Evil Mad Science Alpha Clock Five Assembly And Usage Manual Download Page 4

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The Alpha Clock Five printed circuit board (PCB),

the “Five Letter Word,”

on your bill of materials.

Assembly Step 3 – First components

Our

rst assembly step will be to add components in

locations R5 and R9 on the circuit board. Locate these two
locations on your circuit board, as shown highlighted here.

[Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide]

[4]

Summary of Contents for Alpha Clock Five

Page 1: ... http www evilmadscientist com forum Distributed by Evil Mad Science LLC http evilmadscience com An open source hardware software project For design files source code additional documentation please visit http wiki evilmadscience com alpha ...

Page 2: ...ws fast neat bending of resistor leads Not that many parts like this in the Bulbdial kit but if you like it extra nice 2 Phillips head screwdriver medium size 1 is ideal 4 Screwdriver Alpha Clock Five is a soldering kit You ll need certain tools and supplies to build it 1 Soldering iron 2 Solder 3 Angle Flush Cutters Thin rosin core solder 60 40 solder is easy to use diameter of 025 or so is typic...

Page 3: ...er 0 1 6 pin SIL RA Digi Key WM6106 ND 1 D2 LED 3 mm White Diffused Betlux BL L312 UWW 1 Q1 Q6 PNP transistor type 2STX2220 Digi Key 497 7067 ND 6 C4 C9 Capacitor aluminum 100 uF 16 V Digi Key 493 1040 ND 2 S1 S5 Switch tactile RA tall button Digi Key P10880S ND 5 L1 Buzzer Magnetic Digi Key 102 1153 ND 1 U1 IC microcontroller ATmega644A Digi Key ATMEGA644A PU ND 1 U2 IC LED Driver type MBI5026 Ma...

Page 4: ...rd 1 on your bill of materials Assembly Step 3 First components Our first assembly step will be to add components in locations R5 and R9 on the circuit board Locate these two locations on your circuit board as shown highlighted here Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 4 ...

Page 5: ...mally taped together like the ones shown here Pull the tape straight off to remove it Take one of the resistors and bend it like so Insert it at location R9 the orientation does not matter Next up Soldering tips Our first component type is a 100 ohm resistor part 2 For this first one we ll take it slowly And press it flush to the board Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 5 ...

Page 6: ...e clipping the board itself Your tip needs to be shiny tinned If not melt some fresh solder against it and quickly swipe clean on a wet sponge Place the solder against the joint that you wish to connect Touch the iron to the solder and joint for about one second Count it out one thousand one The solder should melt to the joint and leave a shiny wet looking joint If not let it cool and try again Ad...

Page 7: ...t resistor On the back side Bend out the two leads of the resistor Where we perform those steps that we just described Solder both pins to the board Inspect the solder joints Make sure that they look shiny wet and clean to ensure a good connection Clip the excess leads short Bend 7 Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide ...

Page 8: ...ll Resistor 3 Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 8 3 is the one smaller size resistor Up close the color stripes are brown black orange gold Parts identification Next solder parts 3 two 10 k resistors into locations R3 and R4 ...

Page 9: ...ly Step 8 Install Resistors 4 Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 9 Part 4 is a 681 ohm resistor Solder seven of these in locations R2 and RB1 RB6 The color code on these resistors is blue gray brown black brown ...

Page 10: ... Assembly Step 9 Install Resistor 5 Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide Part 5 is a 340 ohm resistor Install just one of these at location R1 The color code on this resistor is orange yellow black black brown ...

Page 11: ... into the circuit board matching the two ends with the notches This is 6 the 40 position socket for the microcontroller Locate the polarity marking notch at one end of the socket Assembly Step 10 The 40 pin IC Socket 11 Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide To ensure good positioning rest the circuit board flat on top of the socket The socket pins will protrude but only very slightly through the circuit...

Page 12: ...ockets in locations U2 and U3 using the same method Take care to match the notches to those on the circuit board Parts 7 and 8 are the 24 pin and 16 pin DIP Sockets respectively Note that each has a notch at one end to mark the polarity Then solder the rest of the socket pins To begin with solder just two opposite corner pins of the 40 pin socket Assembly Step 11 Sockets continued 12 Alpha Clock F...

Page 13: ...hile soldering On the top side make sure that the header sits flush to the circuit board If not flip it back over and melt the joint while pressing down on the circuit board to snap the header into place Assembly Step 12 Six pin DIL ISP Header 13 Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide Solder just one pin to begin with Then solder the other five pins ...

Page 14: ...ion M1 There are actually two locations at M1 Note that the headers go in the outer positions Insert the two headers In this step we add the sockets that allow Alpha Clock Five to be connected to a real time clock module e g Chronodot Assembly Step 13 RTC Sockets 14 Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide And flip the board over to rest on them holding them in place for soldering Solder one pin of each he...

