FED3 Troubleshooting - KravitzLab/KreedLabWiki GitHub Wiki
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 common solutions to this:
- The small FED3 power switch must be in the "ON" position to flash the FED3.
- You must use the "inside" microUSB port (the one on the Adalogger M0 board) to flash the OEPS FED3. The other microUSB port near the power switch is for charging the FED3 only.
- The Adafruit Adalogger board needs to be in boot loader mode to accept code. To put it in boot loader mode, "double-click" (2 rapid pushes) the reset button on the Adalogger board. The red LED on the board will start "breathing" indicating it is in boot loader mode:
If you still have trouble, follow the Adafruit guide for how to set up the Arduino IDE to flash the Adalogger boar.
FED3 is jammed
Jamming is a potential problem with any pellet dispenser. If FED3 jams, remove all pellets, remove the dispensing disk, and blow out any pellet dust with compressed air. Reassemble and start a dispensing routine and watch (and listen) to see if the disk is rubbing on the hopper or if pellets are getting crunched. If things aren't right, loosen the screws holding the motor in place and adjust the motor to stop the rubbing and make sure the pellet disk lies flat in the hopper. Dispense 10-20 pellets and remove them with forceps to make sure everything is working before putting it back with mice.
The date and time on my FED3 are wrong
The date and time are set on the real time clock (RTC) chip and maintained with a CR1220 coin cell battery that should last 3-5 years. If the battery has died or is not inserted correctly you may see a time of "165/165/2165" or corrupted values on the screen in place of the time. If this happens, replace the CR1220 battery.
If the clock seems to work but the time is set incorrectly, you can adjust the time. For small edits (<4 hours) FED3 has an on-board function to adjust the clock. Hold both pokes at startup and you will enter an editing mode where you can set the device number and clock.
If you need to adjust the time by more than a few hours or days you can re-set the time by flashing the "SetClock" example in the FED3 library. After flashing this example you will see the correct date and time on the screen and you can re-flash your behavioral code to operate FED3.
I see "Check SD Card!" on the display at startup and the Neopixel strip illuminates in red
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 up startup.
The pokes are auto-triggering at startup
The most common cause of this is dust build up in the IR LED or detector inside the nose-pokes. You can clean them with a cotton swab and 70% ethanol. You can also take a small needle and try to break up dust if it's caked on. Both sides should look clean when you are done, like this:
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Matt Gaidica at the WashU NeuroTech Hub has posted an extensive cleaning procedure for FED3 electronics. Please consult this guide if you require a more thorough cleaning of the FED3 electronics.
Finally, it is possible the poke sensor has gone bad, which is unfortunately a much harder problem to solve. The sensor can be replaced but it is not easy and requires desoldering equipment and skill. Matt Gaidica has posted a guide for this as well.
FED3 battery life is too short
FED3 should last ~7 days on battery life (the exact battery life depends mostly on how often FED3 uses the motor to dispense pellets). If you have intentionally disabled sleep modes you should expect ~3-4 days of battery life.
If you think there is something wrong, you can troubleshoot the power draw with a cheap USB power meter, you need enough precision to measure milliamps but don't need more precision than that. To measure the power draw of FED3, disconnect the battery and power FED3 via the microUSB port with one of these meters in-line to measure power draw. When sleeping, FED3 should draw ~8-10mA of current, and when awake but idle it should draw ~25mA.
One possibility for unexpectedly high power drain 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%!
