Interactive LED COFFEE Table

- LED DISPLAY PANEL Kits -

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories

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Quick start for experts

If you consider yourself to be an expert at

building electronics kits, here’s the skinny:

• Read: Steps 2,3.

• Do: Step 5.
• Populate the circuit boards with bill of materials
parts numbers 6 -15. (Stop after the IR LEDs.)
• Build the 24 V LED tester in the appendix.
• Follow the instructions carefully from step 15 on.

Otherwise, flip the page, and let’s get started!

 STEP 1: Tool Checklist
Essential. Needed to build the table: Optional but highly recommended:

1. Soldering iron 1. Resistor lead forming tool

Use a soldering iron intended for use with
Allows fast, neat bending
electronics. We recommend the brands
of resistor leads. (~$8)
Weller and (if you can afford it) Metcal.
You can get a good Weller soldering This one is Speedy Bend 801,
iron new for under $40.
Mouser part #5166-801
(Don’t waste your life
dealing with a crappy iron.)

2. Solder 2. DIP IC lead bender

Bend those IC leads straight

Thin rosin core solder. to put them in the holes.
Not really a big deal, but....
60/40 solder is easy to use.
e.g., Jameco 99363: ~$8

3. 5/64” Hex Wrench

3. Angle Flush Cutters For attaching circuit boards to
standoffs.
May be hard to find outside the USA!
For clipping loose wire ends.

e.g., Sears Craftsman

4. Desoldering braid
Well, let’s hope that nothing
needs to get desoldered.... but....
 Step 2. Identify Basic Stuff
Bill of materials Interactive LED Coffee Table Kit Bill of Materials. Rev 2.0, 6-panel, Blue+White
Printed Circuit Boards
Line Designation Value Type #/PCB Kit Qty
1 PCB CRBP v. 2.0 1 6
2 screw 6-32 x 1/4” (use 5/64” hex) 4 24

The BOM is the master list of what’s in your kit.

3
4
Standoff
J100
6-32 x .0.750
Center Positive 2.5 mm Jack n/a
4 24
1
The appearance and color of your
Keep it handy; you’ll need it. 5
6
S101
U101,U201,U301,U401
SPDT! Switch
LM324 Quad op-amp
n/a
4
1
24
board may vary greatly from the one
7
R101, R201, R301, R401,
R103, R203, R303, R403, 5.1k Resistor 10 60
shown here, depending on options
Your BOM is a customized document that reflects 8
Also, R115, R116
R102, R202, R302, R402 2k Resistor 4 24 ordered.
the number of panels in your kit, and so forth. 9
R104, R204, R304, R404,
R107, R207, R307, R407,
R108, R208, R308, R408
51k Resistor 12 72

10 R105, R205, R205, R405

R106, R206, R306, R406
100k Resistor 4 24
Be careful handling the PCB; the
These instructions will refer to items in the BOM R111, R211, R311, R411,
11 R112, R212, R312, R412 10M Resistor 20 120
edges can be sharp. Also, it may show
by line item number. R113, R213, R313, R413,

smudges easily, and traces (surface

R114, R214, R314, R414
R109, R209, R309, R409,
12 R110, R210, R310, R410, 200 Resistor 9 54

For example, line 10 on the BOM refers to a Also R117

C101,C201,C301,C401,
wires) on the board can be damaged
100k resistor. We will refer to that part by rough handling. The surface can be
13 C102,C202,C302,C402, 0.22 uF Capacitor 10 60
Also, C103,C104

in these instructions as “part #10”.

14 Q101, Q201, Q301, Q401 LTR-4206E phototransistor 4 24

15
IRD100, IRD200,
IRD300, IRD400
LTE-5208A IR LED 4 24 cleaned, gently, with isopropyl alcohol
16
17
Zero-ohm jumpers
DN100, DP100, ....
See instructions
Blue and/or white LEDs.
See instructions.
30
80
180
480
if needed.
18 Power Supply 24 VDC, 2.5A, 2.5 mm plug n/a 1
- C105,106 Optional capacitor locations-- leave empty.

