Other materials you will need (not included in the kit):
Pencil-tip soldering iron, preferably low power (15W-25W)
Rosin-core solder, preferably 20 gauge (0.032") or smaller
Diagonal cutters, preferably flush-cutting
Inverter
Optional materials:
Component lead bending tool
Flux remover
Step 2 - Insert and solder components
All components are inserted from the component side of the board.
This is the side that has the white part numbers and other labels on it.
All soldering is done on the trace side.
This is the side that has copper traces connecting copper pads together.
After you insert a component from the component side, flip the board over to
solder it on.
The hole sizes for most components are relatively tight; most components will
easily stay in place when you flip the board over.
If they don't, you can bend the leads outward after inserting a component to
make it stay in place.
You may find it easiest to insert several (or even all) components before
soldering them on.
But, be sure to read the following part-by-part instructions regardless of
how you assemble the board.
Refer to the pictures above to identify the components.
Some components are polarized, meaning that they must be inserted with a
specific orientation (not reversed).
Others are non-polarized; their orientation does not matter.
There are five small (1/8 watt) 470 ohm resistors.
They are non-polarized.
They are inserted over the places marked R1 through R5.
If you have a lead bending tool, bend the leads so they are on 0.4" centers.
If not, just bend the leads over, not sharply, and insert the resistors until
they are close to the surface (it isn't neccessary for them to actually sit
flush on the surface of the board).
There is one 1N914 diode.
It is inserted over the place marked D1.
This component is polarized.
It must be inserted such that the black band (cathode) is to the left, at the
end that the triangle around D1 "points" toward.
If you have a lead bending tool, bend the leads so they are on 0.4" centers;
if not, insert it as you did the resistors.
There is one 0.1µF ceramic capacitor (a small yellow blob with two leads).
It is inserted in the place marked C2 (below D1, to the right of C1).
It is non-polarized.
There is one 33µF electrolytic capacitor (a dark blue cylinder).
It is inserted in the place marked C2.
It is polarized.
Its polarity is indicated by the white band down one side with minus (-)
symbols in it.
The lead closest to this band is the negative lead; the other is the positive lead.
The positive lead should go in the hole marked "+".
If the capacitor is inserted correctly, the white band will be toward the
bottom of the board.
There is one 78L05 voltage regulator.
The regulator has the same type of package that the triacs do, so be careful
that you have the correct device.
It is inserted into the three vertically-oriented holes below the U2
label.
It must be oriented so that the flat part of the package is to the
right and the round part is to the left (as indicated by
the semicircle mark on the PC board next to the hole for the center pin).
You will need to spread the leads out a bit before inserting them.
This component may be difficult to insert, as the holes for it are just barely
big enough.
Don't try to push it it down far - just far enough that its top is level with
the top of C1.
There are five triacs.
Each of them is inserted into one of the sets of three holes that are about
midway between the center and the bottom of the
board.
The triac pads appear as a continuous band of pads stretching horizontally most
of the way across the board.
Each triac must be inserted so that the flat part of the triac is toward
the top of the board and the round part is
toward the bottom of the board.
You will need to spread the leads out a bit before inserting them.
The left lead of each triac should be in a hole in a
square pad, the center lead should be in the hole that has the semicircle
mark next to it, and the right lead should be in the
next hole over from that.
There is one miniature pushbutton switch.
It is inserted over the SW1 label, at the top
right of the board.
It should be inserted so that the leads are on the
left and right sides (this is
actually the only way it will fit).
Other than that, its orientation does not matter.
You may need to hold it on with a clip while you solder it on.
If you are mounting the board in an enclosure and want to have an external
pushbutton, you can do that.
Use a normally-open pushbutton switch,
and solder its leads to the two pads to the left of
the SW1 label.
On the back of the board, you will see that these two pads are the ones with
copper traces connecting to them.
There is one 8 pin DIP socket.
It is inserted over the place marked U1.
It has an indentation on one side.
The indentation should go toward the top of the board,
so it is near the square pad marked 1.
You may need to hold it on with a clip while you solder it on.
