On a software development project, our client asked us to debug a problem in another area of the code. As we began our troubleshooting, the issue began to look more and more like an electronics hardware issue, not a software issue.

The hardware engineer was skeptical; he was sure it was a software error. We persisted, and used unique features of our In-Circuit-Emulator (ICE) and Digital-Storage-Oscilloscope (DSO) to discover that one of the interface lines to the LCD was shorted in the circuit board.

We also found that the line voltage monitoring circuit exceeded the common-mode range of an op-amp in the circuit. Once these two design issues were addressed, the client moved the project forward again.

By using our electronics proficiency in conjunction with our embedded systems software expertise we were able to find not one, but two problems which had evaded the client’s troubleshooting efforts!