User:Anthony Salvagno/Notebook/Research/2010/04/26/Final TEC Build and Some Measurements

I am finishing the build from Fri with one last piece. I need to solder the thermistor to Banana connectors. That's it! I'll put it all together and take some final pictures of the entire set. Finally I will install the software and run the program and see how well this thing works.

Final Pictures


Testing Equipment
So after some initial tests this morning, I couldn't get the Controller to send power to the cooler. I know some parts are working. The fan is getting power from the power supply and the controller is getting readings from thermistor. I know this because the software was giving me readings from the thermistor. This also tells me that I properly connected the RS232 pins. I noticed that on jumper 4 of the controller, ports 1 and 3 were connected while doing a continuity check. These are the ports that come from the power supple (1) and go out to the cooler (3). Port 4 wasn't connected to anything and is the negative terminal from the cooler.

I'll read the manual some to try and figure out what is going on. Then I'll contact customer support (yet again to try and figure out the problem). My email:
 *  It seems the controller isn't sending power to the cooler. I'm using the enclosed software and I'm registering temperature from the thermistor so I know that is set up right. The fan runs so I know the power supply is sending power. I've removed the jumpers from the cooler as indicated in the manual for temp controller function. The software shows no output power. I'm using the cooler to cool a laser and the temperature was just getting warmer and warmer with no response from the controller. I've set it up as instructed in the manual on page 37 (the Controller Manual). Do you have any suggestions?

Reply:
 * Hi Anthony, Check the alarm status. If there is no sensor on input 2 then there may be an alarm turning the output off. If so you need to change that alarm so it keeps the output on. Regards, Mike

This worked. I was not receiving an alarm, but I decided to follow the instructions regardless and that fixed the problem. Here is the software working. I've set the temp to 10C and it is cooling the system to this set point. If there is a problem with the hardware, the Alarm box has an indicator that lights up. The programmer(s) of this will make Larry happy, all the buttons are nice and big. They are slightly more organized though. 