Avoid storing the PCBs on cardboard

surfaces; it causes rapid tarnishing
which may affect solderability.

Power Supply More about these in step 3.

The tables run on 24 V DC.The power supply provided
with each kit is a "universal input" power supply, with
input range 100-240 VAC, 47-63 Hz. Other components
Other components listed on the BOM are in little baggies
A USA line cord is supplied. International users should and are labeled by their BOM line item numbers.
obtain a substitute input line cord that connects your
local wall port to the IEC-320 C5 input of the power
supply.

The standard 2.5 A power supply provided can power

up to eight standard LED panels. If you wish to connect
more than eight panels together, please pay careful
attention to step 22 of these instructions.
 Step 3. Map of the PCB
Orientation Quadrants
Components on the board are divided into four Quadrant Quadrant
One side of the board has the legend
“EVIL” in large letters. This is the
TOP side of the printed circuit board.
nearly-identical quadrants, numbered 1-4.
2 3
With few exceptions, the components in each
All components go into the TOP side quadrant are identical.
of the circuit board, except for the
power connector and power switch. Each component on the board has a unique
designation. In most cases, the leading digit in a Quadrant Quadrant

I 4
(Top Side) (Bottom side) given part’s designation indicates the quadrant
that it belongs to.

Example: Resistor R311, chip U301, and capacitor

C302 are located in Quadrant 3. (Top View)

Components in the quadrants

The central block of components in each quadrant is identical
except for the leading digit that indicates the quadrant.

Here is what the layout for the central block of quadrant 3

looks like. There are two capacitors (C301, C302), one IC
(U301), one infrared LED (IRD300), one phototransistor
(Q301) and 14 resistors (R301 - R314).

This layout is repeated for each of the four quadrants.

NOTE 1: Besides the repeating parts, there are a handful of

“irregular” components (e.g., R115, R116, R117, C103, C104)
that do not repeat between quadrants and have less obvious
location.

NOTE 2:The array of LEDs outside the main block is a

separate topic that we will return to in steps 15-17, after
soldering the other components.
 Step 4. Add Standoffs
Add standoffs to bottom side of Circuit Boards
Grab your first PCB panel (part #1) and find parts #2 and #3, the screws and
standoffs. Install the standoffs in each corner, on the BOTTOM side of the
#3 board, so that when the board sits on the standoffs, the EVIL sign is visible on
the top.

You can tighten the screws with a hex wrench. If you do not have one, drop the
screw through one of the holes, put your finger over the screw to hold it still,
and thread the standoff fully onto it. (Pressing firmly on the screw head, you can
actually get the standoff very tight this way.)
#2
Repeat for all of the PCB panels in your kit.

#1
 Step 5. Add power supply to PCB
Add power jack and power switch
#5
Grab your first PCB panel and find parts #4 and #5, the power jack and power
switch. There is only one of each part in the kit; they go in only one PCB panel.

There is only a single place for the power jack (#4) to go. Put it in from the BOTTOM
SIDE and solder it in well. The connector needs to be rigidly attached to the board.

#4

Power supply connections are located in Quadrant 4.

(BOTTOM VIEW) (TOP VIEW)

#4, far side Where to put the power switch (#5) is more of a personal choice. If you want to attach it rigidly to
the printed circuit board, you have a choice of two locations. To mount the switch in either location,,
put the switch in from the bottom side and solder it in place, much like the power jack.

Alternative scheme, if you have a thin panel

#5, far side. Choice of location.
to mount the switch on: Into either set of
three holes where the switch could go, solder
two wires. (One of the three holes is a
dummy with no circuitry going to it. Use the
other two.)

Solder the other ends of the wires to the

center and (either) side terminal of the power
switch.

Note: use moderately thick insulated copper

wire for this application, and minimize the
total wire length.

