simunut
11-09-2011, 11:48 PM
Hello folks,
I just finished several opencockpit cards and may have useful info for anyone wanting to go the same route.
I plan on editing this first post with all the info I have, making it the first thing users see. I will include a few suppliers that I have found helpful(in the US). I will also include tool info along with a few tips I feel worth passing on. Finally, I will add a BOM for the following cards:
USB Expansion
Master card
DISPLAYII
USB Relays
7-segment LED
USBLCD
Encoders Card (still building)
Others as I build them.
Suppliers:
If you are in the US, you can get just about all your misc parts from this place http://www.phoenixent.com/
Explore their site! Phoenixent has just about every connector/pin/socket/hardware/tools we need for building OC cards.
Digikey a no brainer for parts
Newark has won me over.. saved tons vs going Digikey
octoparts.com is a neat search engine for parts.
Tips:
Check your items when they come in ASAP. Most of our orders will be broken down from larger stocks. I have overlooked missing caps from an OC encoder kit as well as not getting all my items from digikey. We are all human and accidents happen.
Because I was building a bunch of cards at once, I basically kitted each card. I got ziplock bags, printed out pcb diagram/bom and made little kits.
Do not try to build more than two master cards in one day :) You will start to see things after the 90th diode.
Make sure to get the right size solder for the job. I recommend starting at .031 in dia.
Make sure the solder tip is the right size for the job. Some of joints are in tight spots. (I use a hakko fx-888 with its default tip)
Start with the lowest height components first.
Plan ahead when down to the larger components.
Be mindful to the orientation of diodes,IC's, leds, #1 pin of the IDC connectors and the 5vdc power pins.
Prior to powering up the cards, recheck all solder joints under a magnifier.
Have datasheets handy to know your way around the ic chips if you get into trouble
more to come.....
FWIW.. All but two of my cards worked without any problems. My laptop did not see the first usb/mastercard combo. After sweating it out, rechecking joints, cursing while metering voltages at the ICs, I tried a different usb port and it worked. :shock:
My second usb expansion card suffered from me not paying attention to the orientation of an IC.
5780
I plan on posting the BOM as text vs an attachment. Just need to figure out why the formatting goes crazy when importing from word.
I just finished several opencockpit cards and may have useful info for anyone wanting to go the same route.
I plan on editing this first post with all the info I have, making it the first thing users see. I will include a few suppliers that I have found helpful(in the US). I will also include tool info along with a few tips I feel worth passing on. Finally, I will add a BOM for the following cards:
USB Expansion
Master card
DISPLAYII
USB Relays
7-segment LED
USBLCD
Encoders Card (still building)
Others as I build them.
Suppliers:
If you are in the US, you can get just about all your misc parts from this place http://www.phoenixent.com/
Explore their site! Phoenixent has just about every connector/pin/socket/hardware/tools we need for building OC cards.
Digikey a no brainer for parts
Newark has won me over.. saved tons vs going Digikey
octoparts.com is a neat search engine for parts.
Tips:
Check your items when they come in ASAP. Most of our orders will be broken down from larger stocks. I have overlooked missing caps from an OC encoder kit as well as not getting all my items from digikey. We are all human and accidents happen.
Because I was building a bunch of cards at once, I basically kitted each card. I got ziplock bags, printed out pcb diagram/bom and made little kits.
Do not try to build more than two master cards in one day :) You will start to see things after the 90th diode.
Make sure to get the right size solder for the job. I recommend starting at .031 in dia.
Make sure the solder tip is the right size for the job. Some of joints are in tight spots. (I use a hakko fx-888 with its default tip)
Start with the lowest height components first.
Plan ahead when down to the larger components.
Be mindful to the orientation of diodes,IC's, leds, #1 pin of the IDC connectors and the 5vdc power pins.
Prior to powering up the cards, recheck all solder joints under a magnifier.
Have datasheets handy to know your way around the ic chips if you get into trouble
more to come.....
FWIW.. All but two of my cards worked without any problems. My laptop did not see the first usb/mastercard combo. After sweating it out, rechecking joints, cursing while metering voltages at the ICs, I tried a different usb port and it worked. :shock:
My second usb expansion card suffered from me not paying attention to the orientation of an IC.
5780
I plan on posting the BOM as text vs an attachment. Just need to figure out why the formatting goes crazy when importing from word.