4-LED Knob Board

I'd like to upgrade my buttonhack to the 4-LED system. Right at the moment, hulkster.net isn't responding (dunno why) so I can't go check the web site to see if Brian offers the 4-LED version of the board as a separate sale or not. Even so, I get the impression he's behind in shipments, so I'd be curious to know if I have any alternatives to getting a 4-LED board made. For instance, aren't there online sites that will produce a PCB from uploaded plans?

Also: I've got his original 3-LED system, does the 4-LED system require different electronic parts, or can I just use the parts from the 3-LED system and merely add another LED?

Or maybe there's someone who already has a 4-LED board and the necessary parts in stock, and I can just buy it from them?

Brian offers the 4-LED version of the board as a separate sale or not. Even so, I get the impression he's behind in shipments, so I'd be curious to know if I have any alternatives to getting a 4-LED board made. For instance, aren't there online sites that will produce a PCB from uploaded plans?

There's a few places that will make PCB from plans and such - usually there's a minimum size of 4x4 (meaning that if you go under, you still pay the 4x4 price.)
I'm using one of those (don't have the URL handy, at work.) for my RS232->TTL+5V converter board for the remote display ..

Me.

There are tons of places online to upload 'plans' to produce PCBs from. Typically you need to provide Gerber files or equivalent from a PCB CAD program to board houses like 4PCB or use proprietary software from other board houses such as PCB123 or ExpressPCB. It usually ends up costing a minimum of $70 or so, although there may be some a little cheaper. It is probably cheaper just to etch your own. I need to make one for my player too, I guess I could get a few produced somewhere if there is enough interest, otherwise I'll just etch one here. Setup fees for the film, etc. are prohibitively expensive unless you make quite a few.


Stu

otherwise I'll just etch one here

That would be totally cool if you could. How much?

I've got a couple of boards at home and I'm coming home tomorrow night, so if Stu doesn't make one for you, I can send one over to you.

Stig

Let Stig send you one of his. No telling when I will get around to doing it.

Stu

I may have at least a couple PCBs on hand pretty soon. I just finished enhancing the picture of Brian's 4 LED knob PCB to 1200 PPI for printing and etching.

Does anyone own the copyrights to these layouts?

Stu

I've got a couple of boards at home and I'm coming home tomorrow night, so if Stu doesn't make one for you, I can send one over to you.

Cool! How much?

And if you happen to have an extra LED on hand, or any of the other necessary parts (if any) to upgrade my 3-LED unit to 4-LED, then I'd love to buy those from you, too. (One-stop shopping is easier. )

Well, obviously Brian owns the copyright. You will need his permission to reproduce those for anyone other than yourself.

Cheers

That's what I thought. I was really only planning on making them for myself anyway.

Stu

I don't have any white leds, sorry... Only red, blue and yellow ones... I've got the rest of the components, though. And the cost of the board is next to nothing, so don't worry about it. Just PM me your address, and I will send it wednesday or thursday.

Stig

PM sent. THANK YOU!

From the looks of it (Brian's page is up again), I need one more "101" resistor, and one more LED. I'm guessing those are on the parts list (which I really need to get transferred to the FAQ one of these days)...

The parts list indicates the resistors are 0805 size, but they look to me to be more like 0603 size. I don't have any 0603 packages here, but 0805 resistors don't fit the board very well. I ordered the 0603s.

Stu

Lopan, what do you think?

For what it's worth, StigOE says he used 0805-sized parts, and it's OK to even go as big as 1206-sized parts. But you're saying they should be 0603-size?

I don't know anything about the parts sizing, I don't know what the numbers mean. I'm assuming that the smaller versions have the smaller numbers?

FWIW, I went ahead and ordered the parts as they were shown on Lopan's parts list. It was only a few bucks, we'll see when they get here.

I used 1206 leds and I *think* I used 0805 resistors on the boards I made. Although I used Brian's design as a template, I didn't just "clean" up his pictures, but drew my own board in a CAD-program. Therefore it might be 0603 resistors on Brian's boards and 0805 on mine....

