On Thu, 24 Jun 2004 16:48:22 -0600, Richard Zinn wrote:

>I just etched my first PCB, and the (working) circuitry I took from my
>solderless breadboard and soldered to this new PCB doesn't work.  And right
>now the only thing I can tell about it is that the batteries immediately
>begin to heat up.  This typically means there is a power-ground short
>correct?  But I've been over every trace and solder point with a magnifine
>glass around 50 times and still can't find any problems.
>
>I'm pretty new at this so I thought I'd throw this question out there...
>What else should I be suspicious of?  Or am I just blind and I definately
>have touching traces?
>
>All I have on the board are:
>1 pic16f628
>1 4 bit LCD module
>1 Laipac 433khz receiver
>2 resistors
>
>Any ideas?
>

Can you measure the resistance between your Vdd and Vss lines? Since
the batteries are heating up, it sounds like you've got pretty much a
dead short between the two somewhere.


Can you unplug the LCD module and the receiver? It's really easy to
swap Vdd and Vss on LCD connections by transposing pins. I think this
would cause the LCD to draw excessive current.


You might want to try dragging a scribe between any spots where Vdd
and Vss traces come close to each other.


Regards, Bob

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