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solder_instructions.md

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    • solder_instructions.md 12.40 KiB

    Build Instructions

    Glossary

    What is...

    PCB A Printed Circuit Board. Electrical components (parts) can be soldered onto them
    Pins The "legs" of a part. Meant to be put onto a Pad or into a through hole
    Pad A small metallic "landing zone" on the PCV. Parts can be soldered there
    Through Hole Short: TH – a metallic plated hole that goes through the PCB. The pins of parts can be connected through here
    SMD A Surface Mount Device. A part that is soldered onto Pads instead of using through hole technology. SMD-parts are typically smaller and cheaper than their TH-equivalents
    Trace Traces are copper connections on the PCB
    Silkscreen A (typically white) print on the PCB that indicates where which part goes
    Reference Designator Every part on a PCB has it's very own, unique reference designator. The prefix of this short text tells us what kind of part it is. E.g. R1 would be "Resistor 1" etc.
    Orientation Certain parts must be placed in the right orientation (rotation). That means you can easily solder them in the wrong way. Typically both the part and the

    ⚠️ The silkscreen of the RGB-LED is on the wrong side of the PCB! Solder it on the other side! Check instructions below!

    Before soldering

    • ⚠️ the order in which parts are soldered is important. If in doubt follow the order below
    • ⚠️ depending on the version of your board the instructions differ slightly. The version is printed onto the PCB next to the daisyy text and the ATOAV logo
    • the part of the PCB labeled MIC PREAMP and bordered off with a thick white line can be ignored and must not be soldered
    • Anything that has more than two pins: solder one outside/corner pin first. Then adjust the position by reheating this fresh solder joint till you are happy with the orientation (typically parts should be flush with the PCB and straight on their "landing pads"). Only when you are happy with the orientation you solder the rest of the pins!
    • Desoldering is way, way more work than soldering
    • The hardest part is going to be the RGB-LED, because there is not much space. Take your time. Slow is fast.

    Soldering order - PCB version 1.1

    • Read the instructions Before soldering above
    • ⚡ Discharge yourself by touching the PE pins of an electrical outlet to avoid electrostatic charges destroying pins.
    • Solder U1: This is a SMD IC with 8 pins
      • Add solder to one of the 4 corner-pads first
      • ⚠️ Make sure you get the orientation of the part right. There is a small circle on the PCB indicating Pin 1
    • Solder all resistors
    • Solder the diode D1 (⚠️ orientation)
    • Solder the big IC U3 (⚠️ orientation)
    • Solder the ceramic C3
    • Solder the polarized capacitors C1 (⚠️ orientation) and C2 (⚠️ orientation)
    • Soldering the Daisy Seed with sockets:
      • ⚡ Discharge yourself by touching the PE pins of an electrical outlet to avoid destroying the chip (it is expensive!)
      • Push the long pin headers onto the pins of the Daisy and place the daisy with the pins into the holes where it says U2 DAISY SEED. Do not Solder the daisy in directly, without pin headers
      • ⚠️ Make sure the Daisy Seed's USB connector is pointing in the right direction (see silkscreen)
      • Solder two diagonal corner pins first, reheat if necessary to make things straight/flush
      • Solder the rest of the 40 pins ; )
      • When you are done: Carefully remove the Daisy from the pinheaders and place it back into its bag
    • Soldering the Cherry MX switches:
      • Put the keycaps (blue) onto the Cherry MX switches
      • Place them onto the right side of the board (the one with the print where the buttons are outlined)
      • Hold the switches in place so they don't fall out when you turn the board over, then turn the board over (you can do this with a piece of cardboard or by taping them)
      • ⚠️ These switches are potentially to solder in straight! (it might be that this has become easier with version 1.1, I will check)
        • Solder only one pin per switch first so they won't fall out
        • If used: Remove the tape
        • Reheat the solder joints to carefully move the switches so the keycaps look like a nice grid
        • Do this till you are happy with the position
        • Now solder the other pins of the switches
    • Solder all potentiometers except the one that has 6 pins (GAIN)
      • ⚠️ It is easy to solder them in weirdly/crooked. Solder only the central pin (out of the three) first and re-align the part by reheating that pin and pushing the part with your finger at the same time. The goal is to make all four bottom metallic parts touch the PCB. See red circles:
      • Once you feel like the potentiometer doesn't look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, solder the rest of its connections (make sure the part keeps its position, when you do this – reheating all the pins at once is not possible)
    • Solder the black TS audio connectors (except INPUT_R)
      • ⚠️ Ensure The inlet is pointing to the right direction (edge of the PCB)
      • ⚠️ Make sure they are flush with the PCB, otherwise they won't fit with the holes in the case
      • ⚠️ Some of the pins are now underneath the potentiometers. This is harder to solder, but not impossible. Avoid burning other parts by thinking about the direction from which you move in with the soldering iron. You might also have luck soldering these from the top.
    • Solder the RGB-LED D2 – Read before proceeding:
      • ⚠️⚠️ There is no space for soldering and cutting the pins on the other side. This part has to be soldered from the top.
      • ⚠️ orientation: one of the through holes has a square pad. This is where the longest pin of the LED should go. Shorten the other pins before putting in (if in doubt: ask)
      • The LED is not meant to be soldered flush with the PCB. It should stick out of the panel. Check David's board for reference or ask.
      • The 4 pins are not allowed to connect to each other with solder bridges. If there is too much solder, remove it using solder wick.
    • Solder the remaining Potentiometer (with the 6 Pins)
    • Solder the remaining black TS audio connector
    • Soldering the OLED Display:
      • Screw the hexagonal plastic standoffs into the two holes of the Display with two plastic screws (on the side without pins)
      • Place the display onto the PCB and screw two plastic screws into the standoffs in from the other side
      • Solder one pin of the panel and make sure it is aligned and level (re-heat and move if it is not)
      • Solder the rest of the pins
    • Put everything into the case
    • Solder two wires to the DIN-MIDI-connector (look at the schematic for a connection diagram) and place the midi socket in and solder the cables to the board (⚠️ it matters which is soldered where!)
    • Before connecting it to any USB-source, visually inspect the board for any obvious problems, solder bridges, missing pins etc.