[TV-Shop voice]
I'll just throw in the resistors with your board as a bonus, Tony. And not only that, I can also include the transistor for the same price...
[/TV-Shop voice]



Stig

Cool! Thanks!

You da man.

I just wanted to make sure everything fit which is why I used Brian's picture rather than doing it properly with a CAD program. Tony, 0603 is smaller than 0805. A little hard to work with, but not nearly as tiny as 0201 (.6mm x .3mm)!

Stu

I came across this site a while ago, haven't used them yet but they seem reasonable for one off's and the like.

http://www.olimex.com/

Ever try out one of those pen-like things for drawing conductive traces onto a bare circuitboard? Not the etch-resist pins, but rather, ones which lay down actual conductive traces.. Just curious how well they work.

-ml

Never tried them as I am too much of a perfectionist. I would imagine they work best for short traces, but admittedly have no empirical data to back that up.

Stu

I have used those conductive pens before, they are not that bad... you can even solder to the traces after they dry if you use very low heat. It is actually the same stuff they use on rear windows defogers in cars.

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It is actually the same stuff they use on rear windows defogers in cars.

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Really? All the defroster elements I have come across appeared to be made of solid metal of some kind. If the conductive pen fluid is commonly used for window defrosters then it doesn't exactly suggest that it is all that great for PCB use given that the defrosters are there to heat the glass (resistance).

I have mailed the board now, so you should get it in a not too distant future..

Stig

Really? All the defroster elements I have come across appeared to be made of solid metal of some kind.

Most likely he meant the stuff that is used to patch a defroster line that has been cut, for instance while removing tint. Ie stuff to bridge a small gap, not build a complete defroster line.

/Michael

I have mailed the board now, so you should get it in a not too distant future..

THANK YOU! You da man!

Im after a 4 LED knob board too, as I haven't had much luck from Brian, is anyone making these?
I have no clue or expertise to make one my self.

thanks,

Jaidev

Hi.

Add me to that list. Well, to be totally honest: I have no idea of the circuit needed to get the 4 leds to work properly. If I had a circuit diagram, I could probably turn that into a prototype (hand-wired) board. But I would really prefer a clean, etched, PCB to this.

So if anyone is producing them or made a few extras, I would need two of these PCBs. Will of course cover your expenses.

cu,
Sven

I "enhanced" the picture on Brian's site a few days ago and etched a board from it. I don't know if it works yet, but will find out soon. I have been using that laser printer resist paper for etching boards for many years, and never really got great results. The board I etched from it kind of got blurred a bit from the toner flowing out too much under the heat of the iron.

I'm not sure how Brian would feel about giving away his design on the BBS, or else I would post the file here.

Stu

Hi Stu.

I "enhanced" the picture on Brian's site a few days ago and etched a board from it. I don't know if it works yet, but will find out soon.

If it works, I would be _very_ interested in two of those boards.

I'm not sure how Brian would feel about giving away his design on the BBS, or else I would post the file here.

Did you ask him yet?

cu,
Sven

It doesn't work yet. Something to do with the transistor I used (BC857AT). No idea why it doesn't work though. Seems like it should. The LEDs light if I bypass the transistor though.

I have not asked Brian yet about making his boards or posting the design. I thought he was hard to get a hold of, but I will try.

Stu

Should work with that transistor. It's the same as I have used, except mine was a BC857A, not AT. Don't know what that T means, though...

Stig

This is what happens. The button LEDs are off when the player first comes on, but the knob LEDs are on dimmly. Then the button LEDs turn on to the proper brightness and the knob LEDs remain on, but dim. The brightness adjustments don't change the brightness of the knob LEDs, until turned to MAX. At this point, the knob LEDs essentially turn off, but the button LEDs become very bright, as expected. Setting the brightness to off turns the button LEDs off, but leaves the knob LEDs on in the same dim state.

