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    Ok, got my ControlBlock.....some questions?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved ControlBlock, PowerBlock & Co.
    controlblock2lightningboltusb
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    • O
      ortsac @StuMcBill
      last edited by

      @StuMcBill This is good info....Do you have an LED connected to the ControlBlock? This will provide a good feedback whether the ControlBlock is acting up or not. The Pi will not get its power until the ControlBlock is turned on properly. It must be waiting for the switch to get turned on and since you do not have one installed the Pi will never get turned on. Unless the "powerswitchOn = false in controlblockconfig.cfg " does not work, then this is a driver issue on the ControlBlock.
      It is best to connect a switch and an LED to the ControlBlock . You will have visual feedback on the ControlBlock and manual control of the power turning ON or OFF.

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        StuMcBill @ortsac
        last edited by

        @ortsac said in Ok, got my ControlBlock.....some questions?:

        @StuMcBill This is good info....Do you have an LED connected to the ControlBlock? This will provide a good feedback whether the ControlBlock is acting up or not. The Pi will not get its power until the ControlBlock is turned on properly. It must be waiting for the switch to get turned on and since you do not have one installed the Pi will never get turned on. Unless the "powerswitchOn = false in controlblockconfig.cfg " does not work, then this is a driver issue on the ControlBlock.
        It is best to connect a switch and an LED to the ControlBlock . You will have visual feedback on the ControlBlock and manual control of the power turning ON or OFF.

        Ok cool. I might try and grab a switch and led, as I don't have either of these.

        I'm assuming that powerswitchOn has defaulted to true as it did before, so I'll try changing that to false and try again with my pi power supply.

        I'll report back.

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          barrymossel @StuMcBill
          last edited by

          @StuMcBill said in Ok, got my ControlBlock.....some questions?:

          @ortsac said in Ok, got my ControlBlock.....some questions?:

          @StuMcBill This is good info....Do you have an LED connected to the ControlBlock? This will provide a good feedback whether the ControlBlock is acting up or not. The Pi will not get its power until the ControlBlock is turned on properly. It must be waiting for the switch to get turned on and since you do not have one installed the Pi will never get turned on. Unless the "powerswitchOn = false in controlblockconfig.cfg " does not work, then this is a driver issue on the ControlBlock.
          It is best to connect a switch and an LED to the ControlBlock . You will have visual feedback on the ControlBlock and manual control of the power turning ON or OFF.

          Ok cool. I might try and grab a switch and led, as I don't have either of these.

          I'm assuming that powerswitchOn has defaulted to true as it did before, so I'll try changing that to false and try again with my pi power supply.

          I'll report back.

          Uhm, of course it won't work without any modifications on the config and without using a switch. Get a switch and start over. If it doesn't work then, the problem lies with the ControlBlock. But actually I doubt it does.

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            StuMcBill @barrymossel
            last edited by

            @barrymossel ok, thanks for the help.

            Would this work for a switch? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172767175146

            And something like this for an led? http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/3mm-blue-led-ja20w

            I'm going to get some Dupont gpio connectors to attach to the controlblock itself.

            Thanks for all the help and patience.

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            • O
              ortsac @StuMcBill
              last edited by

              @StuMcBill Both the switch and LED will work. Make sure you observe the polarity on the LED.

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                StuMcBill @ortsac
                last edited by

                @ortsac said in Ok, got my ControlBlock.....some questions?:

                @StuMcBill Both the switch and LED will work. Make sure you observe the polarity on the LED.

                Perfect, will do!

                I'm going offshore tomorrow so won't have a chance to do this till I get home in a few weeks, but I'll get everything ordered up!

                Cheers

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                  barrymossel @StuMcBill
                  last edited by

                  @StuMcBill said in Ok, got my ControlBlock.....some questions?:

                  @ortsac said in Ok, got my ControlBlock.....some questions?:

                  @StuMcBill Both the switch and LED will work. Make sure you observe the polarity on the LED.

                  Perfect, will do!

                  I'm going offshore tomorrow so won't have a chance to do this till I get home in a few weeks, but I'll get everything ordered up!

                  Cheers

                  Good luck!

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                  • P
                    petrockblog Global Moderator @StuMcBill
                    last edited by

                    @StuMcBill said in Ok, got my ControlBlock.....some questions?:

                    @ortsac I don't have a power switch attached to the controlblock, and I do have the driver installed.

                    You can also the use the ControlBlock, if you do not have a power switch attached to it:

                    1. Make sure in the configuration file /etc/controlblockconfig.cfgthat the power switch functionality is switched off.
                    2. Connect the micro USB power supply directly to the Raspberry and not to the ControlBlock. That will power the Raspberry and the ControlBlock with using the power switch circuitry.
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                      petrockblog Global Moderator @StuMcBill
                      last edited by

                      Would this be the correct procedure to get the PI & ControlBlock setup?

                      1. Flash RetroPie to Micro SD Card.
                      2. Boot up RetroPie & update via retropie-setup.sh (in RetroPie menu).
                      3. Reboot Pi.
                      4. Run ControlBlock Quick Installation Script.
                      5. Shutdown Pi and disconnect power.
                      6. Connect ControlBlock to GPIO Pins on Pi.
                      7. Connect Micro USB to ControlBlock and Power on.

                      If you are using a power switch make sure to connect it to the ControlBlock.

                      If you are not using a power switch make sure to connect it to the Raspberry Pi. Otherwise you cannot switch on the Raspberry.

                      In any case you can attach the ControlBlock to the RPi before installing the ControlBlock driver.

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                        StuMcBill @petrockblog
                        last edited by

                        @petrockblog said in Ok, got my ControlBlock.....some questions?:

                        Would this be the correct procedure to get the PI & ControlBlock setup?

                        1. Flash RetroPie to Micro SD Card.
                        2. Boot up RetroPie & update via retropie-setup.sh (in RetroPie menu).
                        3. Reboot Pi.
                        4. Run ControlBlock Quick Installation Script.
                        5. Shutdown Pi and disconnect power.
                        6. Connect ControlBlock to GPIO Pins on Pi.
                        7. Connect Micro USB to ControlBlock and Power on.

                        If you are using a power switch make sure to connect it to the ControlBlock.

                        If you are not using a power switch make sure to connect it to the Raspberry Pi. Otherwise you cannot switch on the Raspberry.

                        In any case you can attach the ControlBlock to the RPi before installing the ControlBlock driver.

                        Ok, that makes sense now.

                        If I've got a controlblock, and no power switch, I should disable power switch functionality and power via the pi.

                        If I do have a power switch, I should connect it and power via the controlblock.

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