Author Topic: TI-83 Plus link port failure  (Read 9054 times)

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Offline TC01

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TI-83 Plus link port failure
« on: July 02, 2010, 03:07:59 pm »
Just today, I discovered that my calculator (my 83+; I also have a Titanium) can't link to my computer anymore.

I had cleared my calculator of most programs on it, save for a Basic program (hooked to Startup, to print my name and contact info to the screen), a BBC Basic program (didn't do much, I just wrote it to experiment with BBC Basic) and an Assembly game (Pong Z80, which was the last program I sent to my calculator).

Then, when I went to load some more games, I found that TI Connect couldn't pick up my calculator anymore, when I went to send additional games to my calculator. I assumed that the error was TI Connect's, and so I uninstalled and reinstalled it. That didn't fix the problem, so I then went to my Windows XP laptop- my desktop has Windows 7 64-bit- and tried the installation of TI Connect there. That didn't work, so I uninstalled TI Connect from my laptop and installed TiLP. But TiLP also didn't pick up my calculator. (It did pick up my Titanium, though, so I know I'm using it correctly).

At this point, I had the problen narrowed down to two things- my cable (a SilverLink) or my calculator itself. I can't test the calculator-to-calculator link, because I've lost my 83+ cable and in any event, I don't have X-Link installed (to communicate with my Titanium, but I could test the cable) by plugging it into my Titanium's serial port. TI Connect was able to pick up my Titanium using the SilverLink.

A search of the UTI, Cemetech, and Omnimaga tech support forums brought up this on Cemetech. Someone had a similar problem, and it turned out to be a hardware problem- the soldering on the link port failed. That could very well be possible, as my calculator is pretty old (hardware revision A, if I'm reading the serial number correctly). However, I'd like to be sure before I take my calculator apart and solder my link port: is it possible there's some software corruption instead? Could it be some part of the OS, or possibly even the certificate, is messed up? I've done RAM clears- both from the Memory menu on the calculator and by pulling out a battery- so I don't think it could be some part of RAM that's been corrupted.

I do have CalcSys installed if there's some test I can do using it. I also can run any assembly program by loading it into WabbitEmu, unprotecting it, and copying the program token by token into my 83+... not that I want to do that, but if there's some assembly program I could use to test, or fix things, I could run it.

Oh, and apart from the link port, the calculator is fine. I haven't noticed any other errors, which is why I think it might only be a hardware problem... I just want to be sure.



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Offline JoeyBelgier

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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2010, 03:45:36 pm »
Got the same problem once..
Actually, I was transferring a project I was working on for a few days (utermost rare moment) then suddenly TI-Connect stopped working and my calc crashed => project gone <_<

Anyhow, software corruption is certainly possible, to put it a bit crude: TI sucks and has a lot of shortcommings <_<
That said, did you try all your USB ports? I noticed that some didn't work on my laptop but one of them still does the job.

Offline TC01

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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2010, 04:06:03 pm »
Got the same problem once..
Actually, I was transferring a project I was working on for a few days (utermost rare moment) then suddenly TI-Connect stopped working and my calc crashed => project gone  <_<

Anyhow, software corruption is certainly possible, to put it a bit crude: TI sucks and has a lot of shortcommings <_<
That said, did you try all your USB ports? I noticed that some didn't work on my laptop but one of them still does the job.

Yes, I tried all USB ports- none of them worked.



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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2010, 04:58:59 pm »
The best way I see to test this is to plug headphones into your calculator. Make this program and run it with asm(.  This program makes a ~50Hz sound on both sides and has no way of quitting.

Code: [Select]
:AsmPrgm
:FBAFD30076EE031
8F9


real code (don't type this)
ei
xor a
loop:
out (00), a
halt
xor 3
jr loop

I tested it to work on mine and the sound will give you a headache, but it works.
« Last Edit: July 02, 2010, 05:01:31 pm by thepenguin77 »
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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2010, 05:19:13 pm »
I hope it's not the soldering. It would really suck. This is what happened in long term to my old 83+. The link port got loose and it would be hard for connection to work at all. Eventually it stopped working altogether (coudlN't send/receive stuff anymore) and when I opened my calc case, the link port felt apart. Thankfully, I did not have this problem with my 83+SE nor my bro's 83+ yet.

I have the same issue with my TI-92. Link port soldering is almost detached completly and it's a challenge to send anything to it.

Offline TC01

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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2010, 05:55:57 pm »
The best way I see to test this is to plug headphones into your calculator. Make this program and run it with asm(.  This program makes a ~50Hz sound on both sides and has no way of quitting.

Code: [Select]
:AsmPrgm
:FBAFD30076EE031
8F9


real code (don't type this)
ei
xor a
loop:
out (00), a
halt
xor 3
jr loop

I tested it to work on mine and the sound will give you a headache, but it works.

Thanks for this.

I don't have a 3.5 to 2.5 mm adapter, but I'm going to make one tomorrow.

In the mean time, I tested the electricity from the link port using a volt meter (actually a multi-meter), and there was a spike in voltage when your program was running. Of course, I don't know if that means anything or not- would there still be increased voltage in the link port even if no sound was being produced?



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Offline thepenguin77

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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2010, 06:20:15 pm »
For a volt meter, your best bet is to use Calcsys. I would assume you stuck a 2.5mm jack into the port and you aren't just sticking probes in there lol.

