• Design Adjustments

    Ghani Lawal • 03/15/2023 at 03:31 • 0 comments

     Corrected Spectrum filter mistakes

      • In KiCad, op amp filters were connected as positive feedback, changed to negative feedback
      • Corrected R5 and R8 values in FinalLowMidrange LTSpice file
      • Corrected R2 and R3 in FinalUpperMidrange LTspice file
      • Corrected R2 in FinalPresence LTSpice file
      • Changed C39 and C40 in KiCad Brilliance Filter from 1nF to 820pF

  • Design Adjustmets

    Ghani Lawal • 03/02/2023 at 04:17 • 0 comments

    • Corrected the LT1054 -5V regulator inverter power output label and retraced the signal
    • Finished sourcing replacements for 0201 components, will use 0603 minimum from now on
    • Changed 0603 footprint to hand solder version, and changed 0402 footprints to 0603 hand solder version
    • Decided to keep the two parallel 1uF capacitors instead of replacing them with one 2uF capacitor
      • The 2uF cap is $3.78, just for one
    • Created Bill of Materials

  • Solder Progress 11

    Ghani Lawal • 01/26/2023 at 03:36 • 0 comments

    • Attempted to solder capacitor onto area with broken pad by soldering to the trace after scrapping the protection off
      • Was able to scrape protection off, but was not able to get solder to stick to the exposed copper
      • Ended up making the situation worse
    • The whole point of soldering myself was to:
      • Save money
      • To be accurately claim that I can solder surface mount devices
      • The above two are no longer issues
    • **SOLUTION:  Redesign the board
      • Don't use components smaller than 0402, use 0603 if space permits
      • Fix negative voltage regulator output and feedback mistake (would have to cut 2 traces and connect 2 traces...)
      • Re-check every other circuit for mistakes
    • This works out as I can easily solder 0402 sized devices now, a lot of my 0201 components got damaged and have values that deviate greatly from the ideal value, so the filters were not gonna work properly anyway
    • I have all of the tools I need this time, should be able to finish soldering aspect within a week
    • I will spend the rest of this week and the weekend redesigning and working on the BOM, aim to order new board by Sunday or Monday
    • ***Incorporate component availability into design - check if JLCPCB has component before selection, will use soldering
    • Will buy new IC's as well, large chance of damaging components with hot air rework station, do not wanna take the time and risk with a board with this many components

  • Solder Progress 10

    Ghani Lawal • 12/07/2022 at 05:22 • 0 comments

    • Soldered all SMT components that weren't lost/destroyed/had a pad that ripped
    • Ordered replacements for:
      • C1
      • C19 
      •  C21,C22,C37,C39,C40,C41,C42 
      •  C47,C48,C49,C52,C53,C57,C58 
      •  C60,C61 
      •  R21 
      •  R56 
      •  R58 
      •  R59 
      •  R60 
      •  R66,R67,R70 R82so
    • While soldering -5V regulator and inverter I realized I made a mistake
    • I labelled the feedback port as the -5V instead of the actual -5V power port
      • will cut and solder connect appropriate traces to remedy
    • Soldered C1, R59, R66, R67, R70

  • Solder Progress 9

    Ghani Lawal • 11/29/2022 at 01:27 • 0 comments

    • Soldered R55, R54, R52 and R49, lost R59 when I opened the package
    • Soldered R40, R42, R43, R44, R45, R46, R47
    • Soldered R32, R33, R37, R38
    • Soldered R20, R23, R24, R25, R26, R27, R28, R21 got attached to the solder tip and ended up getting destroyed
    • **R40 and R33 both differed by their nominal value by over 10%... don't know if I was sent the wrong resistor or if I damaged the resistors as I was soldering them

  • Solder Progress 8

    Ghani Lawal • 11/21/2022 at 06:09 • 0 comments

    • New precision tweezers have arrived, soldering 0201 components has become a lot easier
    • Soldered R18, R31, R36, R51
    • Soldered R61, R63, R64
    • Soldered C15, C16, R73, R74, R57
    • Soldered R2, R41, R50, R4, R11, R12
    • C47, C48, C49, C52, C53, C57 and C58 are supposed to be 1uF, bought 100pF by mistake
    • U1 ground pin by C61 needs to be soldered
    • 'Cleanliness' of the solder tip has a huge affect on ability to solder properly, if too much oxidation (I'm assuming that's what this is) the solder won't adhere to the tip, may need to buy the tip cleaner substance

  • Solder Progress 7

    Ghani Lawal • 11/14/2022 at 04:28 • 0 comments

    • Tweezers that I bought are ribbed, ended up losing on of the 1kohm 0201 resistors due to this, bought replacements that should arrive tomorrow
    • Successfully soldered R68, R69, R71, R72
    • Somehow destroyed the resistor I connector to the R70 pad, it measures as an open circuit
    • Instead of heating up the pad then touching it with solder (when trying to apply solder to the first pad) I would sometimes do the opposite when soldering 0201 devices, this lead to large solder balls being developed, my attempt to de-solder one of these balls let to one of the pads of R60 to be ripped out

  • Solder Progress 6

    Ghani Lawal • 11/11/2022 at 18:08 • 0 comments

    • Re-watched soldering videos
    • Tried using hot air rework station with solder paste
      • Solder paste has a higher melting point than I thought, was using temperatures below 300 degrees Fahrenheit with little to know effect, cranked temperature to 370 degrees Fahrenheit, this was hot enough to melt the solder paste, the melting point is probably 350 degrees Fahrenheit
      • Seems like 0201 components are two small for this method to work, the video that showed the example of a hot air reflow station used components that were at least 0603 or 0805
    • Used 0.5mm solder and Needle/I-series Tips solder tip to solder 0201 capacitors, I have significantly improved my soldering abilities
      • The magnifying glass and lamp stand was a HUGE help
    • Soldered: C25-36
      • Need to buy replacements for C21, C22, C37, C38, C39, C40, C41, C42
    • Bought higher quality tweezers, mostly because I really need higher quality curved/angle tweezers

  • Solder Progress 5

    Ghani Lawal • 11/10/2022 at 03:11 • 0 comments

    • Magnifying glass/lamp stand, hot air solder station, copper solder tip cleaner, solder paste and 0.5mm solder has arrived
    • Work station has been set up
    • Will resume soldering tomorrow

  • Solder Progress 4

    Ghani Lawal • 11/07/2022 at 06:12 • 0 comments

    • Looked into dealing with removed solder pad
    • Looked into hot air reflow station
    • Bought:
      • Hot air reflow station
      • Solder paste
      • Magnifying glass stand with lights
      • 0.5mm solder
      • 0.8mm solder tip
      • Solder cleaner (sponge and tap water can damage tip over time)