Wayne and Layne Tactile Metronome Manual

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Build Instructions, Printable Version
Step 0: Gather Tools
To build the Tactile Metronome, you will need a few common tools for soldering and electronics work. A
soldering iron and solder are the most important tools. You can use any soldering iron, although a higher-
quality, temperature-controlled adjustable iron will be easier to work with and give higher quality results. Any
standard solder for small electronics will do just fine.
To bend the leads of the push buttons, you will need a pliers or similar tool. We used the pliers on a wire
strippers. To trim the extra leads on the bottom of the pcb a diagonal pliers will work very well.
If you need some additional guidance and instruction on soldering, SparkFun, NASA, and Curious Inventor
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all have quality soldering tutorials.
Step 1: Part Identification
Open the bag of parts, and make sure you have all of the parts listed below. It might be easier to lay them out
as shown in the picture. Click to enlarge.
1. (1) 8 MHz Ceramic Resonator
2. (1) 3 AAA Battery Holder
3. (3) Seven Segment LED Displays
4. (1) Piezo Speaker
5. (1) Power Switch
6. (2) Push Buttons
7. (1) 10 uF Electrolytic Capacitor
8. (1) 0.10 uF Ceramic Capacitor
9. (1) 10k Ohm Resistor
10. (1) PIC16F685 Microcontroller
11. (1) 20 Pin DIP Socket
12. (3) NPN Transistors
13. (1) Tactile Metronome PCB
This kit is easy to solder. However, the seven segment displays can be a little tricky to get properly aligned.
The alignment is made much easier if the assembly can be set on a flat surface while the seven segment
displays are being soldered. To do this, we’ll make sure to only solder parts that are shorter than the displays
before getting to the displays. This will also give you a chance to practice your soldering on some easier
parts with pins that are more spread apart, before getting to the trickier displays.
Some parts are polarized, and have to go in a certain way, but some parts are not polarized. In the steps to
follow, if a part is polarized, we mention which way it must be installed. The PCB is also be marked to identify
the polarization.
Step 2: Push Buttons
The push-buttons are used to adjust the settings of the Tactile Metronome, including pattern tempo and beep
pitch. Use a pliers to straighten the legs of the buttons. They don’t need to be perfectly straight. We want the
plastic base of the button to press right up against the PCB.
Place the two buttons on the PCB on the spots labeled SW2 and SW3. They should fit pretty snug. Turn the
PCB over.
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Use your soldering iron to heat up the leg of the button and the ring around the hole at the same time. Push a
little bit of solder on the ring. The solder should melt and flow around the hole. If you’re having trouble, make
sure the tip of your iron is tinned and shiny. Remember to heat up the pad and the pin, and you don’t need to
apply a lot of solder. Don’t try to use the iron like a paintbrush. Solder all four legs of each button.
Step 3: Electrolytic Capacitor
Turn the board back over and put the electrolytic capacitor (C1) in the proper location, inside a circular
marking on the board labeled C1. This part is polarized, with a positive (+) leg and a negative (-) leg. The
negative leg is usually labeled on the side of the capacitor itself, and is shorter than the positive leg. The
positive leg is labeled on the board with a small + sign.
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To solder things with long legs like this, you can turn the board over and bend the legs a little bit, so the
component doesn’t fall out while the board is upside-down.
Solder the both legs to the PCB. Use the diagonal clippers to trim the legs of the capacitor, down to just
above the solder joints.
Step 4: Seven Segment Displays
Now that you’ve gotten warmed up and practiced some soldering, it’s time to tackle the seven segment
displays. Place the seven segments in the board, taking care to keep the decimal points at the bottom. Flip
the board over and put it on a flat surface like a table. Solder one leg on each display, and flip the board back
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over. Make sure the displays are firm against the board, and check for alignment.If the displays are crooked,
you can reheat the junction and nudge the display. When you’re happy with the alignment, solder the
remaining legs of the displays. The pins might look too close together, but they’re definitely solderable.
Whew! It’s all downhill from here!
Step 5: Transistors
Next, insert and solder the transistors. They are labeled Q1, Q2 and Q3 on the board. The legs need to be
spread a little to fit into the board. The orientation matters, so make sure to follow the white drawing on the
board. Make sure the flat side of the black transistor package is facing the seven segment display.