I guess the transistor is the wrong kind or something. I tried two of them and neither one works. I'll try the one JRFAUST reccomended and see what happens.

Stu

Something to do with the transistor I used (BC857AT).

Ic for the BC857AT is only 100mA, for the BC857A it is 500mA, perhaps you are pulling too much current and killing the AT's?

Pdf datasheet's: BC857AT BC857A

Ah, didn't realize there was a difference. Maybe that's it. It bogs down under the load; it clearly isn't dead. I'm going to try a different transistor. Shucks, there goes $.12!

Stu

Strange. The datasheet I have for the BC857A says 100mA, but that is for a Philips transistor. And my board dims as it should...

Stig

Mm... in this application, just about any transistor of correct polarity should at least behave near to "normal", though possibly dimmer or brighter than the proper one. Have you verified correct polarity (PNP,NPN,whatever) ?

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Have you verified correct polarity (PNP,NPN,whatever) ?

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Yes, it's PNP, which is what I need, as far as I can tell.

Stu

Got the board, got the parts, soldered and installed it. Works great, looks great! Thanks, Stig!

For the record:

The LED's on Lopan's current parts list are the large ones from Brian's first board, the large one with 3 LEDs. For me, this was a good thing, because I ordered just one of those LEDs and so it matched the three I had already. And I was able to squeak them, barely, onto the board and make them work.

However, if you're doing one of the new knob boards and putting the LEDs on it from scratch, you should go down to the next smaller size. From looking at Brian's page, he also uses a smaller size than what I used.

The big ones I had worked, but they were super tricky to make fit. I even had to cut away a portion of one of the contact pads on one of the LEDs to prevent it from grounding against a different trace..

Lopan, you might want to update the parts list so it has both sets of numbers.

For someone who has never tried this before. What would you say the chance of success is for someone willing to try it but has never done a lot of electronics fabrication before?

I have been waiting for over a year like most of us and have just about given up hope of getting anything from Brian.

I am ready to try something on my own if I need to.

What would you say the chance of success is for someone willing to try it but has never done a lot of electronics fabrication before?

The hard part is the soldering. The components are really tiny. I dunno about making the sub-board, I haven't had to make one yet.

Take a look at Brian's instruction pages (the "buttons" link at the top of this page). He's got detailed photos of each step of the procedure. Also read my review of when I did one of the earliest kits.

Lopan, you might want to update the parts list so it has both sets of numbers.

Does anyone have the other LED part number handy?

I finally had a chance to try another transistor. This one was a through hole PNP from Radio Shack. This time the board worked as it should. Now I know that my original choice of transistor (BC857AT) was at fault, although I don't know why. I think the Radio Shack one is too big to fit, so I will try the MMBT3906DICT-ND from Digikey. I assume that will do it since several of you have reported success with it.

Bottom line, don't use the BC857AT; it doesn't work.

Stu

This is for anyone who might want to help those of us who have been waiting for a led button hack for a YEAR!

If anyone with the tech knowhow would like to make boards/buttons available I'd gladly buy from them. Waiting more than 365 days for a product is a little ridiculous

I can make the boards and offer parts. The one I made for my Empeg works now that I have a better transistor in there.

The design will have to be different from Brian's since he hasn't replied to my e-mail on the subject, but it will still have 4 LEDs and use the same parts. If humidity is a problem with the casting, I don't want to even consider trying it here in southern Louisiana, but the knob boards I can do no problem. I would like to have them produced at a board house, rather than etched in the shop here.

How soon do you need them? I can take a breather on some of my other projects and draw up the design and get it out very soon.

Board houses usually have a setup fee that's pretty steep, so I will need enough business to pay for that at the very least.

Stu

I would also have a board as well (complete or bare).

Also if you could supply the button leds as well.

C.

So that's 2 people that would be interested so far.

Stu

i would need 3-4 knob boards with leds for the buttons. Maybe more.

Cool, so that's 5-6+ boards.

Stu

Stu,

I'd be interested in four boards.

