Manual SSC4

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Lynx Smart String Controller V4 Manual


SSCv4-Finish.jpg


Introduction

Thank you for choosing to build the Lynx Smart String Controller V4. I believe you will be happy with your choice. The SSC is designed to be both a fun project and and very cost effective way to add RGB lighting to your equipment list.


WARNING! This Device has been design for personal use as a means of education and entertainment. As such it is not rated, tested, or approved for any use and I assume no responsibility in the use or operation of this equipment or for the accuracy of any information made on part of itself. This device has been design for my use and my use only. This is simply an explanation of how I built my own personal one for informational purposes. I make no warranties written or otherwise to it. It should be considered an experimental device with possible unknown characteristics.


Please use static precautions in the handling of these parts. If you are not familiar in them please research on the internet prior to handling them. You can damage you parts with improper handling!


Preparing to Build

The next thing we want is to make sure you are up to speed on soldering and electrostatic protection of the components in your kit. If you are not an experienced printed circuit builder I recommend you visit the site:

http://curiousinventor.com/guides/How_To_Solder

And check out there extremely good video on soldering correctly. Even if you are an expert it is a good video to watch.

Another issue you must be aware of is that some electronic components can be damaged easily by electrostatic charges that can build up in you or your equipment. We have all been shocked by walking on carpet and grabbing a door knob before. This is electrostatic charge in action. It takes much less than this to hurt some of our parts. If you are unfamiliar with procedures to protect from this please use the internet to research it before opening your parts up. You can damage your parts if handled wrong!

You will need a few tools that do not come with your kit to build the SS Controller. You will need a good soldering iron. I can not stress enough that a good soldering iron makes a big difference in these projects. The little 15w cheap irons are more apt to hurt your parts by taking too long to get the parts up to soldering temperature than a good iron which can bring it up to temp very fast. Remember it is more how long you keep the part hot than it is how hot you get it within reasonable soldering temperatures. A good soldering iron can be had for very reasonable amounts of money. You can purchase one for $30 to $60 dollars. Most anything that is called a soldering station where there is a temperature control separate from the iron itself will more than likely be fine but make sure it is rated for more than 15 watts.

Solder Stations:

Another recommended Solder Station is the MPJA 302A is has a digital temperature readout


What ever you get make sure and get 4 - 5 extra tips for it. It is an opinion thing but I prefer and find most prefer Chisel tips. get a couple .8 and a few 1.6 to see which you like and then you are ready to go. The tips do wear out and need replacement from time to time. I can build maybe 4 to 8 big controllers (FS, Etc) with a single tip but when you are learning you will use them up faster.

You need solder so buy some. I recommend the .032 size as the larger sizes tend to cause you to put too much solder on. How much? Go ahead and get a 1 lb spool as it’s cheaper in large volume and you will go through it faster than you think. Make sure you are getting rosin core for electronics they make some solder for plumbing that has acid as the core this is a bad mistake to make.

You need some work area to work with good lighting. Do not attempt to solder circuit boards in poorly lighted areas. If you wear reading glasses go get them you will want them I promise you. I recommend a set of helping hands like this: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2104639&cp=&parentPage=search

NOTE: This new version of the SSC uses parts that look similar but are different PLEASE pay attention to the part numbers on the bag and the silk screen on the board

Example there are two different types of yellow capacitors but they look identical.


Do NOT dump the parts out of the bag... once the capacitors get mixed up, it will be nearly impossible to identify the differences except by microscope and the tiny numbers.

Step 1 - .1uf Capacitor

SSCv4-1.jpg

Install two .1uf capacitors as shown above. They have no polarity so you can put them in any direction. Flip the pcb and solder them in then trim the excess leads off short.
NOTE: .1uf capacitor is very similar to the 10pf capacitor. Be sure and install the correct ones in these locations
In the first COOP, the bag containing the parts is labeled: "40 KAR" (hand-written)

Step 2 - 10pf Capacitor

SSCv4-2.jpg

Install two 10pf capacitors as shown above. They have no polarity so you can put them in any direction. Flip the pcb and solder them in then trim the excess leads off short.
NOTE: 10pf capacitor is very similar to the .1uf capacitor. Be sure and install the correct ones in these locations
In the first COOP, the bag containing the parts is labeled: "581-SA102A100JAR" (printed) "40" (hand-written)

Step 3 - 330 ohm Resistor

SSCv4-3.jpg

Install the 330 ohm resistor (orange-orange-brown) as shown above and solder it in place and trim the leads.

Step 4 - 4.7k ohm Resistor

SSCv4-4.jpg

Install the 4.7K ohm resistor (yellow-violet-red) as shown above and solder it in place and trim the leads.

Step 5 - 120 ohm Resistor

SSCv4-5.jpg

Install the 120 ohm resistor (brown-red-black-black-brown) in place and solder/trim.

Step 6 - Crystal

SSCv4-6.jpg

Install the crystal in place as shown. It does not matter the direction.

Step 7 - 4.7uf Capacitor

SSCv4-7.jpg

Install/solder the two blue 4.7uf capacitors in place as shown. It does not matter the direction.

