Tools you need |
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Step 01:
These are the tools you will need:
- Solder Iron
- Solder
- Wire Cutters
For recommendations on these tools, Ladyada’s website is a really nice resource:
http://ladyada.net/make/minipov3/make.html
Ladyada’s website also has links to some nice tutorials on soldering:
http://ladyada.net/learn/soldering/thm.html
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Kit contents |
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Step 02:
Lay out all of the parts before you. A complete list of parts is available at:
Trippy RGB Waves Kit Bill of Materials.
All of these parts are available at mouser.com, digikey.com, jameco.com.
mouser.com,
digikey.com.
jameco.com.
Suggested parts numbers are given in the parts list.
A schematic for this kit is available at:
Trippy RGB Waves Kit schematic.
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Lead bending |
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Step 03:
We will start with resistor R1.
The colored bands, brown, black, black, black, and brown indicate the value of the resistor.
(1K Ohms in this case)
The wires of all resistors should be bent down on both sides of the part, as shown.
Another word for wires that come out of electronic parts is "leads"
(pronounced "leeds").
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Insertion of R1 |
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Step 04:
Push the leads from R1 into the pads for R1 on the PCB.
"PCB" stands for Printed Circuit Board, and is the white board that all
of the electronic parts are soldered on to.
"Pads" are the silver parts on the PCB, usually with a hole in the middle,
where the parts will be soldered into.
It does not matter which lead of a resistor goes into which pad.
This is because resistors are "non-polarized".
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Bend leads out before soldering |
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Step 05:
After placing R1 through it’s pads on the PCB, bend its leads outward a little, as shown.
This allows the PCB to be turned over without R1 falling out while we solder it in place.
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Soldering |
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Step 06:
Soldering is done by following these steps:
- Clean the solder iron tip by wiping it on a wet sponge
- Touch the clean solder iron tip to both the lead and the pad and let it heat up everything for about 1 second
- Add about 1/16" (about 1.5mm) of solder under the solder iron tip - the solder should melt and flow nicely around the lead and pad
- Keep the solder iron tip on the lead and pad for about another second, until the solder is nicely flowed all around the pad and lead
- Lift up the solder iron tip from the pad and lead.
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Good solder connections |
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Step 07:
Here you can see R1 soldered into place on the PCB.
You can tell a nice solder connection by these three qualities:
- The solder flowed nicely around the pad and lead - no lumps
- The surface of the solder is somewhat shiny - not pitted
- The solder forms a little mound - not flat.
There is a lot of leeway between not enough solder (soldered connection is flat) and too much solder
(a huge blob that shorts out to another pad). This is why soldering is easy! |
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Lead clipping |
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Step 08:
Clip both of the leads of R1 so that they are somewhat flush with the PCB surface.
It is not important that the cut be absolutely flush with the PCB.
The main thing is that there is not enough of the lead left over to bend over and
short out to another pad.
IMPORTANT: when clipping leads, always hold the lead with one hand while clipping with the other.
This keeps the lead from flying somewhere it is not wanted, such as into your eye,
or shorting out some pads somewhere.
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R1 soldered in place |
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Step 09:
You can see here the leads of R1 clipped to an appropriate length.
There is no way they can be bent over to short anything out.
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All resistors soldered in place |
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Step 10:
Repeat steps 3 through 9 for the rest of the resistors: R2 and R3.
The picture shows where each resistor goes.
R2 and R3 are both yellow, violet, black, gold, brown (47 Ohms).
Remember, resistors are non-polarized, so it does not matter which way they go in their pads.
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Bending leads of IC2 |
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Step 11:
Bend the leads for IC2 (the IR detector) at 90 degrees, as shown, to prepare it for insertion into the PCB.
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Insertion of IC2 |
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Step 12:
Insert IC2 into the PCB as shown in the photo.
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Soldering IC2 |
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Step 13:
Solder IC2 into place.
Since one hand will be holding the IR detector and PCB, and the other hand will be holding the
solder iron, we do not have a third hand to hold the solder.
So, you can use a small coil of solder to hold the solder in the correct position,
as shown in the photo (bend the solder so that it points down a little bit).
If you don’t hold the IR detector in place when you turn the PCB upside down to solder it,
it will fall out.
So you will need to hold it onto the PCB with one finger, as shown in the photo.
Make sure you don’t touch the leads of IC2 on the top of the PCB while soldering them
(or you will feel the pain!).
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IC2 soldered in place |
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Step 14:
Here is how IC2 looks when it is soldered in place.
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Placement of the socket for IC1 |
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Step 15:
Insert the socket for IC1 (the microcontroller) into its pads.
