Steps to solder components in order for The VFD clock II with IV-17 tubes _____________________________________________________________________________ Please look the board over carefully and read the instructions and parts list to familiarize yourself with the assembly procedure before you begin. Please also familiarize yourself with transistor orientation: looking at the front (flat side), the three leads are, left to right: emitter, base, collector. A diode has a + and - side, and IC's are marked on one end with a small indented "notch". The IC sockets are also notched. Electrolytic (cylindrical shape) capacitors have a + & - side . Solder all components on the bottom of the board (if possible). For transistors, I find it helpful to let the transistor stand up above the board rather than pushing the leads all the way through; this lets the transistor chip inside the case standoff from the heat of the soldering iron. I also find it helps to solder one lead at a time, pausing in between to allow the transistor to cool for a minute. This also applies to the leds, particularly the RGB leds, which are sensitive. Please note that some extra components are silkscreened on the bottom layer board, these are for a different configuration and don't apply to this build, so there will be some "missing" components. Part 1 : The VFD 5 bottom layer board (power supply board) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solder components in this order: Transformer - Primary side is next to fuse, use the pre-drilled holes and solder the leads to the pads. bending leads down to make good contact with the four pads on the board. Fuse Four pin jumper - solder to the square marked with V1/V2 - only necessary to switch between 120VAC (U.S.) and 240VAC (some other countries) - If this is not necessary, you may solder a small jumper to the appropriate holes (120 or 240, marked as V1 & V2) to make a permanent connection. In the space marked "B1", solder a jumper wire between the negative and the hole next to it as shown in the drawing "B1.jpg" D14, D9 - 1N4001 diodes NOTE ORIENTATION C6 - 1,000 uF 25V electrolytic cap D3 - 1N4001 Six-pin connector Solder the six - wire connector socket to the connection point outlined on the board, marked "OUTPUT". Be careful to orient this correctly - the points marked on the bottom layer correspond to the same points on the top layer. These will be the six connections to the six - wire "bus" that will connect to the top layer board. It is very important, of course, that these six connecting wires are connected correctly to the coresponding connections on the top layer pc board. Use a small jumper wire to solder the connection marked "HZ" next to the six pin connection to make it permanent. D55 - 1N4001 diode R10 - 100K resistor C3 - .01 uF ( 103 ) cap R5 - 10K resistor R6 - 1K resistor Q12 - 2N3904 NPN transistor LED - 28VDC indicator (Green), solder in the circle marked "NEON" - note orientation. R7 - 10K resistor C8 - 1,000 uF 50V electrolytic cap C45 - .1 uF (104) cap C1 - 10 uF, 50V cap LM317 adjustable regulator and it's heat sink. 7805 5VDC regulator and it's heat sink. D2 -1N4001 diode solder a lead across the two holes in the square marked "5VDC" on the right of 7805 to make a permanent connection. R220 - 220 ohm, 1/2 watt resistor D1 - 1N4001 diode P33 - 5K pot marked "502" C2 - 100uF, 25V R3 - 1K resistor Red LED marked "5VDC" note orientation. white wire to NEUTRAL black wire to HOT Connect these to an AC power cord, and plug in. LEDs should light. Test for voltages at the connection points in back marked GND (negative), 32VDC, 2.5VDC (this will need to be adjusted from the adjustable regulator) 5VDC and HZ (about 2.5VDC) Adjust P33 until the output pin on the six pin connector marked "2.5VDC" reads correct (referenced to ground). BATTERY BACKUP STEP (OPTIONAL) -------------------------------------------------------- If you are installing the battery backup option at this time: LED - BB (miniature 3mm blue led) R8 - 10K resistor D6 - Use a wire lead to replace this diode, as it is redundant in the design. 78L05 regulator 5VDC relay Battery holder - solder to + & - in the square marked "9VDC IN" Part 2 : The VFD clock II top layer board (logic board) components ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On this top board, it is a good idea to let the resistors stand off a tiny bit from the board, 1mm is enough, just to ensure there will be no leakage of the high voltage from the trace under the resistors to that resistor. Solder the six - wire connector socket to the connection point outlined on the board, this goes on the back. Be careful to orient this correctly - the points marked on the bottom layer correspond to the same points on the top layer. U2 - 28 pin WIDE IC socket for the HV5812 high voltage serial decoder - note orientation U1 - 28 pin IC socket - orientation U3 - 8 pin IC socket - NOTE ORIENTATION C2 - 10uF electrolytic cap C3 - .01uF, (103) cap R1, R2, R3, R4, R67 - 2.2K resistors S3 - LED color button S4 - Toggle button S2 - Fast set button S1 - Slow set button C1 - .01 uF (103) cap - NOTE: IF INCLUDING THE BATTERY BACKUP OPTION, USE A 1,000uF 6.3V cap instead R23, R24, R25 - 100 ohm resistors 5 pin socket - this will be the port for the wifi module. R18, R16, R14, R11, R9, R5 - 47K resistors R19, R22, R17, R21, R15, R20, R13, R27, R12, R8, R10, R7, R99, R6 - 10K resistors D1, D2 - 1N4001 diodes C4 - .1UF (104) caps Q13, Q14, Q15, Q40, Q18, Q39, Q17, Q16 - 2N3904 NPN transistors Q5, Q6, Q7, Q10, Q9, Q8 - 2N3906 PNP transistors 5VDC relay Piezo buzzer - polarized - note orientation. Now, test the digit drivers by plugging the cord in (with the boards connected) there should be about ~32VDC to the board's drivers. At this point, all the anodes of the tube socket holes (marked "12")should read 0VDC. Use a jumper wire to connect pin #1 on U1 to pin #25, the relay should close. Jumper pin # 20 on U1 to pin #23 on U1, then test for 32VDC at the anode hole (12) of the first tube on the right. This is the one on the right when looking at the front of the board (ones seconds count) This should read about 32VDC relative to ground (0VDC) or pin # 19 on U1. Do the same after connecting pin #20 on U1 to pin #24, and test for HV at the second anode hole. Continue to the next (third anode hole) by connecting pin #20 on U1 to pin #14. Next connect pin #20 to pin #13 and test for HV at the fourth anode hole. Connect pin #20 to pin #12 to test the fifth anode hole. Connect pin #20 to pin#11 to test the sixth. Disconnect power and remove the jumper wires from the IC socket. Carefully insert the U1 & U2 into the sockets, noting proper orientation. You should now be ready to begin soldering in your VFD tubes. Part 3 : The VFD clock II top layer board (logic board) IV-17 VFD tubes, colons, RGB leds ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The best way I have found to solder the tubes into the holes marked on the board is to trim the leads in a taper from pin #1 down to the last pin, longest to shortest (but not too short). Please note the only holes marked are those for pin #1 and pin #12. Pins # 2, # 22 and # 10 on the IV-17 are not used. They should be trimmed short enough to be out of the way. Please refer to the V17 docs for the orientation. Pin # 22 is usually a short pin that is bent down. If you look inside the tube, you can tell where the pins are connected. The green leds are used for colons, they can be soldered into the holes inside the area marked for them in between the tubes. The leds must have a 470 ohm resistor soldered to the positive lead and connected to positive (circles) on the board. So the resistors are in series with the leds. The RGB leds can be added before or after. I place these after soldering the VFD pins in place. The led can stick up to the very bottom of the tube for best affect. There are four solder points under each tube to solder the leds to. They are marked with R, G, B for anodes and K for the cathode. Small leds can also be used.