I don't need parts.

Thanks,

i'd take one plus parts if the price isn't ludicrous

One plus parts for me too.

Question:

Any reason to stop at 4 LEDs? Maybe 6? Maybe 8? Physical space is the only limitation, and I know that people have wanted to try and diffuse the light a bit better. Maybe more, smaller LEDs? If you are redesigning the board anyway...

Current drain.

And 4 LEDs with some diffusion material (photos posted somewhere) looks really really nice.

But heck.. even ONE LED with no daughterboard actually looks just fine.

Cheers

That's what I was thinking, but what is the limit in that respect? Does there necessarily need to be more light output or just a more evenly distributed light source? Perhaps using 150 ohm current limiting resistors and 6 LEDs or 200 ohms and 8 LEDs?

Stu

I never really thought about more than 4 LEDs. I guess I was always satisfied with 4. Anyone else think the new one should have more than 4?

I might be able to fit 6, not sure about 8. There really aren't that many white SMD LEDs from which to choose. I think the smallest ones available are already being used in Brian's 4 LED board.

Stu

Depending upon the price i'd take either one or two boards plus bits...

I'll take one board plus parts.

If 8 is possible. Why not?

I am in for two plus bits if the price is reasonable.
-Mike

If 8 is possible. Why not?

I think that would be too bright compared to the buttons. As it is now, when I went from three to four, the knob is already starting to look unusually bright compared to the buttons

I'd rather see someone figure out how to mix the plastic in such a way as to diffuse the light more instead of trying to brute-force it with more LEDs. Four is already overkill, I'm sure it could be done with one LED if only the plastic could do more diffusion.

(Not that it looks bad right now... I think it looks really cool as-is, I'm just saying if we're adding more LEDs to diffuse the light more, we're approaching the problem from the wrong end.)

I know it can be done because I've seen it done on other types of plastic and rubber buttons on electronic components... I have a big TV remote that lights dozens of buttons with a single LED. I'm sure it's just a question of finding the right compounds to mix.

In reply to:

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think that would be too bright compared to the buttons. As it is now, when I went from three to four, the knob is already starting to look unusually bright compared to the buttons

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The solution to the brightness problem as I mentioned earlier, is to increase the resistance limiting the current to the LEDs. Currently it is 100 ohms I think. If you increase the resistance, you cut the current and brightness. Doing so can keep the relative brightness in check.

Stu

I'd take 4 boards if not too pricey...

If I'm not too late - I'd like two with parts also

Ta, Sim

Not too late. I haven't ordered them yet. I have counted about 21 boards thus far.

It doesn't look good for concentrically mounting more than 4 LEDs. They are just too big.

Stu

Here's that thread on diffusing the light before it gets to the knob, and a link directly to the gallery.

I think that this (or figuring out how to diffuse the light within the knob itself) makes a lot more sense than trying to cram on more LEDs. Of course, that's all academic for me, as I'm not looking to add more lights to the interior of my car.

Thanks. I saw that earlier and it does seem to wrok rather well. You are right that we shouldn't try to increase the LED count on the boards any more, which was really my thought all along anyway .

There is some sort of material used commercially for the purpose of LED light diffusion for backlit LCD panels and such. I am trying to locate a source and additional information about it.

Stu

Okay, here's the new design. Nothing revolutionary. Pretty much like Brian's, but things are moved around a bit and connected somewhat differently to keep everyone happy . One nice thing is that the corner is trimmed for more clearance around the display nipple.

It's fairly obvious that the size of the LEDs do not allow for additional LEDs to be added. I scoured various catalogs and couldn't find any smaller than these, so 4 it is.

Stu

I have counted about 21 boards thus far.

Add 1 more with parts, I would like one too.

Thanks

If the boards and/or kits become available, I would like to purchase 5. Thanks

- Sean

Count me in on a kit/parts as well.

I'd be up for a board too!

Cheers.

