Summary of Contents for Circuitmess MAKERbuino
- Page 1 This is a printable version of the online MAKERbuino build guide from https://www.makerbuino.com/build/ Copyright CircuitMess © 2017. All rights reserved...
- Page 2 How can electronic components be connected and why • What are microcontrollers and some basics of digital electronics What will you learn if you decide to code your own software for the MAKERbuino and expand it’s hardware by connecting modules and components as expansions: •...
- Page 3 Basic resources Here you can find MAKERbuino’s schematics which might help you if you’re already “into electronics”. If you do not know how to read electronic schematics, don’t worry – you’ll learn! You might also find this diagram useful:...
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Page 4: What's In The Box
First of all, follow the list of included components and the text below and make sure that you have all the required components laid out on your table and ready for soldering. If something from the list is missing, please tell us via contact@makerbuino.com. Your MAKERbuino was hand packed with love in Croatia by us (humans), and humans make mistakes, so everything’s possible. - Page 5 The casing consists of 3 pieces (see the picture). Your MAKERbuino’s casing is crystal clear, we’ve painted the board red in the picture for better visibility. One piece is used to protect the front (top) side of your MAKERbuino device and the other two pieces protect MAKERbuino’s back.
- Page 6 Female JST connector This connector is pre-soldered to MAKERbuino’s PCB and is used for connecting the Li-Po battery to the circuit. These white JST connectors are different from regular connectors in a way that they are anti- reverse. In other words, you cannot swap polarity while connecting the battery. This is important because reverse polarity can damage MAKERbuino’s charging circuit.
- Page 7 It’s regulating voltage and current of electricity inputted by the USB port and feeding it to the Li-Po battery. It has a micro USB port so that you charge your MAKERbuino with the most common mobile phone charging cable. 3.3V Voltage Regulator (MCP1702-3302ET) This 3-leaded component regulates the voltage from the Li-Po battery to stable 3.3V.
- Page 8 16MHz Crystal Inside this metallic package is a crystal used in MAKERbuino’s microcomputer’s oscillator circuit. In other words, MAKERbuino’s neat 16MHz of CPU clock is possible thanks to this component. Standard digital clocks and watches work on the same principle.
- Page 9 Various pin headers and connectors All these pins and headers are used for connecting various modules, expansions, and programmers to your MAKERbuino board. There are four types of connectors included in the MAKERbuino kit:...
- Page 10 Resistors are standard passive two-lead electronic components that implement electrical resistance as a circuit element. The resistors are used in MAKERbuino for all sorts of important tasks like adjusting signal levels and regulating current flow. Every resistor’s resistance is measured in ohms.
- Page 11 Electronics 101: reading resistor’s color code is quite easy, you just have to follow a color code table like this one over here. Alternatively, you can also use a resistor color code calculator tool like this one: color code calculator. Every pro maker has to know this resistor table by heart, and it’s quite easy using this interesting technique from resistorguide.com –...
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Page 12: Soldering Iron
CHAPTER #2 Let's quickly cover the basic tools and material you'll need for assembling your MAKERbuino You’ve carefully read the previous section and checked that you have all the components, good job! There are some tools and equipment that are required for the assembly and they are not included in the standard kit. - Page 13 MAKERbuino but might come in handy Here are a few tools that will prove useful if you plan to do some more making after you make your MAKERbuino: Desoldering vacuum tool (aka. solder sucker) This tool is useful in cleaning up soldering mistakes but is not 100% necessary for assembling your MAKERbuino.
- Page 14 Don’t get frustrated by soldering failure, it’s just a matter of practice. You’ll get better in it over time by soldering kits like MAKERbuino and working on other fun projects you decide to make. I know how frustrating it can be when something doesn’t work from the first try. The truth is, you’ll have to get used to it because you’ll get lots of that in the world of DIY electronics.
- Page 15 Pro tip: We suggest that you start building the MAKERbuino when you’re fresh because the proces of assembly can take up to 5 hours depending on your soldering skills (in other words, don’t start building it in 2AM) Step 1 – the SD socket We’ll start with the SD card socket –...
- Page 16 Step 2 – Microcomputer’s socket Microcomputer’s socket is also soldered at the back of the MAKERbuino board. Be careful how you rotate the socket because it’s not symmetrical. Be sure to place it on the right side indicated by a notch on the socket...
