MAKER LFO

Assembly
Guide
Techinical Specifications Components
-Low Frequency Oscillator in a Here is a brief overview of the and other functions in the circuit
compact 4HP, skiff friendly 30 mm components we’ll be using: - Pin header - This connects the
depth size power from the Eurorack system
-Square,Triangle and approximat- -Printed Circuit Board-Mechani- power bus to the module
ed Sine Wave outputs (5V Peak to cally suports and electrically con- - Aluminium panel- Mounts to
Peak) nects the components in the cir- the circuit board after the compo-
-Rate/ Frequency range - 0.01Hz cuit nents are on, so the module will
to 40Hz -TL074-Quad Operational Ampli- fit in a rack unit
-LED indicator for Rate fier- the heart of the circuit, helps - Jack sockets - for plugging ca-
-Current Consumpiton +12v create the different wave forms bles in and out of the modules
20mA, -12v 20mA -TL071-Single Operational Ampli-
fier- this is used to power the LED This is a beginener level kit.
Tools rate indicator Some previous experience of
Below is a brief overview of the -Resistors- resist the flow of cur- completing electronic kit is rec-
tools we will need: rent ommended but not essencial.
-Ceramic capacitors - power sup- This is the assembly guide for
-Soldering iron (15 w will do fine, ply bypass capacitors PCB version 0.2.
any hotter may start to burn the -Polyester capacitor - helps set Okay let’s begin...
PCB) the oscillator frequency
-Solder -Electrolytic capacitors- used for
-Wire cutters power supply bypassing and also
-Multi-meter to help set the frequency of the
-De-soldering pump oscillator
-Helping hands/ soldering stand - Diodes- these are used for re-
-3/4”;1” clamps x2 verse power supply protection
Soldering is easy, here’s how to do it
Soldering

We are now going to begin sol- ponents step by step. The most - Do not let solder cross between
dering the circuit board. You will important things to keep in mind the solder pads on the board.
notice that the circuit board has are: This will cause a short circuit and
numbers (R5, C11, etc.) beside the mean your circuit will not work. A
component outlines (known as de-solder pump can easily fix this
the silkscreen layer of the bard). - Take your time and check the problem.
The outlines and the components silkscreen and the orientation of
numbers help us to identify which the components; some compo- - Components which must be
components to solder where on nents are polarized or must be orientated correctly include the
the PCB. orientated in certain direction. diodes, electrolytic capacitors, IC
sockets and ICs, mono jacks and
The circuit board is double sided. - You want to make sure the sol- the variable potentiometer.
We will be soldering some com- der joints are good and solid and
ponents on the top side of the they should fill in the pad on the - Before soldering any compo-
board, and some on the bottom board that the component leg is nent, empty all them into a small
side. We will go through the com- coming through. bowl or plate.
Step 1 - Resistors

Solder the resistors following From the top left corner of the
the numbers on the PCB and board (top side) and moving
the guide below. Check the re- clockwise:
sistor colour codes and measure
the values first with a multi-me-
ter before soldering in place. All
resistors in the kit are 1% toler-
ance. Insert the resistors vertically
through the bottom side of the
board where the numbers are
marked, on the silscreen, and the
solder to the pads on the top side.
Clip the lead off each resistor with
the wire cutter after soldering
each joint. Cut the leads above
the solder joint, also be careful
not to cut the joint as this can
break the solder joint.
Step 2 - IC Sockets
Solder the IC sockets in the IC
positions on the top side of the
PCB. Check the orientation, the
little notch on the socket should
match up with the notch on the
PCB. Solder the tails on the sock-
ets to the solder pads on the bot-
tom side of the board. Use a small
piece of cello tape to hold the
socket in place while soldering.

