heat problems

As I alluded in an earlier post(s), my SX28 has been pretty warm. After doing a number of different tests, I’ve now ordered an infrared thermometer from amazon for $29.99. I want to find out exactly how hot this thing is getting. It may very well be a normal operating temperature, and I’m able to keep my finger on it for an extended period of time(sort of on the comfortable side of pain.) I’m pretty sure the temperature is under 120 degrees, and the chip is rated for 185. It is running at 50mhz, and is in a small SSOP package, so who knows.

I’ll probably make a forum post over on forums.parallax.com and find out what others’ SXs are running.

Might be concern over nothing, but I’ve emailed support on Saturday, and they are checking into it.

My IR thermometer is on the free-super-saver-shipping-slow-boat-from-China, so it will probably be another
week and a half before I see this thing. It’s definitely the el-cheapo model, with a field of view of 1:1, but I don’t care. It should be accurate enough to get me in the ballpark. I just need some type of absolute reference instead of saying, “this feels hot to me.” I can also monitor it as I’m using it as well.

My biggest concern is that I fry the SX28, which is surface-mount, and not easily replaceable. Either soldering a new SX28 on there or re-doing my circuit board does not sound like fun to me. So, it’s better to be safe than sorry.