IN ALL CASES, the switch must be mounted rigidly-- DO NOT leave it dangling in the finished table.
 Step 6. Begin adding components
Add the Integrated circuits: #6, U101, U201, U301, U401
#6
Find the LM324 chips, part #6. On these, observe
that one end has a half-moon shape feature.
(That marks pin “1” of the chip.)
As the chips come from the factory, their legs bend
outwards, making it difficult to insert them in the
board.
Carefully bend them straight like so, pushing one
side against a flat surface. Or, if you have it, use the
DIP IC lead bender from Step 1.
Each panel has four chips (part #6), which go in locations
U101, U201, U301, and U401. These locations are in the
center of all four quadrants of the PCB.
Since you’ll need to turn the panels upside down
to solder the chips, you may find it helpful to bend
one or two of the pins over to hold the chip in
place before you solder it.
Match the end of the chip with the half-moon shape to the
half-moon shape illustrated on the printed circuit board, and
put it in the circuit board. (Into the TOP side, of course.)
It should easily slip into place if the leads are bent correctly.
a
Solder the chip in place. Remember that the chip
can be cooked by too much heat, so work quickly
on each pin.
Repeat this, putting chips in location U101, U201, U301, and Then, solder the other three chips on the panel.
U401 of your panel.
 - Note on Steps 7-17 -
Assembling the PCB panels

Steps 7-17 walk through the assembly of

the individual circuit board panels.

While you can perform these steps simultaneously on

each of the panels that you are assembling, it is
recommended that you instead complete these steps
for each panel before moving on to the next one.

In any case, begin with the panel on which you have

installed the power jack and the power switch.
 Step 7. Start Adding Resistors
(And how to do it.)

Next, we are adding ten 5.1 k resistors (part #7), to the

panels. Two of these are found in the central block of each
of the four quadrants, in locations:
R101 and R103 (quadrant 1),
R201 and R203 (quadrant 2),
R301 and R303 (quadrant 3), and
R401 and R403 (quadrant 4)

On the back side of the board, solder the resistors

in place. To keep them from falling out prior to
Besides those eight resistors, we need to add two soldering, it’s best to bend the leads outwards.
“Irregular” resistors that also use part #7. The
locations for these two are R115 and R116, which
are located in Quadrant I as highlighted above.

Insert the resistors into their ten locations on

the board.
To make this stage as neat and rapid as possible, use a
resistor lead forming tool, as mentioned in Step 1.
(Polarity of resistors does not matter; they can
We are using 0.4” lead separation.
go in either way.)
You can also bend the leads by hand if need be, but After soldering, use flush clippers to remove
bend them prior to inserting the leads in their holes. excess leads sticking through the board.
 Step 8. Adding (more) Resistors
On a roll, with parts #8, #9, #10

Following the general procedure for adding resistors shown

in Step 7, add a few more parts in this step:

Add part #8 (2 k resistor) in locations Add part #9 (51 k resistor) in locations Add part #10 (100 k resistor) in locations
R102, R202, R302, R402. R104, R204, R304, R404, R105, R205, R305, R405.
R107, R207, R307, R407,
R108, R208, R308, R408.

For each of these, bend and insert the resistors, and

then solder and clip them, as shown in step 7.
 Step 9. Last Resistors
Install parts #11 and #12

Following the general procedure for adding resistors shown

in Step 7, add a few more parts in this step:

Add part #11 (10M resistor) in locations
R106, R206, R306, R406,
R111, R211, R311, R411,
R112, R212, R312, R412,
R113, R213, R313, R413,
R114, R214, R314, R414,
Add part #12 (200 Ohm resistor) in locations
R109, R209, R309, R409,
R110, R210, R310, R410.
Add one more #12 (100 k resistor) in location
R117, an irregular location, near the central block
of quadrant 4.

(Quadrant 4 only)

For each of these, bend and insert the resistors, and

then solder and clip them, as shown in step 7.
 Step 10. Capacitors
Install part #13, the capacitors
Next, we’ll be adding our 0.22 uF Capacitors, part #13 on the BOM.
Two of these are located in the central block of each quadrant. The capacitors look like this. They are unpolarized
components that can be inserted either way.

#13

The capacitors in the central blocks of each quadrant are:

C101, C201, C301, C401,
C102, C202, C302, C402

Insert the ten capacitors into their locations on the board.

Besides the eight caps that go in the central

blocks, there are two “irregular” caps to add:
C103 and C104.

