Meant to be Seen

So, I'm setting the Oculus Rift up at work to show co-workers some of the latest demos including Rift Racer, with a Logitech racing wheel.

I had everything unlpugged from the devices and was plugging in the adapters under the table. The Rift had it's cable beside it, already, so I passed up the cable for the racing wheel. My co-worker asked if he should plug it in. I thought for sure he meant into the racing wheel, what else could it be right?

POP I slowly come up from under the table. Here an uh-oh. I'm like, what was that? Thinking maybe he hit the desk or the divider or something. He lifts the Rift control box. I'm like, but it wasn't that right? Couldn't be from that, cause that was the plug for the racing wheel.

After a long sting of uncontrolable repeated murmured "No's" I plug the correct able in and hit the power button. Nothing. So we lift the box up and hear some rattling. Open it up to find capacitor shrapnel everywhere. So two things I learned. Communication is of the utmost importance in absolutely everything. And that the capacitors in the Rift might function extremely well.

So to the community of people with Rifts. Does anyone have a photo from both sides of this capacitor right by the power cable? I need to get a replacement and see if my Rift still has life.

At [url]https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=614&p=8502#p8502[/url], Dycus wrote:The Rift should (SHOULD) run off 18v with no problems (with a small modification). The buck converter inside is rated for up to 23v. The filter capacitor before it, however, isn't. That'll have to be replaced if you want to run higher voltages.

However, I have not intensively studied the datasheet for the chip, so I'm not entirely sure it'll take more than 5v without modifications. Really, you just shouldn't try it. Portable 5v supplies are abundant and cheap.

For a temporary replacement capacitor, try a large filter cap harvested from almost any PCB to test it and see if it works. The value is not critical, but should be at least that used in the Rift (or more). Be sure to get the polarity right.

I see you have the USB power mod (if that is your photo). Try removing that, and testing it with your power adapter. With a high-quality 5v supply (and short power cable), it should work even without the filter cap, so there may be another problem. Check to make sure no PCB traces were vaporized, or onboard fuses blown.

Good luck.

P.S. If nobody supplies capacitor info, I will tear mine apart and take photos this weekend.

Edit: I realize now that's probably not enough. PM Dycus or try your luck here: http://www.datasheets.org.uk/CD110+capa ... sheet.html

It looks like it could be the same as the one above it but I can't be certain due to the stat of the capacitor skin after it blew up.



Thanks for the help guys. I sure hope this $4, maybe 1 week wait for delivery will fix the issue and my Rift will come back to life. Cause the $300 4 month wait for delivery will surely destroy me.

EDIT: Yah that's not mine in the OP picture. That's the mod I wanna implement this week alongside my slipring that finally came in the mail. My capacitor is vaporized.

Not sure where you are located but if you have a Radio Shack nearby they likely have something close in their Electronics section.

I is fine to use an electrolytic capacitor that has a higher voltage rating (but not too high). Anything under 50v rating should be fine. Extra capacitance is fine. Even a larger physical size is not problem, as long as you can fit the cover back on. Fairly long legs on a filter cap are okay too (not a bypass cap), but insulate them if you need to. You could just steal one from some old electronics if you want to, and solder extra wire on the legs to fit if needed. Filter caps are not particularly critical unless they are too small in any of the recommended specs.

There is a HIGH probability that what killed the filter cap ALSO caused other damage, because the cap is in parallel with other circuitry. Hopefully it is fused and that is all that died besides the cap. The voltage regulator can handle a lot more than that cap was rated for, but even that can be replace if needed. Surface mount chips like that are fairly easy to solder, using solder braid to remove bridged pins. You might even find a compatible chip to harvest from some discarded electronics.

Before giving up, I would REMOVE the voltage regulator IC, and connected regulated power supply lines to its output pads, to test the rest of the circuitry (bypassing the power regulation altogether).

It would help to know EXACTLY what caused the problem. What cable was plugged into which jack where? If power, then what voltage and center pin polarity? What other cables where plugged in before that fatal cable connection?

Perhaps sombody at Oculus could help diagnose the problem (for self repair) with enough information such as I requested.

Or if now, one of us with a Rift could supply oscilloscope signals at various test-points, which you could attempt to verify with your Rift.

Do you have a variable power supply you could use to substitute for the voltage regulator IC, in case it no longer functions? Do you have an oscilloscope? Do you have a voltmeter? Do you have a soldering iron and solder braid? You need at least some of those things to repair it, if the problem goes beyond the filter cap. I suspect that you do, as you had plans to replace the filter cap yourself, it seems.

geekmaster wrote:It would help to know EXACTLY what caused the problem. What cable was plugged into which jack where? If power, then what voltage and center pin polarity? What other cables where plugged in before that fatal cable connection?

Do you have a variable power supply you could use to substitute for the voltage regulator IC, in case it no longer functions? Do you have an oscilloscope? Do you have a voltmeter? Do you have a soldering iron and solder braid? You need at least some of those things to repair it, if the problem goes beyond the filter cap. I suspect that you do, as you had plans to replace the filter cap yourself, it seems.

