A few general pointers before you start your journey and because you’re “building and learning” our Build Guide looks a bit different then ones you possibly already have seen in the past. We haven’t labelled the parts for example. It’s all in a bag and you will simply need to learn how to read or measure values. This way you will get a better feeling of what you are doing and why. And of course there is a reasonable multimeter in your workplace, right?
REMINDER: If this is all new to you, please take some time to read about Synth DIY. |
The first rule in soldering is you go from low to high, where it is about the height of the components. Reason: It’s easier to flip the board when there aren’t things sticking out. Really, it is that simple! There might be moments however we will advise you to not follow this first rule because it sometimes gets tricky to solder specific parts if everything else is in its place.
The BOM a.k.a. Bill of Materials is the guideline of all the things that have to be soldered. You will find it in all the Build Guides. Check and double check the values of the components before you solder them.
- Some components are polar meaning there is a positive and negative side. Or more general, how they work is dependent on their orientation.
- With diodes, there is ALWAYS one side with a stripe / line. This should match the line on the PCB;
- Electrolytic capacitors – the big black ones – have one longer leg which is always the positive one. The side of the capacitor where the shorter leg is has a mark (white line). There are also Non Polar versions of the electrolytics, they miss the marking on the case so it doesn’t matter how you solder them, even when there is one leg longer than the other one.
- IC’s have a marking at Pin 1, and Pin 1 is always the first pin left of the indent at the PCB Marking. So it’s important you align the dent on the IC-holder with the dent on the PCB. Don’t ever solder the IC’s directly without the holder. It’s way easier to replace the IC this way in case you mess things up.
- For transistors or other three legged elements, always align the flat side of the component to the flat side on the PCB.
This is not a full list of all possible elements, so if there is something extra just as big as a diode, fit it in with them. One of the most important lessons in electronics: Think logically
Get acquainted with your material and (try to) think logically! |