- Page 17 Pro tip: when you insert the resistor, bend the leads of the resistor so that it doesn’t fall out from the PCB while you’re soldering it. Important: Remember to cut all the leads of the components you’ve soldered using your diagonal cutter pliers.
- Page 18 Apply the previous pro tip and bend the leads of the crystal at the back of the board. Step 5 – two 22pF capacitors Solder the two 22pF ceramic capacitors (little red-ish thingies with the number 22 written on them). Along with the crystal, these are essential for the oscillating circuit of the game console.
- Page 19 The left switch is muting the sound and the right one will turn the console’s power ON & OFF. The switches have to go all the way down and sit nicely on the PCB. Step 7 – 100uF electrolytic capacitors Locate the three electrolytic capacitors (tiny black barrels with two leads).
- Page 20 Step 8 – 3.3V voltage regulator & 2n2222 transistor Important: These two components are very similar so make sure to read the text on the components carefully because that is the only way you can recognize them. (Please note that the text on your transistor may vary and have something like “KSP 2222A –...
- Page 21 Step 9 – Nokia 5110 LCD screen Important: Firstly, check the photo next to this text and determine the version of the screen you have. If you’ve got the new screen, just proceed. If you’ve got the old screen, you will have to solder the tiny female connector first and then plug the Nokia screen into the connector. If you've got a new screen, you will just have to solder it directly to the PCB.
- Page 22 Important: before soldering the screen to the PCB, fasten its bottom two holes with screws, nuts, and spacers. In this way, you’ll ensure that the screen module is aligned perfectly before soldering it to the PCB. You will only be able to fixate the screen using the bottom two holes on it.
- Page 23 If you’ve tried all of the above advice and still can’t figure out what’s wrong with your device, please send us a calm email with photos of your board’s front and back side to contact@makerbuino.com OR create a topic in the support category of the MAKERbuino community forum (and include the photos of the device’s front and back side) OR contact us via Facebook’s Messenger...
- Page 24 CHAPTER #4 Some more soldering... You’ve passed the worst part. Just a couple of components more and we’re done… this will be a piece of cake Step 13 – solder the second 10k ohm resistor This resistor is important for connecting the microcontroller to the serial UART programmer board.
- Page 25 Step 15 – two wheel potentiometers Now we’ll locate and solder the two trim potentiometers labeled TR1 & TR2. The left potentiometer is used for regulating the screen’s backlight and the right one regulates the sound volume. Make sure to use our previous pro tip here and put your pliers underneath the potentiometers while soldering them.
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Page 26: Step 18 - Headphone Connector
You need to solder the contacts both on the top and the bottom side of your MAKERbuino in order for the charger to work properly. Electronics 101: This way of adding stack-on PCBs to the main PCB is called the “child board design”. Boards stacked onto the main PCB... - Page 27 Step 20 – male 4-pin angle multiplayer headers These are labeled as JP3 and JP4 on the board. Use the pro tip about placing the pliers underneath the component because these might be a bit harder to solder. Step 21 – seven big clicky pushbuttons Finally! Time’s to solder the yellow pushbuttons.
- Page 28 (TM2) potentiometer • you will have an option to adjust the contrast on your MAKERbuino, this option is disabled on most new units and the LCD screens have fixed contrast which doesn’t need adjusting. Go through the checkup wizard and check whether all buttons work properly.
- Page 29 IMPORTANT If you turn your MAKERbuino OFF while a game is loading, its memory might be left blank and you’ll get a white screen. Fortunately, this can be fixed quite easily. You will have to do the C-button reset trick like this:...
- Page 30 CHAPTER #5 Just a couple of finishing touches If everything electronics-related is working fine, the last step is to put the guts (electronics) in a nice crystal clear acrylic casing so that everyone can see your perfect soldering joints! Start by assembling the bottom side of the casing, which consists of two pieces of plastic.
- Page 31 That's all folks! Now look at you, you've managed to make your own working gaming device out of a bag of tiny electronic components. Well done, you should be proud of yourself!
- Page 32 The process is simple, you’ll just have to load the game’s .HEX and .INF file to your SD card. Expand MAKERbuino’s hardware MAKERbuino can be used for interfacing with Arduino-compatible hardware components and modules just like when using an Arduino UNO board.
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