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Building the ArduBat
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Heat up your soldering iron ...

NOTE: If you have an ArduBat II board, also see this info !!

This page will take you step-by-step through assembling the ArduBat Version 3.4 board. ( If you are looking for info on the older ArduBat V2.x boards go here... )
If you have an Ardubat II board ... see these notes also !!

You'll be starting out with all the parts shown to the left. See the full parts list.

You will also need to get some tools together...

  • A pair of diagonal cutters

  • Electronics grade rosin-cored solder

  • A magnifying glass ( for small part numbers )

  • A temperature regulated soldering iron, with a clean tip
The first group of parts to go on the board are the push-buttons and the 3 integrated circuits. Be sure to orient the notches at the "top" of each IC so that they match up with the diagram printed on the circuit board.

The CD4024 and the LM386 next to it are VERY close. Be sure that they are both fully inserted before soldering them in place.

This is also a good time to mount and solder the push buttons in their places. When you finish this step, your PCB should look like the picture to the left.

As you work on the circuit board, you can use the Layout Chart as a guide. ( Here is the layout chart for the ArduBat II PCB )

Clip off the excess terminal leads of the push button switches on the bottom of the PCB.

The next group of parts to get assembled are the resistors. For the most part, the values of the resistors are labeled on the circuit board, so they will be easy to place. Use the Color Codes Chart to match up the resistor values.

Two resistor values are not shown on the PC board though. The three LED resistor values can vary according to which LEDs you choose to use. For the kits and boards I make up, 680 ohm resistors are used.

The other resistor that has no labeled value is marked ..*** ..This resistor is not determined until the final project configuration is made. So this resistor's spot will remain empty for now.

If you have a kit from me, you will have some resistors left over. These will be used later, when the ArduBat board is configured, and the detector gain is set.

Once soldered in, clip off the excess resistor leads from the bottom of the PCB. Be sure the leads of the 10K resistors on either side of F1 are clipped as close to the board as possible !
Now we need to install the small ceramic capacitors. This is where you might need the magnifying glass. These small capacitors are in 4 locations ...
  • C1 - .1uF ( 100nF ) marked as 104
  • C2 - .022uF ( 22nF ) marked as 223
  • C5 - .047uF ( 47nF ) marked as 473
  • C9 - .1uF ( 100nF ) marked as 104

Take your time with these, and be sure to get them right. If two of them get swapped during assembly, the board may not work ... and it will be hard to see later what had happened !!

Again, clip off the excess leads on the bottom of the circuit board as each capacitor is soldered into place.
Next we will install the three LEDs and the 9 volt regulator IC.

Each of these components has a flat side that faces towards the left ( towards the pushbuttons ) -- the orientation follows the printing on the circuit board. Be sure each of the LED's is oriented properly, or they won't illuminate !

Install the LEDs in the color order shown to the left - that way the demo programs will make sense.

Again, clip off the excess leads on the bottom of the circuit board after each of these components are soldered into place.
And now we install the last group of parts ... the electrolytic capacitors. These capacitors are polarized ... they need to be installed in the correct direction. The circuit board has a square pad with a + next to it ... this is where the + lead ( usually the longer lead ) of the capacitor needs to go. The lead that is marked with a stripe on the plastic cover of the capacitor is the negative lead ( - ), NOT the positive ( + ).

This can be confusing, but when you get them all installed correctly, they should look like the picture at the left. The two brown caps ( C3 & C7 ) are 220uF, the black one ( C8 ) is 470uF, and the two smaller blue caps ( C4 & C6 ) are 10uF.

This is also the time to install the detuning coil, L1, if there was one in your kit.

When you think you have these installed, check them one more time. Then clip off the excess leads. Save one of the clipped leads for use as a jumper.
The headers are now installed on the ArduBat circuit board. If the header strip has not been cut for the kit, you will need to cut it carefully so that you have these 4 sections:
  • one 6 pin strip
  • two 8 pins strips
  • one 10 pin strip

You will have a small section left. Save this as we will use it later with the monitor earphone.
Use your Arduino UNO board as a jig to hold all the header strips in place.

Partially insert the longest pins for each of the header strips into the header sockets on the UNO. The shorter pins are pointed up.
Now carefully align the ArduBat circuit board over all of the header pins and gently seat the board so that the pins all come through the outer two rows of header connections.

Check once again to be sure the board is evenly seated, and level with the UNO circuit board.

You can now solder the outside pins on each of the header sections to anchor them in place.

If all the headers look properly set in place, solder all of the remaining header pins.

Finally, we get to mount the transducer. The transducer leads should be prebent at the ends to set an angle when the transducer is mounted to the PCB.

Carefully insert just the leads into the top pads of the circuit board and solder them on the bottom side of the board.

At this point, the initial construction of the ArduBat board is complete !

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The next step ... Configuration !!

 

Tony Messina - Las Vegas, Nevada - email: T-Rex@ix.netcom.com