Count me in for a board Stu. Saves me from doing one myself

Yeah, I'd upgrade

If it's not too late, I'd definately buy a board - send you the money right now . Would also buy parts if they were at a reasonable price.

Assuming you will ship to the UK for a price...

On a related note, has anyone made any progress on making/supplying some translucent buttons/knob other than Brian?

Okay, I've counted 34+ boards. The boards themselves will be tentatively priced at $15 + shipping.

Stu

well.... I would like one board with parts too. But only if I could get the translucent buttons from somewhere.... Anybody got any success in getting/building them?

I am interested in 3 boards plus parts. I am in the same boat as many of the others though. I still need a source for translucent buttons and knobs.

On a related note, has anyone made any progress on making/supplying some translucent buttons/knob other than Brian?

Lopan is still working on it. He's got problems with Tiny Bubbles (tm) at the moment (cue Don Ho music in everyone's head).

Please add 2 boards & LEDs for me too. I am in the UK.

If I'm not to late I'd like 2 complete boards as well please.

Thanks

So now it's 40+ boards. What is it exactly that most of you want? The complete electrical portion of the kit (everything but the buttons and knobs), just the bare PCB, or the the PCB with parts? Those of you who want more than just the PCB, please be aware that $15 only buys the PCB; the LEDs, resistors and transistor are extra.

Stu

What color solder mask? I can get standard green, or something more unusual like red, blue, or black.

Stu

As dark as possible. Mm... or I wonder, maybe ultra-reflective would help with the light diffusion..

I think I better add 2 more for good measure... (trying to convince the G/F to get an empeg) So thats 3 total for me.

I think I would prefer getting the complete electrical portion (assuming you mean the button LED's as well as the knob board)

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I think I would prefer getting the complete electrical portion (assuming you mean the button LED's as well as the knob board)

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That's what I mean. I will offer bare PCBs, knob kits, button kits and both kits together.

Stu

Black it is then unless it costs a lot more. I've never done black before, and they don't have online quoting for non-standard colors of solder mask. Now to get all these Gerber files sorted out...

Stu

What is it exactly that most of you want?

All electronics to do buttons and knob including all LEDs, etc. would be my order. I imagine it is going to be much easier for most of us to get everything through you than try to order all the individual bits through digikey or whoever. Oh, and assembly instructions would be nice too

-Mike

What is it exactly that most of you want?

Yep, what mcomb said, that sums me up nicely.

Do you have an idea of how much it will cost to get everything (board, leds, etc.) If it is still reasonable then sign me up for a complete set with everything included also

Probably about $50 for everything except the buttons and knob. Price is heavily dependent on how much of a risk we wish to take on inventory of expensive things like the LEDs.

Stu

Quite happy to pay in advance and reduce your risk, just say the word Stu.

Yeah, suprising how pricey those LEDs are! Quite the shocker first time I purchased some.

Cheers

I am waiting for the board house to approve the design for manufacturability. It's supposed to take 15 minutes, but its been a day now, so I will see what happened there. The first round of inspections had some nit picking about the solder mask clearances and silkscreen line thickness. I think I fixed those. Hopefully tomorrow the boards will be ordered!

Stu

I'd like 2 complete kits with parts & instructions. I don't care what it costs. I'm fed up having waited 1.5 years for Brians.

Thanks!

Is there any chance of you providing the button LED boards also?

I will be providing LEDs for the buttons. I am not aware of any boards involved for them. It's just a resistor pack soldered to some pads on the stock display board.

Stu

That rocks. Even after reading the plans a bazillion times on Brian's site, I still didn't realize you didn't need a board. Sad, huh?

Black solder mask is an additional $50 for the run. Is everyone in agreement that it should be glossy? They offer matte as well as gloss.

Stu

Heck, you don't even need a board for a knob LED, either -- a single knob LED, that is.

Cheers

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Heck, you don't even need a board for a knob LED, either -- a single knob LED, that is.

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How do you dim it?

