smoothly before trying again with pellets.
You can troubleshoot the power draw with a cheap USB power meter. These cost ~$15 online. Disconnect the battery and power FED3 via the microUSB port with one of these meters to measure power draw. When sleeping, FED3 should draw ~8.5mA of current. It enters sleep whenever it is waiting for poke input, so start an FR1 session and check the current when it starts up. If it's more than 8.5mA there is something wrong.
One possibility is that the brand or model of SD card can affect the battery life of FED3. We have found the SanDisk EDGE 8GB cards (pictured on the right) to work well with FED3, and will idle at a very low power draw. We have also noted that some other cards, such as the Kingston 8GB card pictured on the left, will idle at ~20mA of current draw. This can shorten FED3s battery life by >50%!
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