In this firmware there is extra debugging information hidden under an extra menu. This is accessed by holding the rear (-/B) button on the iron while it is on the home screen.
This menu is meant to be simple, so it has no fancy GUI animations.
To move through the menu, use the front (+/A) button. To exit, use the rear (-/B) button again.
Items are shown in the menu on a single line, so they use short codes and appear in this order:
This just shows how many deciseconds the unit has been powered for.
This is the last timestamp of movement. When the iron is moved, this should update to match the time field (one before in the menu). This can be used for checking performance of the movement detection code.
This is the raw tip reading in μV. This can be used when assessing the calibration routines for example.
This is the tip temperature in degrees Celsius. This can be used with RTip for assessing temperature processing performance.
This is the handle temperature in °C. This is used for cold junction compensation of the tip temperature. This is shown in degrees Celsius x10, so 200 == 20.0 °C
The input voltage as read by the internal ADC. Can be used to sanity check its being read correctly.
This indicates the accelerometer that is fitted inside the unit.
- MMA8652
- LIS2DH12
- BMA223
- MSA301
- SC7A20
- None detected -> running in fallback without movement detection
- Scanning -> Still searching I2C for one
This indicates the current power source for the iron. This may change during power up as the sources are negotiated in turn.
- DC input (dumb)
- QC input (We used QC2/3 negotiation for current supply)
- PD W. VBus input (PD subsystem is used to negotiate for current supply); and VBus is connected to your input power source
- PD No VBus input (PD subsystem is used to negotiate for current supply); and VBus is NOT connected to your input power source
- If you successfully modified the Pinecil to support 24V by cutting the trace line to Vbus, or it is not required (i.e. late model V1) then 'PD No VBus' displays on screen, see details and PD Debug below.
- This is used by Irons that have an ID and serial number to help check if the iron is authentic. All Pinecil V1 show the same ID number as this is the number programmed into the MCU.
- The new Pinecil V2 released Aug. 2, 2022 now uses BL706, which enables generating a unique ID/Serial number to every iron. This can be used to verify your Pinecil authenticity here.
This indicates the max temperature in degrees Celsius that the system estimates it can measure the tip reliably to. This is dependent on a few factors including the handle temperature so it can move around during use.
This indicates the high water mark for the stack for the GUI thread. The smaller this number is, the less headroom we have in the stack. As this is a high-water mater, you should only trust this once you have walked through all GUI options to "hit" the worst one.
This indicates the high water mark for the stack for the movement detection thread. The smaller this number is, the less headroom we have in the stack.
This indicates the high water mark for the stack for the PID thread. The smaller this number is, the less headroom we have in the stack.
This appears if your device is capable of having a magnetic hall effect sensor installed (Pinecil). This shows the current field strength reading from the sensor. It can be used to check if the sensor is operational, and measure how strong the magnetic field is for diagnostics and optimal placement of magnets on a stand.
On the Pinecil; if the iron is booted up while holding the front button (+); it will show an extra menu for inspecting USB-PD power adapters. Connect to any PD USB power to check Vbus status, even some cell phones with a USB-C port will work. It will not show any PD message when Pinecil is powered by DC port, QC, or USB 5V (non-PD).
The menu navigates like the debug menu, where pressing (+) cycles through elements, and (-) will exit the menu.
The first page shows the PD negotiation stage number; which can be used for diagnosing if PD is not working. Once negotiation is complete; the other screens will show the advertised readings for voltage and current of the proposals.
A simple user modification to the PCB on early model V1 allows it to safely use DC24V by cutting a trace line to the Vbus which held it back to 21V. You can check whether your Pinecil V1 needs the update by using the PD debug menu. After a few seconds or after PD negotiates (state above 5) it will show [No VBus] if the VBus modification is performed correctly or not needed (i.e., late model V1) or it shows [VBus] if the mod has not been done and there is still a connection to the Vbus.
The mod method is shown in the February 2022 Pine64 community Updates. Early Pinecil V1 models required cutting a trace. Late model V1 made sometime in 2022 came with [No Vbus] already displayed, and no mod required. The V2 model released Aug. 2, 2022 is a completely overhauled PCB with 28V capable components and requires no mods.