Stu

Same way as with a board installed. The dimmer logic for both is already on the stock display board. The reason for the transistor on the 4-LED board is to avoid excessive current drain on the existing logic when used with lots of LEDs.

Cheers

PCBs ordered! However they will be in green as they changed the price to $175 extra for black solder mask.

Should be here in about 5 weeks .

Stu

How many boards did you end up ordering?

100 for now.

Stu

Those'll disappear very very quickly!

When will you be accepting orders?

Thanks,

Whenever the boards arrive, we will start accepting orders. It has become our policy not to take preorders.

Stu

Do the people that replied to this thread, with the amount of boards they wanted, will we be the first offered the boards? or is it going to be a first come first serve basis after you receive the boards, and setup an order form online?

It would be nice if we could do that, but how do we identify the persons who made the requests? Experience tells me that 100 should be more than enough for a quite some time. It will probably be first come first served, but I wouldn't worry about it. Oh yeah, I'm keeping one of them, but they sometimes have overage, so there may be a few more than 100 available from this first batch.

Stu

I predict that the first 100 will sell out within two weeks.

Cheers

I don't check the BBS nearly often enough it seems. After waiting over a year for my order with Brian I think I can safely give up hope. I'm very excited to see development in this area starting again. I'm very interested in getting a full kit from you, pcb and full parts (knob and buttons) as soon as I can get replacement buttons too. By the looks of things Casting_Fool might be producing some soon!

Maybe it would be a good idea to communicate with Casting_Fool on his development? For someone like me I'd ideally like to buy everything together as a kit (buttons + electrics). Maybe you two could collaborate your efforts? Just a thought...

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Maybe it would be a good idea to communicate with Casting_Fool on his development? For someone like me I'd ideally like to buy everything together as a kit (buttons + electrics). Maybe you two could collaborate your efforts? Just a thought...

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Way ahead of you there. I actually sent him an e-mail on Friday but did not get a reply, as of yet.

Stu

pls put me down for 2 boards

I'm in with two complete kits, please...

cheers, Thomas

I want two please

I'll take two sets. Thanks.

Count is up to about 50 boards now, with most I assume wanting the complete set with all resistors, LEDs, and transistor.

Stu

Greetings!

I will take five...

Put me down for one kit too if it's not too late... I'll call it a birthday present for the Mk2 :-)

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will take five...

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May I ask what you need with 5 more sets? I thought you 'only' had 4 players, and they are all lit already.

Stu

Add me to the list please. I'll want one (and some help fitting - see other thread)

Actually, only three players. But it never hurts to have extra, just in case.

I would like just the one set, inc LEDs etc...

Cheers

Cris.

Would like to go on the List for 1 Kit,
if you don't mind posting to Australia,
Thanks!! Gazz.
Alice Springs.

The board house order status indicates that they are 65% complete as they are in the copper plating stage. Although the scheduled delivery is May 23rd, they may come sooner than that.

International orders will be welcome of course!

Stu

Stu,

Which board house?

I have a project that requires some custom hardware.
And I'm not looking forward to etching pc boards.

Thanks,

Stu,

I would be interested in 2 - 3 boards, and i'm sure i have a few friends that would be as well. I would love to get the complete kit! I've been on Brian's waiting list for well over a year! I'll also pre-pay if you want! Can you start a mailing list to let us know when we willl be ready to start ordering? i'm sure 100 will go fast since the count on the baord is already past 50 now.

I don't know which boardhouse Stu is using, but for 1-2 layer boards suitable for hand soldering, www.olimex.com is by far the cheapest that I've found. They also accept EagleCAD files directly, and for non-profit hobbyist use a limited version of EagleCAD (pcb <= 4"x3", including auto-routing) is available gratis. The only gotchas with olimex that I can see are that they tin the boards before soldermasking them, which means that they aren't really suitable for reflow/wave soldering, and that they are based in Bulgaria, which may not be optimal for credit card ordering. (Note that I haven't heard/seen any evidence that suggests that this will be a problem, but I'm generally wary of sending my CC number to a formerly eastern block country). On the positive side they will do free panelisation/de-panelisation, which means that if you had a 1"x2" board then you can pay for an 8"x11" panel, and they will fit as many of your pcbs onto it as possible, and then cut them free afterwards. For small boards this is a bonus - most houses have a panelisation set up fee and a per-board depanelisation charge.

