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DIY
Instrument
Kit Manual
Welcome to the
DIY Instrument
- Manual
This is a step-by-step guide to making
your own electronic Instrument.
The equipment you should have at your
station are wire strippers, cutters,
soldering iron, solder sucker and
Bluetak.
We hope you enjoy this creative
task, learn some new technological
skills and apply them to your life in
useful ways.
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Getting Started
Stay Safe
Keep safe when making this kit! Wear protective
eye wear when soldering and clipping
component legs.
Top Tips
Keep an eye out for the top
tips. They are highlighted in
a yellow box like this!
Making Time
The kit takes about a fun filled hour to complete,
depending on how creative you get with the
personalisation of your instrument.
Useful Appendix
Further information on all the components in
this kit can be found in the Appendix at the back
of the manual. Learn about their use within the
circuit you are building.
DIY Instrument - Manual
3
Making your DIY
Instrument
Parts:
1) 1x 1.2K Ohm (Ω) Resistor
2) 2x 150 Ohm (Ω) Resistor
3) 2x LDRs (Light Dependent Resistors)
4) 2x LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes)
5) 1x Integrated Circuit (IC)
6) 1x DIL Socket
7) 1x On/Off Switch
8) 1x Transistor
9) 1x Capacitor
10) 1x Speaker
11) 1x Double Sided foam tape
12) 1x AA Battery Holder
13) 1x Instrument Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
14) 1x Acrylic Casing
Not Included in Kit:
Blue or White Tack (not included, but helpful for soldering)
Solder
Solder Sucker
Wire Cutters
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DIY Instrument - Manual
Components
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10
2
1
6
5
13
12
11
9
8
3
4
7
14
Top Tip
Some components may
look slightly different to
the ones above, don’t be
alarmed, this is normal!
DIY Instrument - Manual
5
SOLDERING 101
STEP 1.
Place the component into
the PCB (Printed Circuit
Board), make sure it goes in
the correct way and it is
sitting right against the
board. Bend the legs to keep
the component in position.
STEP 2.
Turn the PCB around. Place
the soldering iron tip at the
point on the PCB where
the leg of the component
meets the solder pad. Heat
for about 3-4 seconds. 6
DIY Instrument - Manual
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STEP 3.
Using your other hand, add
solder to the heated pad.
Add enough solder to cover
the pad and the base of the
components leg. Remove
the solder and leave the iron
for another second.
STEP 4.
After soldering both legs,
take your side cutters and
remove the excess
component leg. If you make
a mistake, re-heat the join
and use a solder sucker to
remove the molten solder.
DIY Instrument - Manual
7
1
Resistor R1
Find the 1.2K Ohm (Ω)
resistor. (Look at the stripes:
Brown, Red, Red, Gold)
Form the resistor into a
staple (As shown, right),
and then place it so that it
sits flat against the PCB, in
the correct location - R1.
Resistors don’t have
polarity so they can go in
‘either way’ and work fine!
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DIY Instrument - Manual
Step 1
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When you have done this,
flip the board over and bend
the legs out at 45º to the
PCB. This helps to keep the
resistor in place when you
are soldering it.
Solder the legs to the pads
(gold ring) by heating both
the leg and the pad together
with the side-tip of the iron
for 3/4 seconds and then
melt in a bit of solder.
Top Tip
Bring the soldering iron to
your first pin. Place the edge
of the tip against both the
pin and the gold metallic
pad. Leave the iron there for
3-4 seconds so they both
heat up. Apply solder to the
point where the pin and the
pad make contact with the
iron. Once there is enough
solder to cover the whole pad
(but not enough for a
mountain!) Remove the solder
and wait with the iron in
place for one more second.
Step 1
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2
Resistor R2 & R3
Follow the same process
as the R1 resistor with the
two 150 Ohm (Ω) resistors
(Brown, Green, Brown,
Gold). (R2 &R3)
Top Tip
Melted solder attaches itself
to very hot surfaces - make
sure both the parts you are
trying to connect are given
equal heat. Otherwise you’ll
end up with a ‘cold joint’,
which will result in an F in
your soldering exam!
Repeat the soldering
technique from step 1.
