Raspberry Pi Freezes When Subjected to Xenon Flash

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

SMPS chip to blame

The Raspberry Pi 2 credit card-sized computer that went on sale a week back has been a talking point ever since. Initially, it was all about its many improvements over the first-gen Pi and the fact that it will eventually be to run a free version of Windows 10. Now, however, the focus (pun intended) has turned to its strange behavior when showered in xenon flash.
On Friday, a RaspberryPi.org forum user, who goes by the handle “PeterO”, opened a new thread to notify the rest of the community about the apparent camera-shyness of the Pi2 in his possession: "I have discovered that my PI2 is camera-shy! Taking its picture with a flash causes an instant power off! I've done it three times now, and same thing happens each time. First two times, I didn't realise what had happened, as I wasn't looking at the screen at the time and only noticed a few minutes afterwards. Third time, I did it just to watch the screen... Instant power off.”
It didn’t take long for others to reproduce the issue and, ultimately, zero in on the culprit, which it turns out is the diminutive single-board computer’s “uncapped” U16 SMPS (switched mode power supply). According to one user, covering the said part with Blu-Tack is all that is needed to prevent this issue, while another user suggests alternatives like black vinyl insulating tape, opaque epoxy, hot glue or RTV.

Meanwhile, PeterO has changed his forum signature to read: “Discoverer of the Pi 2 xenon death flash!”
Follow Pulkit on Google+



More...