Ok, so I assembled an emonGLCD by looking at the Build Guide (http://openenergymonitor.org/emon/modules/emonglcd/buildguide13). During this process, I was really tired, but also excited to get on with my implementation of your awesome project. Eventually I realized that I souldn't try to assemble stuff while I'm sleepy :p
- The plastic stands (step 26) need to be mounted *before* closing (step 24).
- The whole thing about the buttons and the internal pullup via software isn't mentioned at all. So after soldering and closing everything up, I had 3 buttons laying around... hah. Wake up, man.
Ok, so I soldered them very carefully not to touch the backlight "glass". Then, the LCD wouldn't display anything at all. Initially I thought it was from the buttons, but it probably wasn't, because I was uploading the updated sketch (the one that fixes the buttons' hardware bug). And I had forgotten to test the LCD right *after* soldering it to the PCB, and before soldering the buttons.
Everything seemed in its place, so I got angry to the point of desoldering the LCD (that I did. Lots of soldering flux / resin and a vacuum thingy, sorry I don't know the exact name for it, English isn't my native language). I was really very close to ruining the PCB (you know, when you abuse it so much from the heating, that the metal around the holes starts to fall off). Then I trimmed about 3mm off the LCD's pins, and soldered machined pins to the PCB instead (additional cost: £1). This way I can place or remove the LCD whenever I please. It's somewhat a flawed solution, since there's a chance that the LCD won't fit / adjust nicely to the wood frame, requiring you to fine-tune the pin trimming. If you trim too much, it can become loose. But I'm glad I took the time to do it. If I ever get another one of these, I won't hesitate to install machined pins for the LCD in the first place.
After this, everything was working as expected. It's quite strange because I took a good look at the LCD pins before and while I was desoldering them.
Haven't glued the backlight yet. I'm thinking of a less permanent alternative. Maybe some pieces of white rubber, for the moment being.
So yeah, this is what I've gone through :D
Does Ian Chilton visit this forum often? If he could update the Build Guide, I think it could help other sleepy heads such as myself :p
Cheers everyone
Re: emonGLCD - my feedback
Thanks a lot for the feedback, I've just added in a notes about the buttons (Step 19b) and the stand a note in step 24, your quite right.