Posts by G1FXE

  • Pluto Rev C/D Ground Mod ?

    My QO-100 Station like most is based around a Pluto Rev C (marked on Label) / D (Etched on PCB).

    In the several months this has been in use I get the issue with the Ethernet connection regularly disappearing.


    Up to now I have just gone to the Pluto and re-booted it which 'fixes' the connection. On my previous Pluto I installed the Ground Mod for the Ethernet disconnection issue, this worked really well.


    However, when I looked today at my Rev C/D I noticed that the PCB layout is markedly difference:


    R58 is not populated

    D3 is no longer near R58

    Plus on the rows of header holes Ground is no longer the bottom outside as it was with RevB


    Rather than break a Pluto that in every other way works fine I have for the moment put the mod on hold.


    Has anyone performed the Ground Mod on the Rev C/D ? Google searches have not revealed the correct way for this Revision.



    Cheers,

    Peter.....

  • Pluto USB issue

    Apologies for making my first post a request for help but I have reached a brick wall in trying to resolve the issue below.

    any advice anyone can offer would be appreciated.


    Recently I swapped out my old Rev B pluto for the latest model so that I could more easily add a GPSDO. This new model & GPSDO is working fine, the issue is with the 'old' Rev B.


    Moving the device back into the house and plugging it into the PC via USB I noticed a couple of issues:


    1. Windows 10 makes no announcement noise when the device is plugged into the USB port

    2. The port on the USB Hub doesn't light up indicating a connection

    3. The Pluto Mass storage device does not appear (not a surprise given 1 & 2) nor can the Web Console page be reached.


    However in 'DFU' mode windows announces the device, USB Hub light up and I can connect with DFU-Util.

    In 'Normal' mode if I plug in an ethernet adapter I can reach the Web Console & connect using putty. Also in 'Normal' mode the Pluto LEDs light correctly indicating a proper boot. Both the 'DFU' & 'Normal' operations mentioned lead me to believe there isn't a problem with the USB electronics ?


    I have tested the Pluto on my Mac too & this doesn't recognise a USB connection either. Oh & just to confirm the Drivers are installed on the Windows PC and were working fine before this issue appeared.


    Following advice from various threads on the analog.com website I have updated the following files using DFU mode in case of corruption: boot.dfu, pluto.dfu & uboot-env.dfu none of these fixed the issue.


    There is also mention of perhaps replacing uboot-extra-env.dfu with a version only containing 'ff' hex but when I try this although dfu-util appears to complete correctly I believe the file is not replaced as downloading it again from the Pluto shows the contents as being without the 'ff' hex fill mentioned. The wiki also mentions that this file is protected.


    I can connect with a JTAG but how do I 'unprotect' the uboot-extra-env.dfu file ? Web searches have been no help on this subject.


    Is there anything else I should be trying ?


    BTW, I have also reloaded the file system from the uboot console using a command I found on the support forum (can't find it again at the moment to reproduce here) this appeared to finish without error but made no difference.

    Oh & I have tried several known good USB leads including a brand new unused lead supplied with the Pluto.


    Thanks for getting this far & any guidance would be appreciated.


    73

    Peter (G1FXE)