Step 3 - Ceramic Capacitors

104
Insert the ceramic capacitors
104
through the top side of the board
104
and solder to the pads on the
bottom side of the board. These
10
capacitors are not polarised. Fol- 4

low the below guide (from the

top left of the board and moving
clockwise):
C8, C3, C2, and C7 - These are all
100n value and they are marked
104 on the capacitor.
Step 4 - Diodes

Next, we will solder the diodes. D5 – LED – we will skip this for the marking on the diode with the ar-
Diodes are polarised, meaning minute because we want to add row on the silkscreen
there is a positive and a negative this at the end (after the panel
pin, and must be soldered in the is mounted) to make sure it fits D4 – IN4148 - this is inserted ver-
correct orientation for the circuit snugly through the panel. tically on the board, match the
to work. Insert the diodes through marking on the diode with the
the top side of the board and sol- D1 – IN4001 – inserted horizon- arrow on the silkscreen, which is
der to the pads on the bottom tally, match the marking on the opposite to the orientation of D3
side of the board. Again moving diode with the marking on the
clockwise from the top left of the circuit board D2 – IN4001 – inserted horizon-
board: tally, match the marking on the
D3 – IN4148 – this is inserted ver- diode with the marking on the
tically on the board, match the circuit board

Step 5 - Power Pin Header

Insert the power pin header
through the top side of the board
and solder the tails on the header
to the solder pads on the bottom
side of the board. The header is
not polarised. Use a small piece
of cello tape to hold the header in
place before soldering.
Step 6 - Trimmer Resistor

Insert the trimmer resistor, P1,

through the top side of the board
and solder to the pads on the bot-
tom side of the board. The trim-
mer on top of the package should
match the the circle on the PCB
silkscreen.

Step 7 - Polyester Capacitor

Insert the polyester film box ca-

pacitor, C5, value 100n, through
the top side of the board and
solder to the bottom side of the
board. This capacitor is not pola-
rised.
Step 8 - Electrolytic Capacitors
Insert the Electrolytic Capacitors
through the top side of the board
and solder to the pads on the
bottom side of the board. These
capacitors are polarised; the pos-
itive (+) pin must go through the
pad marked (+) on the PCB. Clock
wise from the top left of the board
the values are:

-C4 22uF
-C1 22uF
-C6 4.7uF

Now we are finished soldering the

bottom side of the board. The rest
of the components are placed on
the top side of the board.

Step 9 - 9mm Potentiometer

Turn the board over and insert

the 9mm potentiometer through
the bottom side of the board, and
solder to the pads on the top side
of the board. The potentiometer
should snap to the board fair-
ly tightly so should stay in place
fine for soldering. The pot value is
100k and it is marked B104.
Step 10 - Jacks, LED, and Panel

Now, insert the 3 jacks through

the bottom side of the board.
There is only one orientation that
will fit.

DON’T SOLDER THESE YET.

Next, place the LED through the

top side of the board (following
the markings on the board, the
anode (+pin) is at the top right
corner of the board), but don’t
solder it yet, adjust the LED so
that the top fits snugly through
the panel cut-out. Bend the leads
a little at the bottom.

Next, place the panel over the

bottom of the board with the
jack and pot shafts matching the
panel cut-outs. Screw the knurled
nuts over the jack shafts, taking
care just to use your fingers and
not to scrape the panel. Screw
these tight by hand, and the pan-
el should be held firmly in place.
Remove the protective covering
from the panel then solder the
LED and the jacks to the solder
pads on the top side of the board
Step 11 - Insert the ICs
Carefully insert the TL074 and out of the socket, you could use
TL071 into the IC sockets. Two a small flat headed screwdriver or
things to watch out for here. The tweezer blade and slide it under

TL0 2CPM
CN
74
IC pins can be quite fragile and the IC, which works as good as an

A
47

CP
TL0 YXM
easily broken. Usually the pins insertion tool. Also make sure to

71
2
S3A
will require some gentle bending check the orientation of the IC,
to fit them into the socket. Some the little notch on the IC should
people use an IC insertion tool match up with the notch on the
for this job. If you’re taking an IC IC socket.