Sorry, I was out of town this weekend and wasn't able to confirm anything until I got back to work.

When my friend plugged the cable in, no other cables were plugged into the control box at that time. This is the info for the power cable:
INPUT: AC 100-120V~0.4A
OUTPUT: 24V --- 0.75A
LPS 50-60 Hz

We ordered a replacement capacitor that matches the specs of the other one there in the control box. As for the other stuff, my other co-worker that was going to help me with the slipring wiring and installation should have those things. I will check with him and see. The capacitor should be here in like 2 days so we can solder that in and then check for further damage from there.

24V is probably enough to blow up the cap. Hopefully the voltage regulator survived, but if not, it can be replace (they are not expensive). For testing you could use a regulated power supply in place of the voltage regulator (after removing it).

geekmaster wrote:24V is probably enough to blow up the cap. Hopefully the voltage regulator survived, but if not, it can be replace (they are not expensive). For testing you could use a regulated power supply in place of the voltage regulator (after removing it).

Capacitor replacement did not work. We checked for power and it seems to be connected properly and power is at least getting to that point. I think I found the voltage regulator but I'm not really sure. And I don't know if I'd be able to replace it myself even if I was able to track a replacement down. Gonna e-mail Palmer and see if maybe I could buy a replacement board or something.

When connected to the computer it read the Rift as a secondary display, but nothing ever showed up on the screen. And I'm not sure how to test just the screen.

Everything goes through the regulation on the right first, so attention to that regulator circuit can ('may!') clear things up.

Wait..I'll have to look again. I THINK (pretty dang sure) nothing from that power port can get to the panel proper, without going through the regulator circuit.

The fact that they say that the power port can handle slightly different voltages does seem to support my statement.

IIRC, they are both 470uf - 16v caps.

I'm not sure what the regulator would be. Would you be able to circle it on one of the pictures posted above? I dunno if that's a stupid question for me to ask even.

I'm realizing that I may not know enough about the inner workings of electronics to be able to pull this fix off. I'm kind of glad now that the pre-Kickstarter units came fully assembled in place of the DIY one I thought I was going to have to buy.

It would probably be good to see if the AV converter ship is actually getting correct power, since investigation of the power circuit will be pointless if it's working.
I'd get a multimeter across the c33 and c34 seen above the RTD2483, to see if there is power there. If this is getting correct power, I'd say that the issue isn't the power regulator.

Alkapwn wrote:

geekmaster wrote:24V is probably enough to blow up the cap. Hopefully the voltage regulator survived, but if not, it can be replace (they are not expensive). For testing you could use a regulated power supply in place of the voltage regulator (after removing it).

Capacitor replacement did not work. We checked for power and it seems to be connected properly and power is at least getting to that point. I think I found the voltage regulator but I'm not really sure. And I don't know if I'd be able to replace it myself even if I was able to track a replacement down. Gonna e-mail Palmer and see if maybe I could buy a replacement board or something.

When connected to the computer it read the Rift as a secondary display, but nothing ever showed up on the screen. And I'm not sure how to test just the screen.

That's not the news I was expecting to hear Let me know if you can get that replacement board as I'm in a similar position right now.

The regulator is the chip U2 top right of the baord with the big metal pad. Could you read out the writing of that chip? I could tell you what it is.
If you were in Adelaide I could fix the regulator but I fear that an IC may have taken the force. I can't tell off the bat without tracing the circuit.
From that cap skin it looks like a 470uF cap.

android78 wrote:It would probably be good to see if the AV converter ship is actually getting correct power, since investigation of the power circuit will be pointless if it's working.
I'd get a multimeter across the c33 and c34 seen above the RTD2483, to see if there is power there. If this is getting correct power, I'd say that the issue isn't the power regulator.

Finally got around to testing it out and it does have power there, but it's only 2.9V as apposed to the roughly 5V everywhere else. I tried out the voltage on a few other capacitors and it seems like they're all getting voltage to them at roughly 5V.

Any other ideas? I was wondering if anyone lived close to Windsor/Detroit that might be able to take a look. Or what kind of store/shop I might be able to take it to for help?

przecinek wrote:That's not the news I was expecting to hear Let me know if you can get that replacement board as I'm in a similar position right now.

Have you tried contacting the Oculus Customer Support? They were very helpful. Being a pre-Kickstarter backer I was a bit worried cause I wasn't sure if I'd be in the official system or not, but they were able to help me out regardless.

Did this ever get fixed? Did you ask Oculus for a new control box. Im sure they wouldn't mind.

Hi all, recently got DK1

I have the same problem, unit does not power on, after connecting 5V DC adapter (adapter is checked and is working properly, producing 5V 1500mA) the chip RTD2483AD on the board overheats instantly (all peripherals are disconnected, the cables too)
Replaced the C23 capacitor with the same 470uF 16V, Desoldered U2 voltage regulator, but the chip RTD2483AD overheats instantly again for about 2 sec and i can't hold the finger on it, its very hot. Don't know what to next...