These are located at the lower edge

Quadrant 4, where indicated.

On the back side of the board, solder the ten capacitors in place & trim the leads.
 Step 11. Identify Opto COmponeNts
Three of the remaining parts are optoelectronic devices:
Infrared phototransistors (#14),
Infrared LEDs (#15), and
Regular LEDs (#17).
Flat Flat face
face or notch
Aside: What’s all this infrared and phototransistor stuff about, anyway?
#14
#15,#17 Phototransistors are a type of light sensor. The infrared (IR) LEDs shine
Phototransistor
LEDs light up out of the table surface. Some of this IR reflects off of objects
above the table, where it is detected by the phototransistors. This
allows the table to be sensitive even in the dark. IR is used (1) so that
the lights shining up out of the table are invisible and (2) the table does
not react to light generated by its own (visible) LEDs. The type of IR
light that we are using is very much like visible light except that it is just
outside the range of our eyes; the table is not sensitive to heat.

Put the lead in the

These three components have a polarity; they square hole first!
must be installed in a particular direction.
Note that one side has a long lead, while the other
has a short lead and a flat face.

For all “opto” components in the kit,

the long lead goes in the square hole. And, since the
long lead is longer, it naturally goes in first.
So remember: Square hole first!

(Bett
er
a Fla view of
t face
)
 Step 12. Add Sensors
Install #14, phototransistors Q101, Q201, Q301, Q401

The phototransistors, part #14, are located in the

central block of each quadrant, locations Q101, Q201, Q301, Q401.

Insert these parts into

square hole first!

Slide the phototransistor all the way down

to sit flush against the circuit board.

(In rare circumstances, you may need to

wiggle it a bit to get it all the way down.)

If the phototransistor has been placed with

the correct orientation, its flat face should
match the simple illustration on the circuit
board.

It is not necessary to solder at this point;

wait until the end of step 13 to solder both
the phototransistors and IR LEDs.
 Step 13. Add Infrared LEDs
Install #15, LEDs IRD100, IRD200, IRD300, and IRD400

The infrared LEDs, part #15, are located in the central block of Again, insert the LED’s long lead into the square hole.
each quadrant, locations IRD100, IRD200, IRD300, IRD400. Slide it down until flush against the circuit board.

(Known board error:

IRD100 is actually called
IRD101 on the board.)

Flip the board over and solder the phototransistors and Again, cut the excess leads flush against the underside of
IR LEDs in place. the board.

[Optional, shown: Bend the components outwards as With this step done, the central block of each quadrant
shown to prevent them from falling out while upside is now completed.
down.]
 Step 14. Build LED Tester

If you have not done so already, go to the appendix

and build a 24 V LED tester:

SUB-Kit:: 24 V LED Tester

If you have done so already, go right on to step 15.

 Step 15. Map of the PCB, part II
Each quadrant has footprints (locations) for up to 24 LEDs, following a common pattern.
Knowing this pattern can save you hours in subsequent steps. Quadrant Quadrant

The quadrant is geographically divided into 24 identical

2 3
imaginary grid boxes, each of which holds one LED footprint.
Each LED footprint is randomly positioned within its own grid box.
Quadrant Quadrant

From the electronics standpoint, these 24 footprints

are arranged as four banks of six footprints each:
I 4
DN100
The top half of the quadrant contains DN102
two interleaved banks of 6 LED footprints: DP101
Upper “P” bank: DP100 - DP105 DP100
DN101 DP102
(Shown in yellow)
and DN105 DP105 DP103
Upper “N” bank: DN100 -DN105 DP104
(Shown in blue)
DN104 DN103

The bottom half of the quadrant contains DN110

two interleaved banks of 6 LED footprints: DN111 DP110
Lower “P” bank: DP110 - DP115 DP112 DN112
(Shown in yellow) *Known board error #2:
and on board version 2.0:
DP111
Lower “N” bank: DN110 -DN115
(Shown in blue) DP203 is actually
DN113 labeled “DP204” on the
DN114 DP114 DP115 board. Suggested
As before, the leading digit of each designation DP113 DN115
workaround: Find the
corresponds to the quadrant. Quadrant 1 is shown wrongly labeled one and
here, so the footprints begin with DP100 and DN100. re-label it with a pencil!
Those in Quadrant 2 begin with DP200, and so forth.
 Step 16. Get your jumpers on!
Install #16, Zero-ohm jumpers in 4 places per quadrant (16 per panel)

For “standard” LED types (Blue, White, and/or Green LEDs, or a mix thereof),
we will use only 5 LEDs in each bank-- not 6-- for a total of 20 per quadrant, or 80 per panel.

