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board mounted stuff ?? up or down?

Started by add4, February 21, 2015, 12:12:02 PM

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add4

So i'm having this stupid question about board mounted pots and (rotary) switches : Am i supposed to solder they on the component side or on the 'under' side of the board.
For the pots it makes a difference.

Does it depends of the design of the PCB?
if i mount them on the component side, then should i have extra long legs for the pots in order to fit some caps under them ? I know that is required if the 3PDT switch is also on the board or the top of the pots and switch do not line up.

Also are there restrictions in terms of components that should not be put under pots in order to avoid noise of idk what interferences?

Thanks

GrindCustoms

It will usually mount on the solder side, just like pots or toggle switch.

Wich layout are you refering too?
Killing Unicorns, day after day...

Building a better world brick by brick:https://rebrickable.com/users/GrindingBricks/mocs/

add4

I do have the honeydripper layout in front of me as i write, but it's also true for other layouts..

micromegas

Quote from: add4 on February 21, 2015, 12:39:36 PM
I do have the honeydripper layout in front of me as i write, but it's also true for other layouts..
Then, you have to solder switch and pots on the 'under' side and pay atention to lug numbers.

This is important. Think in a volume potentiometer, in most configurations you want it to increase volume as you turn it clockwise, if you solder it flipped, it will decrease volume if you turn it clockwise. In other applications this is even more critical.
'My favorite programming language is solder' - Bob Pease

Software Developer @ bela.io

micromegas

#4
Furthermore, if the layout is prepared to solder pots on the component side (as I recall, none from Madbean, 1776 Effects, GrindCustoms, Stomptown or JMK are, but I might be wrong) you'll probably need potentiometers with longer lugs.

Here you have an example for potentiometers soldered in the component side (notice potentiometers):





And here Juansolo's Dipthonizer for reference:
'My favorite programming language is solder' - Bob Pease

Software Developer @ bela.io

add4

Exactly. That so why I ask. How can I know what side I should solder them ? Numbers on the silkscreen ?  Assuming the left leg of my pot (withat shaft up) Is the number 1 ?
By the way. Nice board. I dream of designing a clean looking board with everything on board like that. But I'm so afraid to mess up the dimensions that I never dare doing it. What is the plug in the top for? Power? Where do you buy those plugs? How about the long legs pots? Where can you buy those? Are these specific jacks? Low profile or normal ones? Also, do you need to avoid putting some components under the pots? Like electrolytic caps or idk. How do you solder the smd ics? And most important question ... What is it? :)




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add4

By the way. Thanks for answering in the first place ... And even more if you answer all those questions :)


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add4

I find it very complicated to make the link between the art and drill template in illustrator and eagle. 


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micromegas

Quote from: add4 on February 21, 2015, 12:58:55 PM
Exactly. That so why I ask. How can I know what side I should solder them ? Numbers on the silkscreen ?  Assuming the left leg of my pot (withat shaft up) Is the number 1 ?
By the way. Nice board. I dream of designing a clean looking board with everything on board like that. But I'm so afraid to mess up the dimensions that I never dare doing it. What is the plug in the top for? Power? Where do you buy those plugs? How about the long legs pots? Where can you buy those? Are these specific jacks? Low profile or normal ones? Also, do you need to avoid putting some components under the pots? Like electrolytic caps or idk. How do you solder the smd ics? And most important question ... What is it? :)




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The board isn't mine, is a FV-1 board from Ice-9 @DIYstompboxes. You can get one in oshpark :)
The plug in the top is for EEPROM programming I think.


Regarding SMD soldering, there are a lot of techniques and lot of questions have been answered here in the forum. For me the essential thing is a good pair of tweezers and lots of flux, but try searching smt or smd soldering here, you'll find lots of info.


About how to know how to solder pots: most of the time, you have to solder them on the down side, like on Juansolo's Dipthonizer but, as you said, silkscreen is a good clue.
If you take a look at madbean's standar wiring diagram (I recommend you to print it and have it on your desk, at least at the beggining) you could see how it goes:
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/tutorials/downloads/StandardWiring_MBP.pdf

1 is the left lug with your shaft up, and lugs facing down. Or right lug with shaft down.


As for designing layouts with everything on board, I find it a little unpractical (unless you're planning to make a really high run or get into production). It is really easy to mess it up .
'My favorite programming language is solder' - Bob Pease

Software Developer @ bela.io

add4

THE FV-1 BOARD IS AVAILABLE AT OSHPARK??? OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!! :)
how hard is it to program these things? looks like another project on which i can waste my time