My SparkFun XBee Explorer USB board is not recognized.

Archive SparkFun Site Questions/Comments
1

I am having trouble with one of the SparkFun XBee Explorer USB boards. I bought 2 and the one works just fine and the XBee modules all work. When I plug in the working one it is assigned a com port with no trouble at all. When I plug in the other board I get a system pop up that says:

USB Device Not Recognized

One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned and Windows does not recognize it. Click…

The other identical XBee explorer works fine and I can use to communicate and use it as advertized. I have tried other computers and rebooted my PC to see if it is something else with the exact same message. When I plug in the USB cable the power light is ON and the Rx and Tx LEDs flash together a few times. I think I have a bad board. It never worked and I tested it right out of the package.

Any suggestions or should I try and get a warranty replacement?

2

Since one board works there must be something wrong with the second board.

My first suspect is a bad solder joint. Use a good magnifier and examine every solder joint. Reflow any that look bad.

Or call/email Sparkfun for a return and exchange.

3

Thanks Waltr. I re-flowed the solder joints on the USB connector and that did it. Since my pc was receiving a USB request but could query it I am guessing it must have been the boards receiving pin. I must say that I am not too fussy for surface mount technology; it was a pain to solder the tiny pins under the USB connector.

Thanks again for your help.

4

it was a pain to solder the tiny pins

Yep but it does get a little easier with practice.

Glad that fixed your board.

5

I’ve seen this exact same fix work many times on the various FTDI products that we sell. I’m still not sure what does it each time. It might be the footprint needs a rev.

Sorry you got one that made it through our testing procedures.