TECHNOLOGY WILL SAVE US: THE LUMIPHONE This is a step-by-step guide to soldering your own Lumiphone. The equipment you should have at your station: goggles, soldering mat, soldering Iron, solder and side cutters. We hope you enjoy this creative task, learn some new technological skills and apply them to your life in useful ways. Enjoy!
MAKING YOUR LUMIPHONE Parts: 1) 1x 1.2K Ohm (Ω) Resistor 2) 2x 150 Ohm (Ω) Resistor 3) 2x LDRs (Light Dependent Resistors) 4) 2x LEDs (light-emitting diodes) 5) 1x Integrated Circuit (IC) 6) 1x On/Off Switch 7) 1x Transistor 8) 1x Capacitor 9) 1x Speaker 10) 1x Double Side foam tape 11) 1x AA Battery Holder 12v) 1x Lumiphone Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 12 9 10 11
1. Resistors: R1 1.1 Find the 1.2K Ohm (Ω) Resistor (Look at the stripes: Brown, Red, Red, Gold), 1.2 Form the resistor into a staple (as shown Below), and then place it so that it sits flat against the PCB - in the correct location - R1. Resistors don t have polarity so they can go in either way and work fine! 1.3 When you have done this, flip the board over and bend the legs out at 45º to the PCB. This helps to keep the resistor in place when you are soldering it.
2. Resistors R2 & R3 2.1 Follow the same process with the 150 Ohm (Ω) resistors (Brown, Green, Brown, Gold). (R2 &R3) 2.2 Solder the legs to the pads (gold ring) by heating both of them with the side-tip of the iron for 3/4 seconds and then melt in a bit of solder. TOP TIP: Bring the soldering iron to your first pin. Place the edge of the tip against both the pin and the gold metallic pad. Leave the iron there for 3-4 seconds so they both heat up. Apply solder to the point where the pin and the pad make contact with the iron. Once there is enough solder to cover the whole pad (but not enough for a mountain!) Remove the solder and wait with the iron in place for one more second.
2.3 Use your side cutters to clip the legs off just above the solder joint. Remember to hold onto the leg before you clip it so that it doesn t fly dangerously into the air. 2.4 You have now completed the 3 resistors! TOP TIP: If you have a hard time holding the component leg while you trim it, simply cover the area with your other hand while you re pruning them. That way the leg won t fly into your or your neighbours eyeball!
3. LDRs (Light Dependent Resistors) 3.0 The LDR s legs need to be bent at 90 degrees before inserting them into the PCB, facing away from the round speaker. LDR s are a type of resistor so they don t have polarity & can go in either way! 3.1 Now follow the soldering process you did for the other resistors (Bend the legs out at 45º, solder and clip the legs)
4. LEDs (light-emitting diodes) 4.0 The LED s legs need to be bent down 90º before inserting them. They must also be orientated the same way around as the illustration on the PCB. Pay attention to which way the long and short legs go! 4.1 Solder them in!
5. Integrated Circuit (IC) 5.0 Insert the Integrated Circuit (IC) Chip in the same position as seen in the picture. The chip has a notch in one end that must line up with the notch in the illustration on the PCB. 5.1 The IC can be a little difficult to insert, it helps to bend the pins in on one side against the table very slightly.
5.2 Flip over the PCB and solder in each pin of the chip. The pins are already quite short so you don t need to clip them.
6. On/Off Switch 6.0 Insert the switch in the same position as seen in the photo below Try to keep the switch flat against the PCB. 6.1 Flip over the PCB and solder in each pin of the chip. The pins are already quite short so you don t need to clip them.
7. Transistor 7.0 Insert the Transistor into the same position as seen in the picture below. The transistor must be orientated the same way around as illustrated on the PCB - with its rounded belly facing the resistor. 7.1 Now follow the same soldering process you did in the previous steps. (Bend the legs, solder and clip)
8. Capacitor 8.0 Insert the Capacitor in the same position as seen in the picture below. We are using a ceramic capacitor that has no polarity so they can go in either way around! 8.1 Solder the capacitor in place.
9. Speaker 9.0 Insert the Speaker in the same position as seen in the picture. The speaker must be orientated the same way around as the illustration on the PCB with the + and - signs corresponding on the PCB and the speaker! 9.1 Solder the speaker in. You won t be able to bend the legs, so simply turn it around with the speaker facing your mat. TOP TIP: Because the legs of the speaker are so much thicker than usual, they ll need a little more heat. You can do this by simply leaving the soldering iron on them for a few more seconds.
9. AA Battery Holder 9.0 Before we solder the battery holder in place, we should test that your Lumiphone works. Insert 2x AA batteries into your battery holder. Then insert its two conductors into the holes on either side of the switch. Bend the legs out so it is held in place and turn on the switch. If the LED s turn on, you should be able to interrupt the beams and produce sound! 9.1 If it works, congratulations! If not, carefully go over the previous steps and make sure you didn t put anything in the wrong way around or leave anything out.
9.2 Before we make the final solder joints for the battery holder, we must place the double sided foam tape between the battery holder and the PCB. So remove the battery holder and stick the double sided foam tape over the two speaker solder joints. Remove the protective layer of paper from the other side of the foam tape and replace the battery holder. 9.3 Finally, solder the two battery holder connections to your Lumiphone PCB. This time you re soldering on the same side as the components. The only time you ve ever done that! Trim the legs of the battery holder. Turn on your Lumiphone and serenade your neighbours.