Bring-up and Verification
These pages describe how a new Scadys prototype is taken from a bare board to a working, verified instrument. The method is the same for every product. Each product applies it through its own bring-up sheet, which carries that board's test points, values and pass criteria.
How the method is organised
The method has four parts.
- Core steps run on every board, in order. They take the board from inspection through first power and programming to a checked power sequence and supply range.
- Function modules are chosen per board. A module tests one function, such as a display, a sensor bus or an NMEA 2000 interface, and a board runs only the modules for the functions it carries.
- The EMC pre-scan runs once the board works, to find the main emission sources before a formal laboratory test.
- Fault-finding is used whenever a step fails.
Recording results and closing out covers what is written down at every step, and how a finding reaches the next board revision.
Choosing the function modules
A board runs the modules that match the functions on its schematic.
| Module | Run it when the board carries |
|---|---|
| Display and backlight | A display panel or a backlight driver. |
| Touch | A touch panel or an in-cell touch controller. |
| Sensors | Any I²C or SPI sensor, power monitor or inertial measurement unit. |
| Audio | An audio amplifier or a beeper. |
| Radio | Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, on the main processor or on a companion module. |
| NMEA 2000 | A CAN transceiver on an NMEA 2000 connector. |
| Legacy serial | The Legacy Serial Protocol interface. |
| Wind transducer input | An analog masthead wind transducer input. |
Rules that apply throughout
- Stop at the first failure. A later step can damage a part while an earlier fault is still present, so the cause of a failed step is found before the next step starts.
- Suspect the assembly first. A failed step is far more often a solder bridge, an open joint or a part fitted the wrong way round than a failed part or a design flaw. Fault-finding sets out the order of suspicion.
- Every reading is written down when it is taken. A reading records its value, the instrument, the setup and the date, as Recording results and closing out describes.
- Nothing irreversible runs until every stage passes. Burning a processor's eFuses, for example, cannot be undone, so it is the last step of bring-up rather than part of programming.