Part #16, the zero-ohm jumper, is a convenient little wire that is shaped like a resistor. Grab 16 of them and bend like so:

For each quadrant on the board, fill one footprint in each of the
four LED banks with a jumper wire. Pick the particular footprint
within each bank at random (or however you like).

Spelled out the long-and-confusing way,

put one jumper in locations:
DP10x, DN10x, DP11x, DN11x, Top half of each quadrant:
DP20x, DN20x, DP21x, DN21x, One jumper in the N bank.
DP30x, DN30x, DP31x, DN31x,
One jumper in the P bank.
DP40x, DN40x, DP41x, and DN41x,
where each value of x is independently
chosen from the range 0-5, inclusive.

Two P banks in the diagram are shown in

YELLOW, and the two N banks are shown
in BLUE; banks are not the same as rows!

[The purpose for this step is to break the

repeating pattern of LEDs between Bottom half of each quadrant:
neighboring panels. It helps to create the One jumper in the N bank.
illusion of using a single, giant printed circuit One jumper in the P bank.
board, rather than tiles of smaller ones.]

[NOTE: If not using the standard LEDs but only red and/or
yellow LEDs, all 6 footprints should be populated-- but the illusion is lost.]
 Step 17. INSERT Lots OF LEDS
Install #17, the visible LEDs, as eight matched sets of ten.

After placing the jumpers, each quadrant should have 20 empty

LED footprints: EXAMPLE:
5 “P” footprints, and 5 “N” footprints in the upper half, and In the Quadrant illustrated below, four jumpers have
5 “P” footprints, and 5 “N” footprints in the lower half. been placed (arbitrarily) according to step 16.

What remains now are ten “P” locations (shown in

yellow) and ten “N” locations (shown in blue).
Fill the 10 empty footprints in the upper half of one Quadrant
with a matched set of 10 LEDs. Put another matched set in
the 10 footprints in the lower half of that quadrant.
Follow the same procedure for the other three Quadrants.

• For each panel you will need EIGHT matched

sets of 10 LEDs each (as matched by the 24 V
LED tester). If you are using a mix of blue and Top half of each quadrant:
white LEDs, each matched set should contain Place ten matched LEDs in the
5 white and 5 blue LEDs. ten empty LED footprints in
the upper two banks.
• When you take a set of LEDs out of the tester, Example: For quadrant 1:
keep the set together. Scramble them so that Upper “P” bank: DP100 - DP105
their order within the matched set is random. Upper “N” bank: DN100 -DN105

• Remember that the LEDs go in long-lead-first,

into the Square hole of the footprint. Push them
all the way down until they are flush against
the PCB. Bottom half of each quadrant:
Place ten matched LEDs in the
• Once you have placed the LEDs where they ten empty LED footprints in
need to go, solder them in place (and the the lower two banks.
jumpers from step 16, if you have not done so),
and clip the excess leads off the back. Example: For quadrant 1:
Lower “P” bank: DP110 - DP115
Lower “N” bank: DN110 -DN115
(One possible arrangement of jumpers is shown.)
 Step 18. TEST first Panel
Great! You’ve finished a panel... does it work?
Plug in your panel that has the power jack
and switch, and turn it on.
If everything works correctly, all of the lights should
turn on at first and then settle down.
- If NO lights come on, check the power connections;
try flipping the power switch.

Test basic operation:

1. Test that each of the four quadrants is sensitive to motion: Put

your hand one inch above the back phototransistor. It should see
your hand moving.

