How-to Tuesday: tinyCylon kit

Technology
How-to Tuesday: tinyCylon kit

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This week I made the tinyCylon kit from the Maker Shed. It’s a fun little project that has a lot of cool light patterns programmed onto the chip.

Check out the complete build here: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/12/how-to_tuesday_tinycylon_kit.html

You can purchase a tinyCylon kit in the Maker Shed at http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKDW1

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Technology
How-to Tuesday: tinyCylon kit


This week I made the tinyCylon kit from the Maker Shed. It’s a fun little project that has a lot of cool light patterns programmed onto the chip. You can purchase a tinyCylon kit in the Maker Shed.


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What you need:

Tools you need:

Step 1: Take inventory

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Step 2: Add the resistor, button and IC

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You can easily add all 3 of these components in one step. Make sure to insert the integrated circuit (IC) is inserted the correct way.

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The top of the IC has a small “dot” on it, this indicates the “top” of the IC. In fact, it shows you where pin 1 is located on the IC.

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Pin 1 is inserted into the hole on the circuit board that is marked by having a square box printed around it. It is also the only square solder pad in the area labeled “U1”

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Now all you have to do is solder up all the connections. Make sure not to heat up the IC too much, they don’t like heat!

Step 3: Add the 5 LEDs

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Now you can add the 5 LEDs. The circuit board has 5 pairs of holes for the LEDs. In each pair there is a round solder pad and a square one. The long lead (+) of the LED is inserted into the hole with the square solder pad on the circuit board. You should be able to add all 5 LEDs and solder them up in one step.

Step 4: Add the battery pack

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Feed the red and black battery wires thought the circuit board from underneath. Next, put the ends of the wires into the holes marked “- BAT +” on the board. The red wire goes into the hole marked “+” and the black into the holes marked “-“. Finally, solder the wires into the circuit board from other side. This adds some strain relief to the wires and they will not break as easily when being handled.

Step 5: Enjoy!

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Add (3) AA batteries and turn on the battery pack. That’s it! See you next week.

In the Maker Shed:
Makershedsmall

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tinyCylon kit in the Maker Shed

4 thoughts on “How-to Tuesday: tinyCylon kit

  1. COol says:

    Thanks for all the details pics and info — that makes any article/blog 10x more interesting.

    1. Marc de Vinck says:

      @COol

      I’m glad you liked it. Thanks for the feedback!

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