Notice that there is a notch on the black drawing for IC1 that matches with the notch
on the socket - make sure these line up when you insert it into the PCB.
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Soldering the corners of the socket for IC1 |
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Step 16:
Since one hand will be holding the socket and PCB, and the other hand will be holding
the solder iron, we do not have a third hand to hold the solder.
So, similarly to when you soldered IC2, you can coil some solder to hold the solder
in the correct position, as shown in the photo
(remember to bend the solder so that it points down a little bit).
Hold the socket onto the PCB with one finger while you solder, as shown in the photo.
And remember to make sure you don’t touch the metal on the top of the PCB
for the pin you are soldering on the bottom (since it will get hot!).
After soldering one corner of the socket, solder the opposite corner.
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Two opposite corners of IC1 soldered |
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Step 17:
Here you can see two opposite corners of IC1 soldered in place.
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All pins of IC1 soldered |
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Step 18:
Solder the rest of the 6 pins of IC1, so that all 8 pins are soldered.
There is no need to clip the leads of IC1 after soldering them.
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C1 soldered in place |
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Step 19:
Repeat steps 4 through 9 to solder in C1, as shown.
(C1 is not polar, so it does not matter which way it is inserted).
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Cut tape from C2 |
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Step 20:
Cut off the tape from C2.
(The tape is used in automatic assembly machines, for mass production purposes.)
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Proper placement of C2 |
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Step 21:
Since C2 is polar, it does matter which way it is inserted into its pads.
Insert C2 into the pads as shown
(the negative lead is denoted with the small ’-’ sign).
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C2 soldered in place |
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Step 22:
Here you can see C2 properly soldered into place.
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S1 soldered in place |
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Step 23:
Repeat steps 4 through 9 to solder into place the three leads of S1, as shown.
You may need to coil the solder as a "third hand".
Please clip the three leads after soldering since they are long enough
to short out pads if you don't cut them short.
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Proper placement of RGB LED placement |
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Step 24:
Insert the RGB LED into its pads as shown --
please note the longest lead goes into the second pad from the right.
Repeat steps 4 though 9 to solder the RGB LED into place.
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RGB LED soldered in place |
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Step 25:
Here you can see the RGB LED properly soldered into place.
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Proper placement of the IR emitter |
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Step 26:
Insert the IR emitter into its pads as shown --
please note the longest lead goes into the pad marked ’+’.
Repeat steps 4 though 9 to solder the IR emitter into place.
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IR emitter soldered in place |
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Step 27:
Here you can see the IR emitter properly soldered into place.
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JP1 soldered in place |
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Step 28:
Repeat steps 4 though 9 to solder JP1 into place.
(JP1 can be placed into the PCB in two ways, and it does not matter which way it is placed.)
Similarly to when you soldered in the socket for IC1,
start by soldering in two opposite corners,
being careful to not touch the metal that you are soldering.
After soldering the two corners, then you can solder the remaining 4 leads.
There is no need to clip the leads of JP1 after soldering them.
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Proper placement of the battery holder |
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Step 29:
Position the battery holder on the bottom of the PCB as shown so its two leads go into their pads.
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Soldering the battery holder |
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Step 30:
Repeat steps 4 though 9 to solder the battery holder into place.
You will need to coil the solder as a "third hand".
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Bending the pins of the microcontroller |
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Step 31:
When chips are new, the leads are often bent outward.
Ideally, we want the leads of the chips to point straight down,
with all leads parallel to each other.
By lightly pushing downward on a table you can make all of the leads parallel.
"Chip" is another word for Integrated Circuit. |
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Insertion of the microcontroller |
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Step 32:
Place IC1 into it’s socket, making sure that the little notch at one end lines up
with the notch in the socket and the PCB.
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Power switched off |
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Step 33:
Turn the power off, by sliding the switch as shown.
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Proper insertion of the battery |
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Step 34:
Insert the battery into its holder as shown.
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Power on and enjoy! |
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Step 35:
If everything is OK, when you switch on the power
you should see the RGB LED light up and go through a changing color sequence
(which starts off with Red, then Green, then Blue),
and when you wave your hand over the PCB,
the color sequence should start over again from the beginning.
If the RGB LED does not light up, turn off the power immediately, and debug.
Debugging Suggestions:
- Are all of the solder connections good? (Check against the three qualities in step 7.)
Even if they all look good, you can try re-soldering each connection by touching the
clean solder iron tip to each connection for about 1 second.
- Are all of the parts placed into the PCB in the correct direction (for parts where it matters)?
- Is the battery in correctly?
- Is the battery good? (It should measure about 3v.)
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