I can’t seem to get all the buttons to light up! I’ve double/triple checked the wiring but I can only get the:
Start
Select,
Side buttons to light up.
The software installed with no errors and I’ve wired up everything to match the instructions.
What am I missing??
Thanks
Richard
Take the first one in the chain that doesn’t work, and swap it for the last one in the chain. Then see what happens.
Sadly that didn’t work. The only buttons that work now are the bottom buttons and the first top button in the chain. Could it be a power issue?
That I don’t know. I was going by the premise that each plasma cap has a data in and data out. The out is to the next buttons in. If one plasma doesn’t work and talk to the next one, all after it won’t work. Getting the in and out plugged in the wrong way around will cause this too.
I don’t own a Picade, just so you know. I have run the plasma software on my Blinkt though, just to have a look see.
The funny thing is that the top button that works is not the first button in the top chain. It’s the third.
Are you using the plasma daemon or running some python code?
I followed the instructions and installed the software as they said. I can use the software to change the colors on the working buttons but I still can’t get the top buttons to work.
Ok, your running the daemon which starts when the Pi starts up.
Picade X hat, with the plasma header?
All buttons wired up with out to the next buttons in?
All in one continuous chain?
No plasma header. The buttons are plugged into the Picade Hat in the expansion section. And yes they are all in one continuous chain. From the Picade hat to the bottom buttons and then to the top buttons.
Ok
button 8 is GPIO 14, CLK
button 7 is GPIO 15, Data
That should match up with a line in the plasma-service file
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/plasma.service
Look for -o GPIO:14:15
sudo nano /usr/bin/plasma
There should be a
LIGHTS = 10
line in there and a line with load_pattern(“default”) at the end
Try changing -o GPIO:15:14 to -o GPIO:14:15 in that ExecStart line.
You can always change it back if it doesn’t help.
Edit then do a Ctrl X, and yes to save.
I’m having a Deja View moment as I think I’ve seen that reported as backwards before?
Is that a zero or an o? -0 GPIO:14:15
Still no luck with either code.
It was a typo by me it was -o in both cases, you just swap the 14:15 around.
Ok, I’m out of ideas?
You have a couple of options, post it as an issue on the plasma github page.
Issues · pimoroni/plasma · GitHub
Or contact Pimoroni via this link.
Contact Us for Raspberry Pi Technical Support – Pimoroni
Or wait for somebody else to chime in.
I really appreciate you taking the time to help! I’ve contacted Tech support and I will check out the GitHub page as well.
Thanks again!!
Richard
have you checked the cables themselves? remove the cable after the last one to light up.
a report in the product feedback had this cable problem
I’ve tried mixing and matching the cables, but nothing seems to work. I even tried on my older Picade with a different Raspberry Pi and SD card. I reinstalled everything and used different power sources.
But, I couldn’t get all the buttons to light up.
On the bright side I learned a lot about how arcade buttons work and Pimoroni is sending me some new plasma buttons!
So when the new ones arrive it will be super easy to set them up!
Thanks for all your help! I will let you know how it goes when the new buttons arrive!!
Just FYI, you can run Plasma without the Picade Hat attached. You just connect directly to the Pi’s GPIO pins. I’ve used it with my Blinkt, just had to do an edit to set the pins it uses. I’ve even had Plasma light up the one LED on my Fan Shim. It was by accident and no harm done. You could test them before snapping them all in place.