Step 6: Ceramic Capacitor
Insert and solder the ceramic capacitor, labeled C2 on the PCB. It isn’t polarized, so it can go in either way.
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Step 7: Chip Socket
Insert the socket into the board. The footprint on the board is labeled J1. There is a notch in one end of the
socket that should line up with the notch in the drawing on the PCB, next to the ceramic capacitor (C2) that
was just installed. It usually helps to bend one of the legs to keep the socket in place while soldering. Take
care to ensure that the socket is flush against the PCB while soldering, because it can be difficult to insert a
chip into a crooked socket. Like the seven segment displays, you might want to solder only one pin at first,
and then check the alignment. If the socket is crooked, you can melt that pin’s solder and push the socket
into place. Once it is aligned, solder the rest of the socket’s pins.
Step 8: Resistor
Bend the resistor as shown and place it on the board. It belongs just above C2, and is labeled R1. This part
isn’t polarized either. Solder it down and trim the legs.
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Step 9: Ceramic Resonator and Power Switch
Insert the resonator (F1) and solder it down. Same goes for the power switch (SW1) . Both parts are not
polarized, and can go either way into the board. There’s a line on the resonator footprint, but please ignore it.
It will be removed in the next board revision.
Step 10: Piezo Buzzer
Place the piezo (SP1) into the board. You’ll notice it has two little pegs underneath that keep the case off the
board. Use your finger to keep those pegs pressed firmly and squarely on the board. Solder it, and clip the
legs.
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Step 11: In-Circuit Serial Programming Header (Optional)
If you want to solder the ICSP header for reprogramming the microcontroller, you can do it now. You can use
either a straight or right-angle header. The header is not provided. If you don’t have any header pins handy,
you can unsolder the battery holder and attach the header later.
Step 12: Review
At this point, you should review your work. Are there any parts left over? Inspect your solder joints. Is there
solder connecting any neighboring pads? There shouldn’t be! Are any component leads hanging too long? If
there is any wire past the solder joint, trim it off with the diagonal pliers. If you have a multimeter (you
should!), you can measure the resistance between the two pads for the battery holder. It should say there’s
no connection, or have an extremely high resistance. If it says there’s a low resistance or a short, review your
soldering again and look for the short. In the picture below, the multimeter is measuring resistance, and the
value “0.L” means that the measured resistance is out of range, and is too large to measure. This means
there is an open circuit between the two battery pins, just what we need.
Step 13: Battery Holder
The battery holder is going to attach to the board with foam tape, and also be soldered. In the previous step
you should have trimmed off any component leads that were too long, so take a look at your board’s
underside to make sure all the leads are trimmed down. Your battery holder may or may not already have the
foam tape attached. If the piece of foam tape is not already attached, remove one side of the paper backing
and firmly press the sticky side to the back (flat side) of the battery holder.
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Remove the paper backing from the foam tape on the battery holder, and insert the legs of the battery holder
through the back of the holes in the PCB and slowly press the battery holder against the PCB. Be firm, but be
careful not to warp the battery holder by pressing unevenly. Solder the legs. These may take a little longer to
solder–the thick legs can take a lot of heat. Clip the legs.
Step 14: Insert Processor Chip
Chips in DIP form usually have legs that are bent out too far to fit easily into sockets. One way to slightly (but
uniformly!) bend the legs in is to press the chip against a table as shown in the photo. Insert the chip into the
socket, taking care to get all the pins aligned in their holes. Make sure to put the chip in the right way! The
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notch lines up with the notch on the board.
Step 15:
Give the completed board a final look over, checking for loose solder connections or shorted pads.
Congratulations! You’re now the proud owner of a Tactile Metronome. Install some AAA batteries and give it
a try!
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About
Wayne and Layne, LLC makes open source hardware. Our kits
come with easy-to-follow illustrated instructions and
explanations of how the kit works. All the schematics, PCB
artwork, and source code are provided under open licenses.
Our debut kit, the Tactile Metronome, is an easy-to-make tap
tempo beat looper.
Upcoming Events
Wayne and Layne will be at the 2011 Bay Area Maker Faire.
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