- If one sensor does not work, check that it is facing the

right direction

2. Test that the infrared sources are working:

Try the same thing in the dark, so that the only way that motion
can be seen is from the IR source. Nearly all assembly problems are caused by one of the following:

-If not, check the orientation of the four IR LEDs. 1. Component (e.g., jumper) missing or in the wrong location.
2. Backwards component, e.g., phototransistor or LED
3. Make sure that all 16 LED banks are lighting up. 3. Bad or missing solder joint.
4. LED mismatch
- If a bank does not light up, almost certainly one of the
LEDs in that bank is in backwards. Find it by looking at the
flat sides of the diodes.

4. Make sure that all LEDs in a bank can light up with motion.
And, make sure that all banks settle down to dim without motion

- If all of the LEDs are stuck on, you may have a jumper in
the wrong place. Minor problems with LED banks working, (We’ll test the additional boards after
but not working well, are usually caused by using badly discussing how boards connect
matched LEDs. You can try replacing individual, dim LEDs. together, in steps 19 & 20.)
Step 19. Panel Arrangements
Panels can (easily) be connected together in any rectangular array.
Some examples with 6 panels:
 Step 20. How panels Connect
The PCB panels have 7 connector holes on each of their sides
When two panels are placed edge to edge, the seven
holes line up with those on the next board. In most
case, we want to connect the seven sets of holes to
their neighbors with jumper wires.
(NOTE: Do not solder any board-to-board jumpers until
after you have tested all of your boards.)

The center three connections connect the power supply

Other connections:
Middle connections:
internode
Power distribution
communication
lines of the two boards-- so that one single power
supply can power an array of panels.
The two flanking sets of connections allow
communication between photosensor nodes that are on
different panels. (Communication between the nodes
on each panel is already hardwired in place.)
These enable signals to spread to neighboring areas,
causing visible ripples.

In most cases, all seven jumper wires should be added

between all board edges that touch.

X
End-to-end connections also have No, don’t even think about it.
Connections are symmetric; this is symmetric connections, but with
also a valid connection. different spacing of the holes.
 Step 21. Test Additional Panels
We’ve tested one completed panel. Now test the others.
In order to test another panel, we need to give it power.
To do this, we’ll temporarily connect it to the panel that
has the power supply jack:

Known working board Board being tested

(with power supply jack)

Temporary Jumper wires Jumper wires for connecting boards together:

Use 7 pieces of part #16, the zero-ohm jumpers.

Bend the jumpers as we did for the resistors.

(See Step 7 if you need to review.)

Place the two boards flush against each other and

insert the 7 pre-bent jumper wires from the top.
(Do not solder them in place yet.)

The friction fit to the wire jumpers usually makes

a good enough contact to power the board for
testing. These connections are easily pulled out,
so that you can do your debugging before final
assembly.

Test each board using the same criteria used

to test the first board in Step 18.
(Power cable)
 Step 22. Limits of connection
The standard power supply can drive eight panels. What if you have more?
To make a large display, restrict power distribution
from each power supply to 8 panels at most.

Unlike power connections, internode connections can be

Legend: made everywhere, even on larger scales.
Power connections:

Internode connections:
Example: 24-panel wall display that acts as one contiguous panel:

Example: Simple 6-panel table

with standard connections
between boards

Power cables from three

independent DC power supplies

Power cable You can use long wires, rather than short
Note that each power supply jumpers, to allow internode interaction,
Connects to 8 panels, max. even between panels that don’t touch.
 Step 23. Mounting the panels
The PCB panels should be rigidly attached to a surface.

In Step 4, we attached standoffs to the corners of

each printed circuit board.

The standoffs are 1/4” diameter, and are tapped through

with a 6-32 thread.

They are located exactly 1/4” from each

corner of the boards, which are 12” x 14” in size. 8 panels attached to a backing board
The borders of the PCB are quite exactly 12 and 14 inches
across, so you can use this to plan and make your table base.
Two suggested means of mounting the panels to a backing board
or other structural element:
1. Make an array of blind holes 1/4” diameter holes, and glue the
lower ends of the standoffs in pace.
2. Drill holes in the backing board with clearance for 6-32
screws, and screw the standoffs to the backing board.