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DIY Instrument - Manual
Step 2
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Use your side cutters to clip
the legs off just above the
solder joint. Remember to
hold onto the leg before you
clip it so that it doesn’t fly
into someone’s eyeball.
Top Tip
If you have a hard time
holding the component leg
while you trim it, simply
cover the area with your
other hand while you’re
pruning them. That way
the leg won’t fly into your
eyeball!
You have now completed
the 3 resistors!
Step 2
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11
3
LDR’s (Light
Dependent Resistors)
The LDR’s legs need to be
bent at 90 degrees
before inserting them into
the PCB. So that they are
facing away from the round
speaker. LDR’s are a type of
resistor so they don’t have
polarity & can go in ‘either
way’!
Top Tip
Make sure that the LDR’s
are facing the correct way
around in the PCB.
Now follow the soldering
process you did for the
other resistors (Bend the
legs out at 45º, solder and
clip the legs)
Top Tip
The LDR’s are light sensors
that change their resistance
dependent on how much
light they receive. In the
case of the DIY Instrument
by blocking the light beams
created by the LED to the
LDR you will create different variances of resistance
which will in turn create
different frequencies of
sound. Pretty cool right!
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DIY Instrument - Manual
Step 3
4
LED’s (Light-emitting
diodes)
The LED’s legs need to be
bent down 90º before
inserting them. They must
also be orientated the same
way around as the
illustration on the PCB. Pay
attention to which way
round the long (positive)
and short (ground) legs go.
Top Tip
Components that have some
kind of visible asymmetry
are usually trying to tell you
something. Often the
polarity of the component.
In this case the long leg
refers to the positive side of
the LED.
Now solder them into place
on your board!
Step 4
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13
5
DIL Socket
Take your DIL Socket
pictured right, noticing the
small notch at one end. This
is the housing for the IC
(Integrated Circuit) that will
protect it from heat whilst
you solder.
Place the DIL socket into
your board. Making sure
you match up the notch on
the DIL Socket with the one
on illustrated your board.
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DIY Instrument - Manual
Step 5
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Flip over the PCB and solder
in each pin of the chip. The
pins are already quite short
so you don’t need to clip
them.
Step 5
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15
6
Integrated Circuit (IC)
Insert the Integrated Circuit
(IC) Chip into the DIL socket.
Once again make sure you
match up the notch on the
end of the IC Chip with the
notch in the DIL Socket.
Top Tip
Sometimes the IC Chip can
be a little difficult to insert. It
helps to bend the pins very
slightly inwards against a
hard flat surface. (See image
on the right) This makes sure
they are all bent evenly and
so will fit snugly into your
DIL Socket.
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DIY Instrument - Manual
Step 6
7
On/Off Switch
Insert the switch in the
same position as seen in
the photo. Try to keep the
switch flat against the PCB.
Flip over the PCB and solder
in each pin of the chip. The
pins are already quite short
so you don’t need to clip
them.
Step 7
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8
Transistor
Take your Transistor, noting
the flat and curved faces on
the component.
Place the Transistor into
the marked position on the
board. Now follow the same
soldering process you did
in the previous steps. (Bend
the legs, solder and clip)
Top Tip
Make sure the Transistor is
the right way round! Match
the flat side on the
component with the flat side
illustrated on your board.
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DIY Instrument - Manual
Step 8
9
Capacitor
Take your Capacitor which is
pictured on the right.
Insert the Capacitor into
the marked position on
your board. We are using a
ceramic capacitor that has
no polarity so they can go
in ‘either way’ around! Then
just as previously bend the
legs, solder and clip.
Step 9
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10
Speaker
Take your speaker noticing
the markings on the back
that denote its polarity.
Insert the Speaker in the
same position as seen in the
picture. The speaker must
be orientated the same way
around as the illustration on
the PCB.
Top Tip
The + and - signs must
correspond on both the PCB
and the speaker!
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Step 10
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Solder the speaker in.
You won’t be able to bend
the legs, so simply turn it
around so the speaker rests
on your mat and if you need
to: use the leg of the side
cutter to support the rest of
the PCB.
Top Tip
Due to the legs of the speaker
being so much thicker than
usual, they’ll need a little
more heat. You can do this
by simply leaving the
soldering iron on them for a
few more seconds.
