I have the BufII on the IVY III powered by Placid and PlacidBP controlled by Volumite. Input is from Squeezebox Touch and output to Linkwitz Orion ASP. I am currently placing the working Dac components in an enclosure. The Volumite is connected to the I2C with a Berg connector. Once the connector was installed the Volumite stopped controlling volume - always on the loudest setting (no pot control). I have double checked the correctness and continuity of the connections. I am using the now empty 8 pin IC socket for continuity checks (between the Volumite and the 8-pin socket). Pins 1-4 & 6 are ground; 8 is 3.295V (VCC); 7 is SCL; and 5 is SDA. (I am recalling these from memory and hope I got them right.) The Volumite and system has been working for months prior to this attempt to place in an enclosure. Are there any tests to check components? It is difficult to toubleshoot the circuit without a schematic.

Many thanks,
Ron.

Edited by user Wednesday, November 24, 2010 2:49:08 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I will take some pics when I get home from work.

Is the 8-pin socket (on the Buffalo II board; in place of the removed controller) an optional plug-in for the Volumite if I use an 8-pin terminal plug? Is the pin out that I listed above correct?

Edited by user Wednesday, November 24, 2010 2:48:51 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I have continued to examine all connections and they seem right. The 3.3V supply measures good as well as the grounds. The SDA line is continuous from the 5th pin of the ATtiny85 to the 5th pin of the empty IC header on the BII board. Also SCK is continuous from the 7th pin of the ATtiny85 to the 7th pin of the header.

Maybe something in the ATtiny85 has failed (ADC for instance) due to ESD, etc? Maybe the SDA or SCK input to the ES9018 has been damaged? Resets do not correct this problem; I have cycled the power on and off multiple times. Have I overlooked something?

Thanks,
Ron.

Edited by user Thursday, November 25, 2010 9:59:33 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

avr300 - This problem has sent me up the learning curve of the world of avr, microcontrollers, and the possibility of creating a IR remote-controlled volume integrated solution. But I must walk before running. Can you stear me in the direction of re-flashing the Tiny?

Thanks

I ordered another Tiny with the BII programming from Brian.

The AVR Dragon looks to be an interesting development/programming tool for the ATTiny85 http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?FullDetail&name=ATAVRDRAGON-ND#usewithchildren. Also this IR remote looks interesting: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10280 This warehouse is just down the street from me. If a transceiver for the IR is connected to the Tiny a remote volume control could be realized.
Could be fun.

Edited by user Thursday, November 25, 2010 5:14:08 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Brian was exceeding helpful by sending out a Volumite with Buffalo firmware in response to my post in this thread. I then ordered the Volumite and paid for it only to find that my payment was refunded. Thank you Brian!

Unfortunately, I installed the new Volumite but the problem persists; the volume does not adjust but remains always high. It appears that the I2C circuit into the ESS Sabre chip is very simple with few components that could fail in this way. Could the 9018 I2C data inputs be fried? Any suggestions on what I should do next?

Russ, thanks for your suggestion. I think I may have found the problem. The circuit board trace for the SDA signal from the I2C header travels parallel to the edge of the circuit board and under the stenciled letters "I2C" as it courses (under a digital power cap) toward the ES9018 dac chip. The SDA trace at the bottom of the "I" in that stencile has a blackened spot that may be discontinuous; indicating a possible break in the circuit board trace. This could interupt the SDA signal from communicating to and from the 9018. Is there a good way to "patch" a broken trace? Lacking another solution, I may just try to solder a small wire across the break some how.

Additional evidence is that I am not getting continuity between the SDA header (or pin 5 of the empty 8-pin socket)and the 9018.

Brian, I think the circuit trace between the i2c header and the 9018 has a break in it. I am not getting continuity between the SDA pin of the i2c header and the associated pin on the ES9018. I also think I see where the circuit trace may have "burnt" or broken as explained above. Do you know a good way to repair a break in these small circuit board traces?

Brian, I will check this out and effect repair (heat the cold solder joint or even if it requires delicate surgery) after work today. I'll let you know what I find.