Page 15: ...t location J1 on the top side of the circuit board Solder one pin of the connector the side pin to hold it in place The larger metal here can take a while to heat up to about 8 s On the bottom side solder all three pins in place Note that it is not necessary to fill the holes all the way with solder ...

Page 16: ...Guide 16 Parts 12 are two little 18 pF ceramic capacitors little yellow beads with two pins There are two similar types of ceramic capacitors in the kit so these ones are marked with a black stripe Solder these two capacitors on the board at locations C5 and C6 ...

Page 17: ... uF capacitors Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 17 Parts 13 are similar looking 0 1 uF ceramic capacitors but there are six of them and without the black stripe Install them in the following locations C1 C2 C3 C7 C8 and C10 ...

Page 18: ...tep 17 Quartz Crystal Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 18 14 Install part 14 a 16 MHz quartz crystal Its two pins go in the outer two holes of the location marked XTL Solder both pins in place much like a resistor ...

Page 19: ... board Then on the bottom side solder all six pins in place It goes in location J2 on the circuit board oriented so as to match the drawing on the circuit board Part 15 is a six pin single inline SIL right angle RA header Assembly Step 18 Six pin SIL RA Header 19 Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide ...

Page 20: ...embly Guide 20 Part 16 is a small white LED Note that this component has one long lead and one short lead Install the LED in location D2 near the top middle of the board Orientation matters The long lead of the LED goes into the square hole of location D2 ...

Page 21: ... face Note that the transistors do not seat fully flush to the circuit board but rather slightly above it like so Do not force them down further Assembly Step 20 The Transistors Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 21 Install all six transistors matching the orientation of that flat face to the outline on the circuit board ...

Page 22: ...arked as a polarity indicator With the side facing up bend the leads down as shown Note that the locations are each marked with a stripe as well to indicate the orientation Insert the first capacitor at location C9 Make sure that the side of the capacitor faces the stripe on the circuit board Solder the other capacitor at location C4 Slide it down into place and solder both pins It is not importan...

Page 23: ... right angle tactile button switches Snap the button into the location and make sure that it sits fully flush to the board Solder all four pins in place Repeat for each of the switch locations S1 S5 Here is what one of the button locations looks like ...

Page 24: ...has a marking on the top to indicate its orientation Install the speaker at location L1 Make sure that the pin goes into the matching hole on the circuit board If that mark is not visible on the top there are also corresponding marks on the bottom side for and Press the speaker flush to the board and solder it in place ...

Page 25: ...against a hard flat surface View from end of chip YES no Assembly Step 24 Add the chips 25 Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Parts 21 23 are the integrated circuits which go in sockets U1 U3 respectively Press the chips firmly to seat them fully into their sockets Like the sockets each chip has a notched end to indicate polarity Align the notch to the notch on the socket and ...

Page 26: ...d to the top side of the circuit board In what follows we ll be adding the angle brackets that support the circuit board and then adding the five alphanumeric LED displays The displays will block access to the back side of the circuit board so this would be a great time to double check and make sure that you ve got everything installed on the top side ...

Page 27: ...re threaded angle brackets Parts 25 are matching Phillips head screws Put two of the screws through the clearance holes in the lower half of the bottom side of the circuit board Loosely thread each screw into an angle bracket on the other side of the board Do not tighten them yet ...

Page 28: ...Square the two angle brackets with respect to each other and with respect to the circuit board as you tighten the screws It may be helpful to hold the assembly against a hard flat surface while you do so Tighten the screws very securely to lock the angle brackets in place ...

Page 29: ...mbly Guide Each display has two rows of ten pins each on the back side Check these pins carefully to make sure that they are straight vertical and parallel on each display If necessary gently bend them into place Parts 27 are the five alphanumeric LED displays Good Bad Also bad ...

Page 30: ...in the kit The socket strips press onto the pins of the alphanumeric LED displays with gentle pressure For reference the socket strips should slide very far down onto the pins as far down as shown here Repeat for both strips of each LED display Slide one of the 10 position sockets onto the ten pins on one side of an LED display Make sure that it seats all the way down as shown previously ...

Page 31: ...ether and that the pins are aligned nicely The socketed LED displays will go in locations LD1 LD5 on the back side of the circuit board If the displays do not sit neatly go back and make sure that 1 The LED pins are straight and vertical Step 28 and 2 The sockets are fully seated Step 29 With all of the LED displays sitting in place check that the front faces are reasonably level and that the gaps...

Page 32: ...entially Start with the middle display As with some of our earlier parts the machine pin sockets only barely reach through the circuit board As with earlier sockets initially solder just the two opposite corner pins Double check that the socket is properly seated and then solder the remaining socket pins in place ...

Page 33: ...32 Add remaining alphanumeric displays Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 33 Install the next two LED displays at LD2 and LD4 the same way Finally install the outer two alphanumeric LED displays at locations LD1 and LD5 ...

