LimeQuickTest failed on LimeSDR-USB

Projects LimeSDR
1

One of my boards, that I’ve been using for years, seems to have a problem. I already tried reflashing it (FW+GW through LimeSuite GUI) but it doesn’t fix the issue. When connecting to it through Soapy on Win10 and Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04, I get errors at once:

[INFO] Make connection: 'LimeSDR-USB [USB 3.0] 9070602463416'
[INFO] Reference clock 30.72 MHz
[INFO] Device name: LimeSDR-USB
[INFO] Reference: 30.72 MHz
[ERROR] SetFrequencySXT(1250 MHz) - cannot deliver frequency
[INFO] LMS7002M calibration values caching Disable
[ERROR] TuneVCO(CGEN) - failed to lock (cmphl!=0)
[ERROR] SetFrequencyCGEN(80 MHz) failed
[ERROR] TuneVCO(CGEN) - failed to lock (cmphl!=0)
[ERROR] SetFrequencyCGEN(440 MHz) failed

I ran LimeQuickTest on Win10 and got the following.

[ TESTING STARTED ]
->Start time: Wed May 18 11:07:40 2022
->LimeSuite version: 20.10.0-PothosSDR-2021.07.25-vc16-x64

->Device: LimeSDR-USB, media=USB 3.0, module=FX3, serial=0009070602463416, index=0, HW=4, GW=2.23
  Serial Number: 0009070602463416
Temperature internal ADC calibration failed
 Chip temperature: 0 C

[ Clock Network Test ]
->FX3 GPIF clock test
  Test results: 19093; 22849; 26605 - PASSED
->Si5351C test
  CLK0: 17554 / 17554 - PASSED
  CLK1: 17554 / 17554 - PASSED
  CLK2: 17554 / 17554 - PASSED
  CLK3: 17554 / 17554 - PASSED
  CLK4: 17554 / 17554 - PASSED
  CLK5: 17554 / 17554 - PASSED
  CLK6: 17554 / 17554 - PASSED
->ADF4002 Test
  Result: 10 - PASSED
->VCTCXO test
  Results : 5112969 (min); 5113098 (max) - PASSED
->Clock Network Test PASSED

[ FPGA EEPROM Test ]
->Read EEPROM
->Read data: 12 03 02 12 03 02 02
->FPGA EEPROM Test PASSED

[ LMS7002M Test ]
->Perform Registers Test
RegistersTestInterval(startAddr=0x280, endAddr=0x2a7) - failed
RegistersTestInterval(startAddr=0x280, endAddr=0x2a7) - failed
RegistersTestInterval(startAddr=0x2c0, endAddr=0x2e7) - failed
RegistersTestInterval(startAddr=0x2c0, endAddr=0x2e7) - failed
RegistersTestInterval(startAddr=0x300, endAddr=0x327) - failed
RegistersTestInterval(startAddr=0x300, endAddr=0x327) - failed
RegistersTestInterval(startAddr=0x340, endAddr=0x367) - failed
RegistersTestInterval(startAddr=0x340, endAddr=0x367) - failed
RegistersTestInterval(startAddr=0x380, endAddr=0x3a7) - failed
RegistersTestInterval(startAddr=0x380, endAddr=0x3a7) - failed
RegistersTest() failed
->LMS7002M Test FAILED

[ RF Loopback Test ]
Note: The test should be run without anything connected to RF ports
->Configure LMS
TuneVCO(CGEN) - failed to lock (cmphl!=0)
SetFrequencyCGEN(61.44 MHz) failed
TuneVCO(CGEN) - failed to lock (cmphl!=0)
SetFrequencyCGEN(491.52 MHz) failed
Failed to set sample rate
->RF Loopback Test FAILED

=> Board tests FAILED <=

Elapsed time: 1.42 seconds

@ricardas Any idea?

2

The fact that only some of the registers fail write/readback test means it’s not a software/firmware/gateware issue.

If everything was good for years and now it’s suddenly developed problems, then it’s most likely hardware issue. I have no knowledge of the hardware level, so don’t have any idea of what could be the cause of this.

My personal speculation (I have no idea what I’m talking about):
Maybe due to physical shock or thermal reasons some pin’s solder joint has cracked or disconnected under the chip and is causing problems. Maybe try to apply some pressure with your finger onto the LMS7002 chip, see if that has any effect. Try at your own risk.

3

Thanks. Is there anyone else from Lime with HW knowledge who could help? As LimeSDRs are hard to come by at the moment, I’d like to be able to continue using it.

4

Tagging @Zack.

5

Hi @KarlL ,
If all on-board power regulators are OK, then there is a good chance that LMS7002M transceiver is dead.

6

Thanks. Is there an easy way to check the power regulators and fix them if necessary? I don’t have much knowledge nor tools when it comes to hardware…

7

So I tried applying some pressure with my finger onto the LMS7002 chip, but this didn’t change anything unfortunately.

@Zack How can I check the on-board power regulators exactly? Is there anything else I could check? As the LimeSDR-USB is currently very hard to find and even being retired, we’re willing to spend some time to try to fix it, if possible.

8

Hi @KarlL,

Here you will find power diagram you may use to check the power supplies:
https://wiki.myriadrf.org/LimeSDR-USB_hardware_description#Power_distribution
Here is PCB design information:
https://wiki.myriadrf.org/LimeSDR-USB#Board_Design_Files