Step 12 - Testing and troubleshooting

Before you power on the circuit, it the correct way round. the component to the pad.
double check your soldering work
and check for any bad/cold solder On power up the LED rate indi- • Components inserted in
joints or any points where there cator should blink and change wrong orientation
may be bridging (where two pads as the potentiometer is adjusted. Double check the orientation
close together are connected by Plug in an audio cable and test of all the polarised components
small pieces of solder). You can the audio outputs. (diodes, capacitors, ICs) with the
use a multi-meter on continuity markings on the PCB and the cir-
range to check if any two pads or If the circuit is not working, the cuit schematic.
points you’re not sure about are most likely causes are:
connected or not. De-fluxing is • Bad solder joint
recommended also. Be thorough, • IC chip mis-socketed A bad solder joint can be caused
even a very tiny piece of solder is Check the orientation of the the by a number of reasons. Often
enough to create a short in the chips. The notches on the chips dirt can get in and create a weak
circuit. should match up with the notch- bond between the solder pad
es on the PCB. If your socket has and the component. Re-heating
Connecting the power pin head- been soldered in with the wrong the joint or applying a small piece
er – (important!) match the red orientation, it won’t matter as of extra solder can help in these
stripe on the power cable with long as the IC is the right way situations. Be careful re-soldering
the red stripe / -12V marking on round. on certain components as ex-
the PCB. This is assuming your tended periods of heat can dam-
eurorack power bus is following • Exposed metal causing a age them. If you think the compo-
the convention that Red Stripe is short circuit nent may be damaged by excess
equal to -12V! The circuit has re- Are solder lugs or bits of wire from heat, it might be best to replace
verse polarity protection includ- one component touching anoth- the component
ed, so in the case that you do plug er? This may be causing a short
your power cable in the wrong circuit. Adjust the component’s
way, plug it out quickly and insert position or de-solder / re-solder
Maker LFO- Step by Step

Resistors

IC Sockets
Ceramic Capacitors

Diodes

Power Pin header

Trimmer resistor
Polyester capacitor

Electrolytic capacitors
?
Circuit Description
What’s is happening in the circuit?

Power is provided to the circuit approximately 2/3 (AV=-R7/R8),

using the Eurorack power bus, to give a square wave output at
which supplies +12v, -12v and pin 8 of IC1C of approximately 5v.
Ground (0v). Diodes D1 and D2
provide reverse polarity protec- The sine wave output is an ap-
tion; in the event that the input proximated sine wave generated
power polarity is reversed, the by using the non-linear transfer
current travels through the di- function of diodes D3 and D4. P1
odes (path of least resistance) to adjusts the voltage across the di-
Ground . Capacitors C1 and C4 odes D1 and D2, bringing them
smooth out ripples in the power into conduction. D1 shapes the
supply voltages . The op-amps top part of the triangle wave in the
IC1 and IC2 are powered by the +ve cycle, D2 shapes the bottom
+12v and -12v voltages. part of the triangle wave in the
-ve cycle. Adjust the value of the
IC1A and IC1B are the main oscil- trimmer potentiometer P1 to see
lator section of the circuit, gen- how the triangle wave “bends” to
erating triangle and square wave form a sine wave type shape. The
outputs. This oscillator configura- sine wave output across R4 is am-
tion is known as a relaxation oscil- plified by IC1D by approximately
lator. The frequency of the oscilla- 6 times, to give a sine wave out-
tor is determined by the values of put of approximately 5v at pin 14.
C6 (timing capacitor) and R13 plus
P2. The timing capacitor charges IC2 takes the triangle wave out-
towards V+, at a time determined put as input to the non-inverting
by the RC time constant of C6 and input of the op-amp, and includes
R13+P2, creating a ramp output an LED in the feedback loop of
at pin 1 of IC1A, and a negative the op-amp. The current across
ramp as the capacitor discharg- the LED is determined by the rate
es towards V-. A triangle wave of the input frequency.
output is then generated at pin
1 of IC1A, and a saturated square Capacitors C2, C3, C7 and C8 are
wave output at pin 7 of IC1B. bypass capacitors, which are lo-
cated close to the IC pins to pro-
IC1C takes the output square wave vide a local reservoir of power
at pin 7 of IC1B, which is approxi- and provide a low impedance
mately 15v, and attenuates this by path to ground for power supply
current returns.
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