Mini APC Assembly Guide

 
Thank you for purchasing our Mini APC kit!

This is a beginner level kit and should take between 30 minutes and an hour to complete.

This Atari Punk Console kit is based on the original Stepped Tone Generator by Forest M. Mimms III. It creates great lo-fi sounds resembling those from the old style Atari games using an astable square wave oscillator.

If this is your first kit, congratulations! Soldering is a really valuable skill to have in life, but like most things only gets better with practice and experience.

Please tag and share your first builds with us on social media so we can all bask in the freshly soldered glory.

WHATS INCLUDED IN YOUR KIT

There are a lot of small components included in the kit so please open the packaging carefully and check that all parts are present and correct using the parts list below before you start.

PCB
500k Potentiometer 2
NE556 Dual 555 Timer IC 1
100k Resistor 1
15k Resistor 1
10k Resistor 1
1k Resistor 2
4.7k Resistor 1
10uF Electrolytic Capacitor 1
9V Battery Snap 1
10nF Ceramic Capacitor 1
100nF Ceramic Capacitor 1
On/Off Switch 1
3.5mm Stereo Jack 1

let's get started

YOU WILL NEED:

Soldering Iron (and solder)

Flush Cutters

Good Lighting

Optional but handy..

Pliers

Blu-Tack

Multi-meter

Pliers are handy to bend component legs. Blu Tack can be used to keep the circuit board and component in place while soldering.

USING A Multi-meter?

To check your resistors, set your multi-meter to the Ohm (Ω) setting and place the probes across the resistor.

Chances are the resistors will be bang on, or really close to one of the values in the kit. Verify this for yourself by checking the colour codes on the resistors and the provided cheat sheet.

At Rakit we use both colour code identification and multi-meter measurements when coming up against resistor values we don’t instantly recognise.

The double check can really help, especially with values that are multiples of others. But don’t worry! You definitely don’t need a multi-meter to assemble a kit.

ORGANISE

Organisation… boo! (But seriously, take your time)

Try to enjoy the process of soldering and getting organised.

Soldering in a methodical process will set you up for success.  Whats more, you’ll gain the confidence to take on more complicated soldering tasks in the future.

Pick a resistor (we started with a 10k).

The components should be placed on thier silkscreen outlines.

Often important information such as values and polarity are indicated on the artwork.

Form the resistor into a U shape and insert it into the board

Gently bend the legs outwards.

Lets get to soldering!

Press your soldering iron firmly onto the intersection between the circuit board and the component leg and apply solder.

See the video below for a quick soldering clip.

Resistors

Capacitors

Find and identify your capacitors!

The yellow ones are known as ceramic capacitors and the values supplied are 100n (104) and 10n (103). Ceramic capacitors are not sensitive to polarity and can be installed either way around.

The black can shaped one is called a aluminium electrolytic capacitor (10uF). Aluminium electrolytic capacitors are polarity sensitive and care must be taken to put them in the right way around.

 

Gently bend the legs of the ceramic capacitors outwards before soldering to lock them in place.

Repeat for both ceramic capacitors.

Place the aluminium electrolytic capacitor in the board with the white line facing the filled half of the circle and the long leg in the square pad.

Bend, solder and trim as before.

Insert the chip socket making sure the notch on the socket lines up with the notch on the silkscreen (board markings).

We like to bend our legs over before soldering, one on opposite corners is enough.

We don’t bend them completely flat purposely, so that trimming is easier later on.

Push the stereo 3.5mm socket into the PCB until it is flush and solder.

Insert and solder your on/off switch.

Either way around is OK, this component is completely symmetrical. 

Insert the potentiometers into the board, they should fit snugly into and against the PCB.

Solder your battery snap connector making sure the red wire is connected to V+ and the black wire to GND.

Get your chip lined up with the socket and ready for insertion.

Often the legs on these chips need a small amount of bending to get the legs to line up properly.

Push your chip fully into the socket, being careful not to apply too much sideways force.

That’s it! Your basic mini APC is ready for a battery. Plug a stereo cable into your headphones/speakers and create some retro drones.

If you have a small speaker or extension header, read on..

When connecting your speaker, simply wire the red wire to the SPK+ and the black wire to the SPK-

EXT Header, place the socket either way around and solder. We use a small piece of blue tak to hold the socket in place while soldering

Your enhanced mini APC is ready for some toying. Plug a stereo cable into your headphones/speakers and create some retro drones.