Step 10
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11
AA Battery Holder
Before we solder the battery
holder in place, we should
test that your Instrument
works. Take your Battery
Holder and insert 2x AA
batteries.
Then insert the two
conductors into the holes
on either side of the switch.
Bend the legs out so it holds
in place and turn on the
switch.
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Step 11
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If the LED’s turn on, you
should be able to
interrupt the beams of
light to produce sound! If it
works, congratulations!
If not, carefully go over the
previous steps and make
sure you didn’t do anything
wrong or leave anything out.
Step 11
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12
Acrylic Casing
Take your acrylic casing
noting the two small holes
at the base.
Stick a piece of double
sided tape in the centre of
your battery holder. Then
remove the protective layer
from the other side of the
tape and insert the battery
holders’ two conductors
through the acrylic casing.
Joining the battery holder
and acrylic together.
Top Tip
The battery holder should sit
flush against the back of the
acrylic piece.
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DIY Instrument - Manual
Step 12
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Next stick a second piece
of double sided tape to the
other side of the acrylic
casing. Remove the
protective layer on the tape
and place the legs of the
battery holder through the
holes in the PCB. These are
either side of the switch.
Finally, solder the two
battery holder connections
to your Instrument PCB.
This time you’re soldering
on the same side as the
components. The only time
you’ve ever done that! Trim
the legs of the battery
holder. Turn on your
Instrument and serenade
your neighbours.
Step 12
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Congratulations!
You have finished making your
Instrument Kit. Now make it your own!
Customize the casing of your kit using
whatever you want. Stickers, Sharpies,
Paint or if your feeling more
adventurous you could completely
reinvent the shape of the housing. When
you are happy with your creation all
that is left to do is serenade the person
closest to you!
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DIY Instrument - Manual
For those of you who want to test your
skills and learn more, check out:
http://twsu.co/diyinstrument
You will find many more creations and
hacks to expand your technological
orchestra.
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Component Appendix
Switch -
Resistors -
A basic switch. It allows current
to flow in one direction when it
is switched on by completing
the circuit. When switched off it
breaks the circuit stopping the
flow of current.
Resistors are used in a circuit to
restrict the flow of electrical
current and stop things from
blowing up! The resistors are
measured in Ohms.
DIL Socket -
Integrated Circuit (IC) -
A DIL (Dual in Line) Socket holds
the Integrated Circuit (IC) to the
PCB. It protects the IC from being
damaged during soldering.
An Integrated Circuit also know
as an IC is a whole circuit itself
but very very small and made of
Silicon. The chip in this circuit is
a 555 timer chip one of the most
commonly used chips in the
world made up of 25 transistors, 2
diodes and 15 resistors.
Components
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27
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LED -
Battery Holder -
A light-emitting diode is your
basic electronic light. Its also
a Diode - which means it only
allows current to flow in one
direction. That is why the legs
are different lengths.
Securely holds two AA
batteries in place.
Speaker -
LDR -
This is a loud speaker, this is
where the signals are turned into
audio through the movement of
the surface.
An LDR is a resistor whose
resistance decreases with
increasing light levels.
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Components
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Capacitor -
Transistor -
A capacitor is like a big
bucket, it stores up charge,
waits until its full and then
releases it all in one go.
How much charge depends
on the size of the capacitor,
measured in farads.
Transistors are devices that
control the movement of
electrons, and consequently, electricity. They work
something like a tap - not
only do they start and stop
the flow of a current, but
they also control the amount
of current. With electricity,
transistors can both switch
or amplify electronic signals,
letting you control current
moving through a circuit
board with precision.
Components
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Thank You!
Technology Will Save Us exists to educate and
inspire people to make, tinker and experiment
creatively with technology as a way of unleashing
new possibilities.
Devices, gadgets and computers are all a part of
our everyday life and yet most people know so little
about what these things are made of, let alone how
to fix them or create new uses for them. We believe
that the opportunity for technology to play a richer,
more creative role in our lives has yet to be explored.
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DIY Instrument - Manual
Contact
Interested in more classes? Have an idea for
a workshop we should teach? Do you want to
teach a class yourself? We’d love to hear from
you. Contact us by email or find out more on
our website.
[email protected]
www.technologywillsaveus.org
@techwillsaveus