    Soldering order - PCB version 1.0

    • Read the instructions Before soldering above
    • ⚡ Discharge yourself by touching the PE pins of an electrical outlet to avoid electrostatic charges destroying pins.
    • Solder U1: This is a SMD IC with 8 pins
      • Add solder to one of the 4 corner-pads first
      • ⚠️ Make sure you get the orientation of the part right. There is a small circle on the PCB indicating Pin 1
    • Solder all resistors except R4 (the upright one)
    • Solder D1 (⚠️ orientation)
    • Solder U3 (⚠️ orientation)
    • Solder C3
    • Solder C1 (⚠️ orientation) and C2 (⚠️ orientation)
    • Connect the solder bridge on the other side of the PCB where the white silkscreen says Bridge with solder. This connects digital and analog ground together. electrostatic charges destroying pins.
    • Soldering the Daisy Seed:
      • ⚡ Discharge yourself by touching the PE pins of an electrical outlet to avoid destroying the chip (it is expensive!)
      • Put the long pinheaders onto the pins of the Daisy and place the resulting thing into the pins where it says U2 DAISY SEED.
      • ⚠️ Make sure the Daisy Seed's USB connector is pointing in the right direction (see silkscreen)
      • Solder one corner pin first, reheat if necessary to make things straight/flush
      • Solder the rest of the 41 pins ; )
      • When you are done: Carefully remove the Daisy again and place it back into its bag
    • Soldering the Cherry MX switches
      • Put the keycaps (blue) onto the Cherry MX switches
      • Place them into the dark side of the board
      • Tape the switches in place so they don't fall out when you turn the board over, then turn the board over
      • ⚠️ These switches are hard to solder in straight!
        • Solder only one pin per switch first so they won't fall out
        • Remove the tape
        • Reheat the solder joints to carefully move the switches so the keycaps look like a nice grid
        • Do this till you are happy with the position
        • Now solder the other pins of the switches
    • Solder all potentiometers except the one that has 6 pins (GAIN)
      • ⚠️ It is easy to solder them in weirdly. Solder only the central pin first and re-align the part by reheating that pin and pushing the part with your finger at the same time. The goal is to make all four bottom metallic parts touch the PCB. See red circles:
      - [ ] Once you feel like the potentiometer doesn't look like the leaning tower of Pisa, solder the rest of its connections (make sure the part keeps its position, when you do this – reheating all the pins at once is not possible)
    • Solder all big black connection jacks (except INPUT_R)
      • ⚠️ the inlet is pointing to the right direction (edge of the PCB)
      • ⚠️ Make sure they are flush with the PCB, otherwise they won't fit with the holes in the case
      • ⚠️ Some of the pins are now underneath the potentiometers. This is harder to solder, but not impossible. Avoid burning other parts by thinking about the direction from which you move in with the soldering iron.
    • Solder the RGB-LED D2 – Read below before proceeding:
      • ⚠️⚠️⚠️ The silkscreen is on the WRONG side of the PCB! The part should be on the side without)
      • ⚠️⚠️ There is no space for soldering and cutting the pins on the other side. This part has to be soldered from the top.
      • ⚠️ orientation: one of the through holes has a square pad. This is where the longest pin of the LED should go. Shorten the other pins before putting in (if in doubt: ask)
      • The LED is not meant to be soldered flush with the PCB. It should stick out of the panel. Check David's board for reference
      • The 4 pins are not allowed to connect to each other with solder bridges. If there is too much solder, remove it using solder wick.
    • Solder the remaining Potentiometer and Audio Connector
    • Solder the OLED Display
      • Screw the plastic standoffs into the two holes of the Display (on the side without pins)
      • Place the panel onto the PCB and screw the standoffs in from the other side
      • Solder one pin of the panel and make sure it is aligned and level (re-heat and move if it is not)
      • Solder the rest of the pins
    • Put everything into the case
    • Solder two wires to the DIN-MIDI-connector (look at the schematic for a connection diagram) and place the midi socket in and solder the cables to the board (⚠️ it matters which is soldered where!)
    • Before connecting it to any USB-source, visually inspect the board for any obvious problems, solder bridges, missing pins etc.

    Now that the hardware is done

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