IIRC, the next cheapest that I've found is www.custompcb.com. Full SMOBC (suitable for wave/reflow soldering), and still fairly cheap. Although based in Malaysia, they use a US-based CC payment agency, so your CC number supposedly never leaves the US. They appear to be a professional setup from what I've read on their web-site. But you have to pay extra for silkscreening and soldermasking. They also accept EagleCAD directly.

If anyone has any other cheap EagleCAD-accepting contenders, please post!

The board house is Advanced Circuits in Colarado. They are very helpful and will examine your design for possible manufacturing problems for free. Their prices seem reasonable, at least for small production orders. Plus, they have instant online quoting. I have never placed an order with them, so this is a bit of an experiment. Hopefully I didn't screw anything up and the boards turn out as intended. I don't usually handle the PCBs, but decided to start, so we'll see what happens.

I was not impressed by Olimex's capabilities and at least in this case, could not use them.

I have never tried Custom PCB, but still I think Advanced Circuits is a bit easier to work with.

Stu

Thank you.

Thanks for the info.

In reply to:

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Can you start a mailing list to let us know when we willl be ready to start ordering?

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I can try to set something up on the website. No promises though.

The boards are now at the "screening" stage, indicating 80% completion. At this rate, they will be done by tomorrow, but they are still saying expected ship date is May 23. Perhaps they will just be sitting in their facility until the 23rd, so as not to give me too much for my money. Their one week service was substanially more than the 4 week one I chose to go with.

Stu

Their one week service was substanially more than the 4 week one I chose to go with

Yeh, sounds like the postal service. Sending a letter second class just gives them "THE RIGHT" to slow it down, but it generally goes the same way as first class.

What's the latest info on the boards? How much are they going to be? And are you taking preorders or orders when they arrive.

No preorders. First come first served. The board house website says "Shipping" 100% complete, but there is still another stage before it leaves their facility, even though they are already calling it 100%. Bare PCBs are going to be $15(plus shipping). I have not priced the other components in "large" quantities, but perhaps $55 (plus shipping) for the complete unassembled kit which includes all wire, resistors, transistors, and LEDs. Don't hold me to the kit price just yet.

We will be setting up a mailing list by the week's end, so be looking for that. As soon as we are ready to ship the kits and boards you will be notified. Obviously those on the mailiing list will find out about availability first.

Stu

Great, all i need is a board. I orderd everything else from digikey lastnight and it arrived today. That's what I call fast service.

We have received a tracking number for the PCBs, so they should be arriving here next week, probably on Wednesday. After we receive them, we will need to verify that they fit and turned out as expected. Finally we will have to order more parts to put one together and install it to verify that it works.

Stu

The PCBs are in and they LOOK good. I haven't yet been able to test them but will order a few more LEDs and try one out.

Here is a picture of one of them.

Stu

Here is one of the bag of 105 PCBs.

Stu

Sorry, a little lost here...

1. This kit is available in 4-LED only? with knob? with translucent buttons?
2. Complete kit is pre-soldered/assembled? Or do I need to solder the parts?
3. What kind of experience will I need to complete this project?
4. What tools are required?
5. What is the estimated time to final completion?

I can do basic soldering and following assembly instructions. If the complete kit can be done by someone like me I like to order 1 set. Thanks for your efforts. I too, have been waiting over a year from Brian.

Sweet. When can I order a pcb?

I was wondering about some of thoes questions too.

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1. This kit is available in 4-LED only? with knob? with translucent buttons?

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Yes, 4-LED only. No knob or buttons at this time, although we may be offering them in the future.

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2. Complete kit is pre-soldered/assembled? Or do I need to solder the parts?

