flight of harmony Famine 500 User manual

Voltage-controlled power starvation Eurorack Module kit
v1

FAM500-K v1.0 manual Dec. 2022 — p.1/14 www.ightofharmony.com
Contents
(1) Front panel
(3) PCB
(1) Resistor card
(1) Semiconductor card
(1) Capacitor card
(1) Hardware bag
(2) 2x8 box header
(2) M3x0.5 eurorack mounting screw
(2) M3 nylon washer
(8) 3/8" locking PCB standoff
(2) 1x3 0.1" pitch 0.235" height pin header
(2) 1x4 0.1" pitch 0.235" height pin header
(2) 1x5 0.1" pitch 0.235" height pin header
(2) 1x7 0.1" pitch 0.235" height pin header
(1) 1x4 0.1" pitch 0.45" height pin header
(2) 1x3 0.1" pitch machined socket header
(2) 1x5 0.1" pitch machined socket header
(2) 1x7 0.1" pitch machined socket header
(1) Power cable bag
(1) 9" 16-conductor 0.050" pitch ribbon cable
(1) 12" 16-conductor 0.050" pitch ribbon cable
(3) 16-pin IDC female socket header (black)
(3) 16-pin IDC male pin header (grey)
(1) Controls bag
(2) Potentiometer, B10k
(2) M7 Washer
(2) M7 Nut
(2) M7 Knob
(2) 3.5mm TS jack
(2) M6 Washer
(2) M6 Nut
(2) SPDT (Single-Pole, Double-Throw) toggle switch (with nut)
(1) DPDT (Double-Pole, Double-Throw) toggle switch (with nut)
(3) 10-40 hex nut
(3) #10 star internal-tooth lock washer
(1) Reference manual (this thing)
(1) Owner's manual (that other thing like this thing)

FAM500-K v1.0 manual Dec. 2022 — p.2/14 www.ightofharmony.com
Kit Notes
Tools
• Soldering iron with large and ne tips
• Hot air gun (advised)
• Solder
• Fine-tip tweezers
• Nut drivers/sockets/wrenches:
• 7mm (toggle switch)
• 8mm (jack nuts)
• 10mm (potentiometer nuts)
Skills
THIS IS NOT A BEGINNER-LEVEL KIT
Kit contains both very small (0603) and relatively large (DPAK) components.
The small ones are tricky and the large require a lot of carefully-applied heat.
This kit assumes that you have a basic understanding of electronics, electronic
components, and soldering and assembling electronics. Note that this kit is almost
entirely Surface Mount Technology (SMT), so the assumption is that you understand
how to work with Surface Mount Devices (SMD) and have some experience.
This doesn't mean that you're completely on your own, just that I'm not going
to hold your hand1. Below are a few things to help get you started. Feel free to
ignore them.
Assembly Tips
• For the smaller SMD, use the smallest soldering iron tip that you have. My
favorite is the Weller ETR: (Not an endorsement, nor do I get anything from it,
it's just a good reference point.) Remember to switch back to a larger tip when
soldering the through-hole components and the regulators.
1) For many reasons, but two in particular: First, I'd have to leave my house, and I hate doing that.
Second, it's really hard to solder with only one hand.
Narrow Screwdriver
Cat
. A B C
No.
in. mm in. mm in. mm
ETR
0.062 1.60 0.044 1.12 0.625 15.90
A
B
C

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Kit Notes (cont.)
• Good, ne-tip tweezers are a must. The Wiha 4b and 7a tweezers are great2.
• One helpful trick for soldering SMD with wire solder is to pre-solder one pad
for each component location. Next, hold the component in place and touch
your soldering iron tip to the pre-soldered pad to reow the solder. Then you
can solder the other side normally.
• Flux is your friend. Use ux. Water-soluble ux is best for a clean
nish, but you have to make sure to get it all off when done, as
it can corrode the joint and some uxes may also be capacitive.
NOTE: The potentiometers and switches are NOT sealed and cannot be
submerged; so don't wash them. You can also use no-clean ux.
• Smallest rst. Solder the components in increasing order of size. Per board,
per side, not overall.
• Minimize heat exposure. Heat destroys components, and SMD are particularly
sensitive because they have less mass to distribute the heat. Flux helps with
this too.
• Use the face plate to line up the potentiometers, jacks, and LEDs, before
soldering; this is much easier than resoldering them to line them up correctly
afterward.
Assembly Order
The easiest build order is as follows:
• Control PCB:
1. All SMD
2. All panel components
3. Socket headers
• Mid PCB:
1. All SMD
2. Headers
• Rear PCB:
1. Rear side SMD — VR- & VR+
2. Front side SMD
3. HDROUT, HDRIN, HDR22, HDR23
4. HDR29, HDR303
NOTE: Use a large tip and a heat gun (if possible) to solder VR- and VR+.
The heat sink areas will wick the heat away rapidly, so use the heat gun to preheat
the board.
2) IMO, their 5abb were the best, but they discontinued them so FML. No, you can't have mine.
3) No, there aren't 30 headers, I forgot to update the numbering before nalizing the design.

FAM500-K v1.0 manual Dec. 2022 — p.4/14 www.ightofharmony.com
Kit Notes (cont.)
Help
If you're still having problems, email me! I am always happy to help. When
emailing, please include high-resolution pictures of your circuit boards.
Most of the troubleshooting requests I have received were solved by zooming
in and closely examining the pictures. Cold solder joints are sneaky and hard to
spot if you haven't dealt with them before. A cold solder joint is where the solder
doesn't adhere to both the pad and the component lead, and just owed around
one of them without making contact. They happen, and they suck, but they're easy
xes once you nd them.

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PCB Assembled Front View

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PCB Assembled Rear View
Oops, should say “Control”.

FAM500-K v1.0 manual Dec. 2022 — p.7/14 www.ightofharmony.com
SMD Reference
Also oops.

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SMD Reference, cont.

FAM500-K v1.0 manual Dec. 2022 — p.9/14 www.ightofharmony.com
Exploded View

FAM500-K v1.0 manual Dec. 2022 — p.10/14 www.ightofharmony.com
Controls & LED Installation
Solder rst These too
Finger-tight
Finger-tight
Set lens to desired
height then solder

FAM500-K v1.0 manual Dec. 2022 — p.11/14 www.ightofharmony.com
Power Cable Assembly
Pin header (gray)Socket header (black)
Power in cable (9”/23cm) Power out cable (12”/30.5cm)
Triangle indicates pin1
(location of red stripe)

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IC Orientation
Diode Orientation
Miscellaneous
LED and capacitor Orientation
(OR) LINE
Pin 1 Line/Slope
Line/Slope

FAM500-K v1.0 manual Dec. 2022 — p.13/14 www.ightofharmony.com
Spin ush with panel.
Spin ush with panel,
do not tighten.
Tighten gently with
nut driver/wrench/socket.
Tightening toggle switch jam nuts.
Toggle switches are slightly shorter than the jacks and potentiometers, so the
jam nut (rear nut) must be run ush with the panel before tightening the outer nut
to prevent deforming the panel.
Miscellaneous (cont.)

FAM500-K v1.0 manual Dec. 2022 — p.14/14 www.ightofharmony.com