Go to calcsys, press 3, and you will be at port 00h which is the link port. With nothing else at this point, the calculator should be showing 5+ volts from both tip and ring to ground. Now press enter and type 03. This will set both of them to ground. They should be at 0+ volts or close to it. You can then test each connection by sending 01 for tip grounded and 02 for ring grounded.

I should also mention that when you send any of those values besides 00 the calculator, it will run very slowly if it even runs at all.
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Offline TC01

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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2010, 07:34:22 pm »
For a volt meter, your best bet is to use Calcsys. I would assume you stuck a 2.5mm jack into the port and you aren't just sticking probes in there lol.

Go to calcsys, press 3, and you will be at port 00h which is the link port. With nothing else at this point, the calculator should be showing 5+ volts from both tip and ring to ground. Now press enter and type 03. This will set both of them to ground. They should be at 0+ volts or close to it. You can then test each connection by sending 01 for tip grounded and 02 for ring grounded.

I should also mention that when you send any of those values besides 00 the calculator, it will run very slowly if it even runs at all.

Okay, I gave that a try.

The ring is around 4.6 or 4.7 (when set to 00 or 01), but no matter what I enter the tip stays close to 0 (doesn't get higher than 0.0007).

So I'm guessing it is the soldering on the link port then, and not software corruption of some kind.



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Offline thepenguin77

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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2010, 07:44:48 pm »
That would be a soldering fail. The tip should be neutrally at +5 volts so it is definitely not connected. It can't be software either because changing the value of the port like that is the lowest level command possible for the link port.

Hopefully you're good at soldering. :)
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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2010, 08:19:35 pm »
Damn thats no good.  Hopefully you have a way to fix it D: Is there any info on how the port is to be constructed?

Offline TC01

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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2010, 11:20:40 pm »
Damn thats no good.  Hopefully you have a way to fix it D: Is there any info on how the port is to be constructed?
I can't seem to find any- the only information I've got to go on is what KermMartian posted on Cemetech in the help thread there.

Although, I did find a tutorial about the TI-83's port, although that mainly talks about assembly programming. And I also found a detailed guide (that does talked about the hardware- it had a circuit diagram) for the TI-85/TI-86's link port here, but I don't know if the hardware of Z80 calculators changed between the 86 and the 83+.

Most of the link port documentation is about how you can do stuff with it using an assembly program, not how the port itself is constructed, it seems.



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Offline TC01

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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #11 on: July 03, 2010, 05:15:11 pm »
Well, I've opened up my calculator and taken a look at the link port. But I'm not really sure what to do- from what I can tell, it doesn't look like there are any flaws in the solder around the link port, but I'm not sure if that's the right place to look. Because here is what KermMartian posted on Cemetech:

Quote
The times this has happened to me, it's been the relatively simple issue of TI's weak soldering job on the link port failing. The link port is a tiny plastic piece soldered onto the motherboard of the calculator at three points, each corresponding to one of the gold rings on the plug you put in the link port. If you can archive all of your programs to ROM, your best bet would be to do what I did with my very first TI-83, which eventually developed this problem. Open it up (you'll need a Torx-6 screwdriver and also a phillips for the backup battery) and locate the black plastic link port at the bottom of the motherboard. It's not even necessary to unscrew the motherboard for this fix: look closely at the link port and you should notice flaws in the solder on at least one of the pins. Once you find the pin or pins, heat a soldering iron, get some solder, then CAREFULLY melt the solder on the pin and dab a bit more on. Remove the iron after the solder to ensure a good connection. You might want to repeat one at a time for the other two just to be sure. Be very careful not to accidentally hit one of the tiny surface mount components around the port with the iron, as they come desoldered very easily and are nearly impossible to resolder with normal commercial tools. Then seal the whole thing back up and cross your fingers.

Is the flawed solder actually inside the link port- the black plastic piece- or is it around the edge of the link port where the port is connected to the motherboard? I had assumed the latter when I first read this, but now that I've actually opened up the calculator I'm not so sure, as the solder seems to be fine around the edge of the link port.

Has anyone here successfully done this procedure, who could give some more information?

Would it help if I took a picture of the link port and attached it?



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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #12 on: July 03, 2010, 05:45:36 pm »
Can you run some tests while the calculator is opened?  See if you can get the voltage from touching the tips of the multimeter to the areas of solder.  It is possible that the jack itself is actually the broken part and might need to be replaced in which case you'd have to remove it and solder on a new one.
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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #13 on: July 03, 2010, 06:39:46 pm »
Can you run some tests while the calculator is opened?  See if you can get the voltage from touching the tips of the multimeter to the areas of solder.  It is possible that the jack itself is actually the broken part and might need to be replaced in which case you'd have to remove it and solder on a new one.
I can give that a try.

Also, I tried testing the resistance already, from the wires inside the port to the soldering on the outside, using the multimeter, and it was pretty close to 0- less than an ohm.

Is it possible to actually build a replacement link port if it breaks?



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Re: TI-83 Plus link port failure
« Reply #14 on: July 05, 2010, 11:11:10 am »
Well, after trying it (it didn't work), I realized that you can't get the voltage from that when the calculator is open, because there's no power- all the batteries are out, including the backup- so the only power would be from the multimeter itself. (I could only test the resistance of the solder to the port using the power from the multimeter.)

Any other ideas?

Is it possible it's not the link port or the solder, but some bit of wiring in the calculator that provides power to the link port?



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