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Both.

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3. What kind of experience will I need to complete this project?

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You need to be able to solder small surface mount components.

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4. What tools are required?

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You will need an appropriately sized screwdriver to open the player, a low power soldering iron with a fine tip, flux, and electronic solder. (I'm sure I left some things out)

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5. What is the estimated time to final completion?

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If you mean until everything is available to purchase, I would say the PCBs themselves will be available within the next week or 2. The full kits without buttons or knobs will be longer. I am still trying to locate a source for the LEDs that's not backordered and sells at a reasonable price. No definite time frame on them.

Stu

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Sweet. When can I order a pcb?

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I need to test a board first to verify proper fit and functionality. I have ordered 4 more LEDs to install on one and will install it in my player at that point.

I promise to get the mailing list subsciption functionality up and running on our site in the next few days. We ran into some network problems last week and couldn't set up the cgi stuff to run it. The mailing list will allow interested parties to be notified as soon we we are accepting orders for various items. First up will be the raw PCBs, followed by the full kits, and hopefully knobs and buttons after that.

Stu

I've installed the first PCB from the first run. Overall good fit and function, although a very small amount needs to be trimmed off the top edge to fit under the I/R module. We will have to run each of them through the sander to trim them. Once finished, we will begin offering the PCBs. Those on the mailing list will be notified a few days before it is anounced here .

Stu

Cool. Hope you haven't made too many in the first batch that have the mistake! Otherwise sanding all of those tiny PCBs is going to be a hassle

- Trevor

Well there are 104 remaining that need to be trimmed . We have a bench mount disc sander that should simplify things. The design file has been corrected should there be a need for another run.

Stu

104 LED PCBs on the wall...
Take one down, sand it off...
103 LED PCBs on the wall...
....



- Trevor

Good one! If I make it into a song it will make the time pass more quickly!

Stu

Cool. Hope you haven't made too many in the first batch that have the mistake! Otherwise sanding all of those tiny PCBs is going to be a hassle

Dunno about maczrool, but here that would take abougt 5 seconds per PCB!

Good Luck, maczrool!

For those of you who don't know, the bare PCBs for the knob illumination are available here.

Stu

And fantastic they are too! I placed an order as soon as I got the e-mail, and was away at the time. Was going to chase up, as I hadn't received any communication but a payment confirmation, only to get home and find it waiting on my doorstep (in the UK)! Excellent service!

Just need to source the LEDs, the transistor, the resistors, the button LEDs, the transparent buttons...

Do you have the directions for installing all the parts onto the board, the board on Brian's page is a little different then this one. I'm not sure what part goes where and how the Led's should face.

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Do you have the directions for installing all the parts onto the board, the board on Brian's page is a little different then this one.

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It was designed differently intentionally, not to make things difficult for anyone, but to avoid any conflicts with the copyright holders (Brian?) of the original design. No instructions yet. Hopefully we will get them up relatively soon. Until then, try this:

R1- 10K Ohm resistor
R2-R5 - 100 Ohm resistor
Q1- MMBT3906 PNP transistor
D1-D4- SMD White LEDs, notched half of the LED towards the pad with the "bar" in the silkscreen
PWR- +5 volts on Empeg
GND- Ground
SGL- Control signal for board. Brian gets it from the left lead of the top button LED of the illumination set up.

Hope this helps,
Stu

For the LED do you mean the notch of the LED goes toward the arrow pointing on each pad.

The notched end goes to the pad with the bar (or where the arrow points to)

The symbol looks somewhat like this

>|

and the notched end should be to the right in this pic

Looking at the image on his web page (hope you dont object to me borrowing it here)



the 2 lower LEDs should have the notches oriented "up", and the top 2 LEDs the notch oriented "down".

/Michael

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For the LED do you mean the notch of the LED goes toward the arrow pointing on each pad.

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Yes, exactly. Here is a slightly clearer image than available on the website. The notched side of each LED should be situated over the pads marked blue in the image.

Stu