Problems We've Encountered & How to Solve Them

No Power on PCB

Issue: The batteries are plugged in but nothing is on

Check the battery voltage
- The voltage of the battery should be greater than 10.8V for 3S batteries. If it's lower, the BMS could be preventing usage to avoid damage. Charge or replace the batteries.
Check the Fuses
- If there's high current on the PCB then the fuses will blow, disconnecting power from part of the board.
1. Visually inspect the wire inside the fuse, it should be intact and connecting both sides of the fuse
2. Try a continuity test using the multimeter, you will hear a beep if they are connected

Issue: Unable to connect to the Pitt Sailbot Wi-Fi network. Or the Pi is not connected to the router.

Ensure the Wi-Fi router is running
- The router should have a green light indicating Wi-Fi signal.
Check your connection
- Make sure your device is connected to Pitt Sailbot.
Verify router access
- Open a browser and enter 192.168.8.1 in the address bar.
- Password: sailboot
- Click on the Clients tab to check connected devices.
- Your device should be listed along with the Raspberry Pi(s) and their IP addresses.
Check Pi status:
- Green light blinking (or steady) = Pi is running.
- Only red light = Possible Pi issue.
- No light at all = The Pi may not be receiving power.
Attach a display & debug:

Issue: Servos don't move or move erratically

Try manually blasting PWM with script
Check voltage (servos usually cut out <3V) - Our servos cut out ~3V but usually need 4.8V+ - Is the wire long? Check closest to the source of the servo due to voltage drop
Check if the microcontroller has the same ground as the servo (short servo and microcontroller GND)
Check PWM on oscilloscope
Check if the servo has enough power - The Adafruit Servo Driver is too weak to power the rudder, but can power the sail/jib
- If so, plug into main PCB
Try another servo on the same header

Issue: The RC controller fails to control the boat

The process for receiving and executing RC is as follows:

RC Controller -> Receiver -> Pico2 -> Servo PWM

Check Receiver LED - Solid blue light = Normal.
- Blue with flashing red = Controller is off or incorrectly bound.
- No LED light = Check if the USB-C is plugged into both ends of the mast.
Circumvent Pico2 by trying with FSIA6 receiver or SBUS decoder

Issue: Unable to access the Pi-hosted site.

If using a hotspot, check if client isolation can be disabled.

If you receive localhost did not send any data, this may be from your SSL keys for HTTPS being incorrect or out of date. Regenerate those with this command: openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -nodes -out cert.pem -keyout key.pem -days 365

This usually happens when your code causes the Pico 2 to crash during runtime.

Unfortunately this is a relatively common issue. Windows drivers are very inconsistent.

Check Device Manager for 'RP2350 Boot' under Ports - If it is not there, check that the micro-usb cable supports data and that the pico 2 isn't fried
Make sure the Pico 2 drivers are set to WinUSB with Zadig
On Windows uninstall every RP2350 Boot or Pico2 driver a. Open Device Manager b. View > Devices By Driver c. Scan through the list and uninstall every RP2350 Boot or Pico 2 related driver (there may be multiple)
Replug the device, it should open as Mass Storage (usb)
Reinstall the Zadig WinUSB driver - Make sure you install to RP2350 (Boot Interface 1) ONLY

This happens on the P3022 pretty frequently.

Check that all connectors are correct and securely fastened
Disconnect and reconnect the 5V power
- If this does not fix the problem, make sure that the MOSI pin is connected to 3.3V