Page 34: ...Assembly Step 33 Light it up Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 34 Connect the 5V power supply and apply power to your clock If all goes well it will say HELLO WORLD in a few seconds ...

Page 35: ...ide 35 With the power supply plugged in hold down both the Time and Alarm buttons for 4 seconds to enter the LED Test mode This will generate a slowly changing LED test pattern that will light up every LED on the front face to help highlight any assembly issues ...

Page 36: ...onodot RTC module Important note Do not set the battery on any conductive surface or it will drain in a matter of minutes Examples Black conductive foam silver anti static bags steel countertop etc Similarly once the battery is installed on the module do not set the module on a conductive surface Assembly Step 35 The Chronodot Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 36 ...

Page 37: ...lace Assembly Step 36 Add Chronodot headers Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 37 Then insert the two 4 pin SIL headers long end first into the sockets at the RTC location M1 If your Chronodot came without the headers installed follow this procedure to install them Then temporarily remove the Chronodot to install the battery First Unplug the clock from its power supply ...

Page 38: ...dded Again be careful not to rest the pins on conductive surfaces that can short circuit the battery and drain it very quickly Assembly Step 37 Add the Chronodot battery Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide 38 Solder the two tabs Tab Tab Install the Chronodot on the clock in the sockets at location M1 ...

Page 39: ...t acrylic pieces Acrylic is brittle so take care in the following steps not to over tighten the fasteners that hold the case together Front 30 Top 32 Back 31 Bottom 33 Washers 36 Black screws 4 40 35 Hex Nut 4 40 34 6 32 screws 25 The four acrylic case pieces may be wrapped in protective paper or plastic Carefully peel off this wrapping material ...

Page 40: ... There are two through holes in the case bottom Orient the case bottom as shown up against the bottom of the circuit board with the back tabbed side facing up Thread the screw into the corresponding angle bracket but leave it very loose for the moment Insert one of the 6 32 screws up from the bottom side of the indicated hole Then add a washer to the top side ...

Page 41: ...ttom Alpha Clock Five Assembly Guide Then tighten the two 6 32 screws from the bottom side firmly but not overly tight Add the second 6 32 screw through the bottom side Add the washer and then thread it into the second angle bracket ...

Page 42: ...ee T slots on the back side of the case bottom Place the case back the transparent gray piece over the tabs on the case bottom While supporting its weight insert three of the black 4 40 screws through the top and into the nuts Tighten them just until they support the weight of the case back ...

Page 43: ...e got thus far the case bottom and back sides are attached Stand the case up on end and slide the top into place One at a time insert one of the hex nuts into one of the three T slots and fix it in place with a black 4 40 screw As before keep it loose Only tighten the screws enough to roughly hold the nuts in place ...

Page 44: ...t bottom of the clock Position the case front in place with the curved footed side towards the bottom of the clock Insert three more screws through the front plastic to engage the hex nuts Hold the hex nuts flush against the LED displays while you tighten the screws And on this side tighten the three screws firmly ...

Page 45: ...l screws If you have trouble getting the case front to reach the case top the screws on the back side are probably too tight try loosening them a bit One at a time add the final three hex nuts and screw each one into place with one of the black 4 40 screws ...

Page 46: ... four top buttons at this time If everything is in the right place the buttons will respond with a friendly click to gentle pressure If not if the top piece is too high or too low you may need to slightly loosen one or more of the front top screws to move the case top where it needs to go ...

Page 47: ... 3 Tighten the screws here on the rear bottom 4 Tighten the screws here on the front bottom Once you finish tightening the screws double check the buttons to make sure that each is working correctly Also you may notice that the circuit board and LED displays do not sit completely vertical in the case but lean back at a slight angle This is normal and expected ...

Page 48: ...ase see the User Interface Guide on the following page to learn how to operate your clock Please visit our wiki site http wiki evilmadscience com alpha for much more additional documentation For technical support please visit our Clock support forum http www evilmadscientist com forum ...

Page 49: ...t Show firmwa Enter LED ttons for 4 seconds are version test mode Hold these two but Enter or leave ttons for 2 seconds settings menu Settings Menu Reset button SNOOZE ALARM AM PM 24 Hr None LED Low LED High Low Medium High Siren Use to preview alarm tone Values Select with and Time Format Night Light Alarm Tone Test Sound Test backup battery http evilmadscience com Alpha Clock Five Usage Notes ...

Page 50: ...goes towards the location on the circuit board marked Black Any time that you connect the computer to the clock the clock is likely to restart However you can use the computer to set the time on Alpha Clock Five or to display text on the alphanumeric display See the Alpha Clock Five documentation wiki for more information about the serial protocol Hooking up to a computer Alpha Clock Five Usage No...

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