Step 8 - Chip Sockets

SSCv4-8.jpg

Install both the 8 pin and the 14 pin sockets as shown. Make sure to put the notches in the correct direction as marked on the pcb. These sockets have kinked leads that lightly lock the socket to the pcb so you can turn them over to solder without them falling out. This is a nice feature but requires extra caution as the pins can be bent under the socket if care is not taken inserting them. Check before you start soldering that all pins are sticking through the back of the pcb the same. If not correct before soldering.

Step 9 - 5 volt Regulator

  • Note: This is different part than the one used in previous versions. Please double check you have the 5 volt regulator and put it in the correct spot
  • You might need to bend the pins to align it with the holes in the board
  • There are two other parts that look exactly like this one (see below), make sure you check the part numbers before soldering

SSCv4-9.jpg

Install the 5 volt Regulator, make sure the flat side faces the direction on the board

  • Note : The 78L05 (5v) is above the RS485 chip


Step 10 - 3.3 volt Regulator

  • Note: This is different part than the one used in previous versions. Please double check you have the 3.3 volt and put it in the correct spot
  • You might need to bend the pins to align it with the holes in the board

SSCv4-10.jpg

Install the 3.3 volt Regulator, make sure the flat side faces the direction on the board

  • Note : The LE33CZ-TR (3.3v) marked LE33C is next to the crystal


Step 11 - BS170 Mosfet

  • Note: This is different part than the one used in previous versions. Please double check you have the BS170 mosfet and put it in the correct spot
  • You might need to bend the pins to align it with the holes in the board

SSCv4-11.jpg

Install the BS170 mosfet, make sure the flat side faces the direction on the board


Step 12 - Pin Headers

SSCv4-12.jpg

Install the two headers on the pcb and solder.

Step 13 - RS485 & PIC

SSCv4-13.jpg

Now carefully insert the two chips in place without bending any pins. Make sure the notches on the chips match the notches on the sockets and pcb marking. Insert the blue shunt on the two pin header connected to only one of the pins as shown. This is it's normal position when you are not programming the SSC.

Step 14 - Prep Data & Power Wires

Cut the male end off of your pigtail as shown.

SSC-13.jpg

Mark one inch of the insulation and remove it without damaging the wires inside. This is what it should look like when complete.

Step 15 - Prep Data & Power Pigtail

SSC-14.jpg


Make sure to slide your end cap over the wire. The end cap is a standard 1" pvc cap with a hole drilled in the center of the top sized to fit the wire well.

Step 16 - Prep 3 pin Connector

SSC-15.jpg

Do the same with the other cap. You can connect the wires of the lights straight and so you would slide the cap over them or you can use the three pin pigtails offered from ray as in this picture. If you use the connectors I recommend you use the female end on the controller as show so you cannot short out your controller when unplugged.

Step 17 - Connect Data & Power

Now we need to connect the RJ45 pigtail that came with your kit to the SSC. Please pay attention to this step by reading it completely before proceeding.

On the SSC the four pads for the eight conductors of the cat5 stranded cable there is one side marked with a #1 on the left side.


Below the pads are four holes. The conductors go up from the bottom of the pcb through these holes first. These are for strain relief.


They then bend over and go down through the pads to be soldered. Try to keep them the same length so any pull will spread across all of them.


The conductors go in this order starting at the pad mark #1 on the left to the right.


1 - White with Orange Stripe

2 - Orange

3 (Positive)

White with Blue Stripe
Blue
White with Green Stripe

4 (Ground)

Green
White with Brown Stripe
Brown


This is very important as these carry power and getting them swapped will do damage as you will short out. Double and triple check before soldering.


SSCv4-14.jpg


This is how it appears when done.

Step 18 - Connect Nodes

SSCv4-15.jpg


Before going forward you need to slide you pvc housing over the SSC controller and down the Rj45 pigtail to the end cap you slid on earlier.


Once completed you can connect your lights feeder cable (make sure it is the input end of the lights) or your pigtail from Ray onto the SSC as shown. Make sure the wires are connected to the correct pad. They are marked as Data, - , + to show power and signal.

Step 19 - Flashing the Pic

Flashing the SSC pic. Connect your pickit (2 or 3 shown below). Startup the pickit standalone utility and load the new firmware from the wiki. Select the pic (PIC24F04KA200) then click on Write.
NOTE: The SSC ver 4 firmware is NOT Compatible with previous versions of SSC ver 1,2,3

SSCv4-Pickit2.jpg SSCv4-Pickit3.jpg

Step 20 - Configure SSC

Go watch RJ's tutorial video entitled "Smart String Demo 2" in the "Videos" part of the "Smart String" section of the main wiki.

To configure the SSC for the type of Nodes connected to it and the start address along with other options. Use RJ's SS Utility to select the Following: Make Sure you are using the very latest version of Smart String Utility. Otherwise you will have weird problems
Install the utility from the main wiki (not here). Then copy the updated EXE file for the utility into the folder where the utility resides (usually C:\Program Files(x86)\DLA\Smart String Utility. Replace the old one with this new file. When you run it then you should see the additional choice for grouping on the utility.

1 - Type of Node connected
2 - Mode (String, Hybrid, Nodes)
3 - Null Nodes (optional)
4 - Start Address


Now push the end caps on the pipe to close up your SSC. Do not glue your caps as you want to be able to access your controller to program it. I do not find that water gets in the housing as they fit snug just keep the controller housing off of the ground so it is not laying in puddles.


Congrats you have completed a SSC.

RJ