Always leave 1/2” clearance above and below the circuit boards
for ventilation. Similarly, do not paint or apply any other coating
material to the finished circuit boards.
 Step 24. Final Assembly
Time to solder the boards together, eh?
The final step in assembly is to actually solder all of the panels
together.

Arrange your tested panels how you want them on whatever

backing board or surface they will be installed on.

Place pre-bent jumper wires in all relevant locations for

interboard connections, typically seven per board interface.

A standard 6-panel setup (illustrated below) has seven board

interfaces, for a total of 7*7=49 jumper wires.

Solder the jumpers in place from the top.

After soldering all of the jumpers in place, you can clip the
excess leads off of the back.

A neat trick, so that you don’t have to flip the boards over,
is to trim the jumpers to length before placing them in their
holes.
 That’s it- you did it!
Last-minute miscellany:
• If you need to provide external power, use 24 V DC regulated,
with at least 300 mA capacity per panel.

• It’s obvious, but don’t get the boards wet.

• Also, don’t feed them after midnight.

•!Post your pictures in the Evil Mad Science Auxiliary:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/evilmadscience/

• You should have extra components, like LEDs, left over.

Find something cool to do with them.

• These tables may be illegal in Boston.

• If you look straight down the lens of a white LED it looks different from any other
type-- even when it is off, you see a white phosphor layer, rather than a wire bond.
Knowing this could come in handy some day.

• We are very interested to hear your feedback on the kits and on the instructions.
Please do let us know about any errors that you do find, ways that we can make the
instructions more clear, or suggestions for future versions of this and related kits.
(Thanks!)

(Appendices Follow.)
 Errata
AppendiX A

Known PCB errors, board revision v. 2.0

1. IRD100 is actually labeled “IRD101”

2. DP203 is actually labeled “DP204”
 SUB-Kit:: 24 V LED Tester
AppendiX B

What’s this for?

It’s a tool that make it easy to test and match the LEDs.

When do I make it?

When you come to it in the regular steps of building the
table, or earlier if you like. It’s a good warmup.
Pad-per-hole circuit board
ZIF Socket
What’s in the sub-kit?
20-pin ZIF DIP socket
Pad-per-hole circuit board (appearance may vary)
Jumper wires (9)
Hookup wire, twisted pair, approx. 1 m

Wire Jumpers
(Zero ohm resistors)
 SUB-Kit:: 24 V LED Tester
AppendiX B

Step 1
Turn the circuit board so that the
conductive pads face down.
Place the ZIF socket in the middle of the board,
such that its pins go through the circuit board. “Red” wire

Step 2
Take the wire pair and solder the red wire
to the first pin of the socket.
Solder the other wire to the last pin on Other wire

the other side of the socket, as shown.

ZIF socket pins

(View from above)

 SUB-Kit:: 24 V LED Tester
AppendiX B

Step 3
Bend 8 of the jumper wires like so:

Step 4
Insert the 8-jumper wires on either side
of the ZIF socket, filling eight holes next to
the wire on each side of the socket.

Empty spot

Jumper wire

Empty spot

(View from above)

 SUB-Kit:: 24 V LED Tester
AppendiX B

Step 5 Empty spot

Bend the wire jumpers under the board,
making contact to the neighboring pins
of the ZIF socket, and solder them Jumper wire

together. Clip the excess leads off.

Empty spot

(View from above)

From below, after step 5.

 SUB-Kit:: 24 V LED Tester
AppendiX B

Step 6
Run one more jumper wire, between
the two (previously) empty spots, and

Run no wires
in this space!
solder it in place.

(View from above)

From below, after step 6.

 SUB-Kit:: 24 V LED Tester
AppendiX B
Step 7
Now, we need power for our LED tester.
(So, let’s steal it!!!)

In step 5 of the main kit, you put a power jack and switch in a printed circuit
board. Now, we’ll use them. First, make sure that the power cord is NOT
attached to the power jack. Look at the bottom side of the board. Identify
two tracks around the outside perimeter of the board. The outer one is the
+24 V line, the inner 0 V. Solder the far end of the red wire to the outer
track, and the far end of the other wire to the inner track.

