AVR Oscilloscope Clock

 

Assembly Instructions of the Dutchtronix AVR Oscilloscope Clock Kit

Please use the pictures and parts list below as a reference. Most of the components can be easily identified and they are clearly marked on the PCB.  Here is some extra information:

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The four 10K resistors (R1-R4) have color codes Brown Black Orange

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The three 39K resistors (R5-R7) have color codes Orange White Orange

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The 1K resistor R9 has color codes Brown Black Red

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The 4K7 resistor R8 has color code Yellow Violet Red

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The LED has 2 uneven legs. The longer leg is the +, the shorter one the -.

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There are 2 sets of diodes. The BAT-42 diodes come on a strip, the 1N916 diodes D1 and D2 come loose.

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There are 2 transistors, the 2N3906 is marked on the cardboard as 06, the other one is the 2N3904. Bent the base leg of each transistor towards the curved part of the transistor body and straighten the other 2 legs.  Now you have the transistor triangle which can be inserted in the board.

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The ATmega168 is pre-programmed with both the boot loader and the Clock firmware.

Pay attention to:

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Capacitor C2 is a now a ceramic, non-polarized capacitor. Ignore the + and - marks for C2 on the PCB. The Electrolytic Capacitor C1 is polarized.

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Please pay special attention to installing the LED since the silk screen marking is not clear on some boards.  The negative side of the LED (-) must be inserted in the hole towards the clock crystal and POWER connector. The positive side (+) must be inserted in the hole next to the GND connector.

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The front of the Backup battery (lettering) is the + side. The battery legs will need to be squeezed a little to fit in the holes; be careful doing this so the legs don't break. Please bend the unused tabs on the battery away so they don't actually short through the (unused) middle pad on the battery mount.

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Do not insert any components in the vias, which are small holes to transfer a signal from one side of the board to the other side.

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Install the Power (2-pin) and RS-232 (3-pin) polarized headers with the flat back towards the center of the board.

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The terminals CH1 and CH2 are easiest soldered on the bottom side. This is also the best location to add the optional Load Resistors (see FAQ for this optional hardware mod)

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The AVR is oriented (pins 1, 28) towards the ISP connector pads

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To improve access to the push button switch, install capacitor C1 on its side, pointing towards the battery.

Cable Connection:

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The Dutchtronix AVR Oscillosce Clock kit comes with the parts needed to make cables to plug into the Power (2-pin) and RS-232 (3-pin) polarized headers. These parts consist of 5 crimp connectors and 2 terminal housings. The RS-232 (3-pin) cable is optional (though you are encouraged to use this interface, specially to change or update the firmware) but the Power (2-pin) cable is required. To make the AVR clock side of this Power cable, you need to attach two crimp pins to the two power cable wires. A special crimping tool is preferred but you can also use pliers and use a tiny bit of solder to make sure the connection is secure. Once the crimp pins are attached, you just slide them into the 2 position terminal housing. Make sure you line up the + and - sides properly: the +(positive) of the header is on the side of the RS232 header, the –(negative) is next to the Real Time Clock (RTC) crystal. Your connector must match this.
Note that the crimp pins have a little tab on them. This tab fits perfectly in a small opening in the terminal housing; you'll hear it click if it is in the proper position. You can remove a crimp pin from the terminal housing by pushing in this tab using a very small screwdriver through the small opening, while pulling the wire.
Here are some links on how to make these kind of connectors:

        http://www.societyofrobots.com/electronics_wire_connector.shtml

        http://www.hansenhobbies.com/products/connectors/Connectors.pdf

Other instructions:

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Install components in order of increased height. For example do the terminal connectors first, followed by the IC sockets,  the resistors and the diodes. This way, you can lay the board face down while soldering the bottom.

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Do not install the 3 ICs initially. When complete, before applying power, test the voltage at the junction of diodes D3 and D4. It should read about 3V from the backup battery. Next apply 5V power and test the IC power supply points (IC1, pin 7, IC2, pin 17, IC3 pin 8). If that all tests OK, install the ICs (watch the orientation)

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After the first power up, the RTC may report a low battery status. This usually goes away after a couple of power cycles. It can also be cleared by writing the correct time to the clock (long push on the button switch enters Time Set mode, or use the XT command on the serial port) followed by a clock reset. See the FAQ for more details.

 

Pictures of the assembled board:

 

Assembly pictures from Make Magazine

 

Parts List Dutchtronix AVR Oscilloscope Clock Kit

Printed Circuit Board   1 PCB
ATmega168-20 Microcontroller IC1 1 Preprogrammed CPU
TLC7528 D/A Converter IC2 1 Creates Voltage levels
Philips RTC PCF8563 IC3 1 RTC
28 pin socket IC1 socket 1 CPU
20 pin socket IC2 socket 1 DAC
8 pin socket IC3 socket 1 RTC
20 Mhz crystal Q1 1 CPU Crystal
2N3904 NPN Q2 1 RS-232 level converter
2N3906 PNP Q3 1 RS-232 level converter
32Khz crystal Q4 1 for RTC
100 uF cap C1 1 for PS
100 nF cap C2 1 for Atmega
22 pF caps C3-C4 2 For Atmega Crystal
Lithium battery BATTERY 1 Keep time when turned off
1N916 diode D1-D2 2 RS-232 level converter
BAT-42 schottky diodes D3-D4 2 Battery Protection
10K pullup resistors R1-R4 4 Glue
39K Resistor R5-R7 3 RS-232 level converter
4K7 Resistor R8 1 RS-232 level converter
1K resistor R9 1 User Interface
Momentary Tactile switch S1 1 User Interface
3 mm led LED 1 User Interface
2-pin power connector header POWER-M 1 Power
3 pin RS232 header RS232-M 1 RS-232 interface
2-pin header JP6 1 INT0 feed
PC Board Terminals CH1-CH2 2 Probe connectors
2-pin power connector socket POWER-F 1 Power
3-pin header GND 1 Ground for probes
1-pin header Z 1 Intensity Control
3 pin RS232 connector RS232-F 1 RS-232 interface
Crimp Pins   5 for female connectors
shunt for 2-pin header SHORT 1 INT0 feed

 

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