Skywriter XL not working

Support
1

I bought the big Skywriter XL, 2 to 3 weeks ago. It does not seem to recognize any gestures.
This is the output when running test.py, besides a lot of blank lines

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills
Got firmware info
1.1.18;p:Hills

Exception in thread Thread-1:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “/usr/lib/python2.7/threading.py”, line 810, in __bootstrap_inner
self.run()
File “/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/skywriter.py”, line 119, in run
if self.todo() == False:
File “/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/skywriter.py”, line 325, in _do_poll
raise Exception(“Skywriter encoutered nore than 10 consecutive I2C IO errors!”)
Exception: Skywriter encoutered nore than 10 consecutive I2C IO errors!

Any ideas?

2

Hi there PalimPalim,
Another post with a similar issue was posted not long ago:
http://forums.pimoroni.com/t/skywriter-hat-issue-an-invalid-gestiic-library-was-stored-or-the-last-update-failed/5100?u=raspberrypicardbox
Gadgetoid suggested some ways of fixing the issue, but I don’t believe the cause was ever decidedly found. Perhaps try what is suggested there and log your results back here?
Thanks,
-Picard

3

Thanks for the super quick reply. I ran the update.py script. No w running test.py recognizes

(‘Touch!’, ‘center’)

(‘Tap!’, ‘center’)

(‘Touch!’, ‘center’)

(‘Tap!’, ‘center’)

but nothing else. Gestures are only recognized if I directly tap the board. Any more ideas? And thank you for the help!!!

After I while I get this error:

Exception in thread Thread-1:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “/usr/lib/python2.7/threading.py”, line 810, in __bootstrap_inner
self.run()
File “/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/skywriter.py”, line 119, in run
if self.todo() == False:
File “/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/skywriter.py”, line 325, in _do_poll
raise Exception(“Skywriter encoutered nore than 10 consecutive I2C IO errors!”)
Exception: Skywriter encoutered nore than 10 consecutive I2C IO errors!

4

Sorry for the super late reply this time around, I was a little busy this morning!
I’m afraid that my extent of knowledge on Linux driver software is little to none, so I can’t say for certain any solutions for you.
There’s always the chance that @Gadgetoid will have come up with some sort of solution (he usually does) for you!
In the mean time, I’d recommend taking a look at the standard troubleshooting steps; check soldering, update Raspbian etc…

5

Thanks. I’ll wait if @gadgetoid has something to add. If not I will ask customer service for a replacement.

Just to make that clear: I double checked the wiring. I have also tried the adafruit speaker head which does work.