Lightning bolt appears after previously error-free use! Help please!

quicksilver

@JusteBelmont said in Lightning bolt appears after previously error-free use! Help please!:

I can get it more quickly and affordably

Just remember "the poor man pays twice". Paying a few dollars more for the official adapter will provide you with peace of mind and reliability. Taking a risk on a lesser product means potentially it could have issues and then you have to buy the official one anyway. Just my two cents for what it's worth.

JusteBelmont

@quicksilver said in Lightning bolt appears after previously error-free use! Help please!:

Power supplies can go bad,

Doesn't it seem odd though that 2 power supplies would cease working at once, liked they formed a union and went on strike?

Clearly I'd have best odds trying with the official, but the canakit I can walk to get and return promptly if I have the same issue. You're definitely right, though, about buying quality as the best option.

quicksilver

@JusteBelmont said in Lightning bolt appears after previously error-free use! Help please!:

Doesn't it seem odd though that 2 power supplies would cease working at once, liked they formed a union and went on strike?

It does seem improbable but I have seen stranger things. My way of thinking is that 2 is a coincidence, 3 is a pattern.

Out of curiosity have you tried plugging your pi into a different outlet?

JusteBelmont

@quicksilver I've tried both plugs on the outlet the cable(s) can reach, with and without 2-3 different surge protectors, it hasn't seemed to make a difference. If I try another outlet, it's not going to go straight into the wall and would need a surge/extension cord, but I guess it's worth a shot?

quicksilver

@JusteBelmont I doubt it's your issue, but before spending more money it doesn't hurt to rule it out.

JusteBelmont

@quicksilver I appreciate the time and insight. Pending when I get to test a different outlet, any ideas about a likely cause should that or a new cable not fix the issue? I've read some things here where people have used higher than recommended voltage/amperage cables with good results, but am wary to just pump more power into the thing if there's a different issue at hand...

quicksilver

@JusteBelmont said in Lightning bolt appears after previously error-free use! Help please!:

I've read some things here where people have used higher than recommended voltage/amperage cables with good results, but am wary to just pump more power into the thing if there's a different issue at hand...

If there is an issue with not enough power making it to your pi, then over volting your CPU will only exacerbate the issue. If a new power supply doesn't fix the issue and your pi is no longer under warranty then I guess it's time for you to upgrade to a pi 4. ;)

Lolonois

@JusteBelmont from the distance I assume your RPi is still doing well. Undervoltage is mostly crucial to peripherals (e.g. SD-card).

Has the RPi collected dust? Undust it.

I notice that the Vilros PSU has quite a long cord, maybe this causes a voltage drop.

I see these options:
a) you are not (yet) skilled to solder

Get an official Raspberry PSU (as others stated too). Issue should be solved.
You may ask this guy if he knows/tested the Vilros device already and can give you some advice
(On his site there is also useful information about the inner workings of such devices and his test method. He also provides a list of tested devices.)

b) you are willing to do some solder and aware of the risks of doing wrong (e.g. frying your RPi, electric shock)

Shorten and resolder the Vilros cord just long enough to interconnect from the socket (115/230V) to the RPi
Watch if the shorter cable solves your issue, due to less voltage drop

c) soldering and gaining advanced craftmenship (but only if you can ensure proper insulation of the 115/230V line, e.g closed case)

Get two Dupont cables in different colors (usually AWG 26, if you are lucky you find AWG 24, don't use AWG 28), cut them in half. So you have four halves
Get a decent PSU e.g MeanWell RS-15-5. Set the Output voltage (can be adjusted) to 5.1V.
Connect the Duponts to 5V and GND on the GPIO and to the PSU, so you have two Duponts with GND and two Duponts with 5.1V. Watch closely the polarity and GPIO pins to use.
Why two Duponts each? One is not enough to deliver the current, with two you will have around 3A delivered to your RPi.
Mount everything properly inside your case so that nothing ever moves during the Arcade sessions.

The c) approach is the challenging one, so take extra care when going this path and don't take me responsible for any harm/damage/loss.

HTH

JusteBelmont

@Lolonois It's dust free, unlike under my couch XD. The Vilros cord I have is no more than about 1 meter, so I don't think it's cord length holding me back, more likely just a higher awg cable. I do know how to solder, but don't have solder or tools for that on hand, so I'll probably have to scrap those options for now, but I may refer back at some point. Thanks!

@quicksilver Yeah, that was my thinking. I'm hoping to not get a new board, but that might be the fix here. I'm a little wary on moving up to the pi4, I've heard kind of mixed reviews thus far, and aside that it would perhaps open up a couple new systems (improved N64 without overclocking, Saturn, Dreamcast, PSP, etc.) I think I'd probably get another 3 B+. Decisions, decisions...

quicksilver

@JusteBelmont said in Lightning bolt appears after previously error-free use! Help please!:

I've heard kind of mixed reviews thus far

I've been using my pi4 for months now and have
had very few issues. Biggest issue I have encountered is that dosbox performance isn't as good compared to the pi 3. Other than that though the performance of the pi 4 blows away the pi 3.

JusteBelmont

@quicksilver I'd seen reviews on boards and youtube (etaprime, etc) that seemed to indicate some early software hiccups (I understand it generally runs on a different os/gui?), it is less than a year old, so I figured I'd wait it out a bit and see how things shook out. Maybe it's all been resolved? I dunno. It may just be that I'm entirely too in love with my case and that I don't want to switch that until they get a new one for the pi 4 XD, plus getting a new board ready to work on my old ass tv may require another new cable and etc etc. Dosbox is a whole other issue! tell me how to make my mouse work on The Summoning, and I will owe you a beverage XD first world problems.

quicksilver

@JusteBelmont said in Lightning bolt appears after previously error-free use! Help please!:

Dosbox is a whole other issue! tell me how to make my mouse work on The Summoning, and I will owe you a beverage XD first world problems

Challenge excepted :) I'm pretty good with getting stuff running on dosbox. Open a new help topic with specifics about the issue with that game and I'll see if I can get it working.