When you plug in the power adapter and flip the switch, it will deliver 24 V
to the LED tester.
Plugged in!
Leave the LED tester attached until all of the individual boards are
working well, and then unsolder it (or, if lazy, carefully clip the leads to it). Be
sure to detach it before you begin soldering the boards together.

+24 V
0V
Red wire: Outer track
Other wire: Inner track
 SUB-Kit:: 24 V LED Tester
AppendiX B
Step 8
How to put LEDs in the tester.

Begin with the lever on the ZIF socket in the “UP” or

“open” position. That allows LEDs to easily be easily
placed in the holes.

Place five LEDs on the left side, and five LEDs on the
right side. Each LED should face the same direction:
Short lead down, away from the red wire.

Rather than looking at the leads, it is usually easier (in

this case) to watch for the flat face of the LEDs, which Flat faces of LEDs
also faces away from the red lead.

The tester will not work without (1) all ten LEDs in
place AND (2) all ten LEDs facing the correct direction.

Once all ten LEDs are in place, lower the lever on the
ZIF socket to clamp the LEDs in place.

(To remove the LEDs, lift the lever and pull them out
one or two at a time.)
 SUB-Kit:: 24 V LED Tester
AppendiX B
Step 9
How to test and match LEDs with the LED tester
Plug the 24 V power adapter into the power jack on the PCB and plug in
the other side to your AC power source. Turn the switch on, if it isn’t
already. (If you aren’t sure which way, that’s okay too.)

Put ten LEDs in the tester as per Step 8. If you are using all single
color LEDs, that’s straightforward. If you are using a Blue/White Mix, put
5 white LEDs in the left and 5 blue LEDs in the right. Throw the lever to
clamp them in place. At least some of the LEDs should light up. (If not,
see Step 10.)

A typical unmatched set is shown to the right, which is what your LEDs
may look like when you first throw the lever. While minor variation is Typical unmatched set.
expected, we must avoid major differences:
Two indicated LEDs need to be
1. If any of the LEDs looks very dim (even off) compared to the rest, put it swapped out.
back in the bag with LEDs of its color, and grab a different one to try.
2. If none looks very dim but one looks absurdly bright compared to the
others, swap out the dimmest (not the brightest) for one of the same color.

You may need to swap out a few before you get a matched set. Don’t
sweat it-- this gets easy after the first two or three sets that you match.

Note: A “rejected” LED is usually still a good LED, just not matched to its
neighbors. It may work fine in another set.

When you have a pretty well matched set of 10 LEDs, raise the lever, take them
out and set them aside as a set. We suggest keeping the sets of 10 in an ice cube
tray, a paper (NOT plastic) egg carton, an array of paper (NOT plastic) cups, or a
set of small drawers. Don’t try to preserve the order of LEDs within the
matched set.-- we want the order scrambled within each matched set.

The sets of 10 matched LEDs will be used in the main circuit boards. This
matching procedure eliminates most potential surprises due to misbehaving
LEDs.
Matched set of blue LEDs.
 SUB-Kit:: 24 V LED Tester
AppendiX B
Step 10
Troubleshooting & exit

Troubleshooting: If no LEDs light up in the tester.

Ask: Has the tester ever worked at all?

YES:
Maybe one of your LEDs is backwards. Else try putting the ten LEDs back in
their bags and try a different set, in case one of them was actually dead. (It’s
rare but possible.) Else, go on to the “NO” answers.

NO:
If no LEDs light up in the tester, try flipping the switch in case you had that
backwards. Else, maybe one of your LEDs is backwards. Else try putting the ten
LEDs back in their bags and try a different set, in case one of them was actually
dead. (It’s rare but possible.) If that does not light up, check your AC power
source and soldering connections in step 5 of the main instructions, and check
steps of the LED tester sub-kit.

That’s it for the 24 V LED tester Sub-Kit!

If you got here from Step 14 of the main instructions,
unplug the power from the panel and proceed to Step 15!