Power supply and inverter DC power leads
Solder the leads for your power supply (which should produce an output voltage
in the range of 9VDC to 12VDC) to one of the pairs of DC power supply pads that
are at the top of the board, marked + and -.
You can use the other pair to supply power to your inverter.
The red leads of the inverters, and of most power supply connectors (including
9V battery connectors) go to the + pads.
The black leads go to the - pads.
You may wish to pass the leads through the large strain relief holes to the
right of the board (up through the holes, from the
underside to the topside) if you expect to be putting any strain on the leads.
Inverter high voltage output leads
The inverter HV output leads go to the pads at the bottom
right of the board marked CO and HT.
For some inverters, this connection is polarized because the negative side of
the inverter DC power supply (input) is connected to one of the HV output
leads.
For such inverters, this HV output lead MUST be either connected to
the HT pad or not connected at all (connection of this lead is optional
if you operate the inverter from the same power supply as the sequencer, but
for simplicity the following assumes you want to connect it).
The other HV output lead should be connected to the CO pad.
For other inverters, the HV output is independent of the DC power input and the
HV outputs can be connected to CO and HT without any special
polarity (but both leads must be connected).
Varad "Blue Cube" Inverters
These inverters have two pairs of HV outputs, of which only one will be used.
The black lead in each pair that does not have a white stripe is
connected to its negative supply lead.
It should be soldered to the HT pad.
One of the other (white striped) leads should be soldered to the CO pad.
Varad Power Neon DRV101S inverters
If you hold the inverter so you are looking down at it and the green HV output
connector is at the bottom, the left connector is connected to the
inverter's negative lead and should be connected to the HT pad.
The right connector should be connected to the CO pad.
Use a Phillips-head screwdriver to unscrew the connector tightening screws
until their heads are flush with the surface of the connector.
Solder a pair of wires to the board, insert the appropriate wires into the
connectors, and tighten them down.
Varad High Power "Black Cube" inverters
The output of this inverter is not coupled to its DC power supply.
Cut off the connector on the end of the white leads (unless you mount a pair of
pins for it on the board) and solder the white leads to the CO and
HT pads.
If you want to use the same battery for the inverter and sequencer, you'll need
to cut the battery connector lead in the middle and solder both the battery
connector and the inverter leads it was connected to to the DC power (+
and -) pads at the top of the board.
Varad Low Power "Black Cube" inverters
Information on the output of this inverter is not yet available.
Do NOT connect it to the sequencer unless you have the knowledge and
means to determine whether one of its outputs is common with its DC input!
Sequencer output leads
The pairs of holes along the bottom of the board
marked OUT1 through OUT5 are the sequenced outputs.
Each pair should be connected to a strand of EL wire.
For most purposes, you will want to solder a piece of two-conductor wire to
each of these pads and connect the other end of the wire to your EL wire,
rather than attempting to solder a piece of EL wire directly to the board.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If your PIC is labeled SEQ5-V1.0, the OUT4 and
OUT5 connectors are reversed; that is, OUT5 will be 4th in the
sequences and OUT4 will be 5th.
Step 3 - Cleanup
Trim all of the excess lead lengths from the trace side with the diagonal
cutters.
When you're done trimming, the bottom of the board should look roughly like this:
If you have flux remover, clean the trace side with it.
Step 4 - Insert PIC
Insert the PIC into its socket with the end of the PIC
that has the indented dot and/or rectangular or semicircular indentation at the
same end as the indentation in the socket.
You may have to squeeze the leads inward to get both rows of them into the
socket.
Congratulations - you have completed assembly of your sequencer!
Be careful in activating it - once you have an inverter connected to it and
powered up, dangerously high voltages will be present at various points on the
board.
If you have problems assembling your sequencer kit or have any comments or
suggestions regarding these sequencer assembly instructions, please send mail
to seq-help1@elwire.com.
Note, this address is for help with sequencers only.
If your sequencer does not function properly after you've assembled it,
read the Troubleshooting Guide.
Proceed to Sequencer Operation.
