Assembly Instructions for 24-Hour Binary Clock Kit.

Buy a kit:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AppleMountain

Step 1:

The clock kits consists of two parts: the case and the electronics. First we will assemble the electronics and last, the case.

Tools Needed:
Soldering Iron and Solder
Wire cutters

Step 2: Orient LEDs

Each LED has a flat side which should be aligned with the while outline on the board. I have made it very easy since all the LED's are oriented the same way :).

Step 3: Populate LEDs

I find it easiest to solder four corner LED's first. This will help hold the board up as you solder rows of LED's. You may place a LED in a capacitor hole temporarily while you do this but DO NOT SOLDER IT THERE! Be sure the LEDs are soldered flat and orthogonal to the board.

Use a wire cutter or low profile trimmers to clip the leads flush with the board. The green ones shown in the pictures are from the craft section at Wal-Mart and work great.

Next populate the LEDs one row at a time and solder them and trim. If you are confident, you can do them all at one time, but if you are new to soldering, one row at a time is best.

You should now have 20 LEDs soldered and oriented correctly. It is important that they face out straight to match the holes in the case.

Step 4: Add Resistors

There are six resistors in the kit. Simply bend the wires at the end and insert them into the R boxes on the board. They are not polarized and can go either way. Solder and clip the extra leads just like the LEDs.

Step 5: Solder Microcontroller

The BRAIN!

The IC is very easy to install. Please MAKE SURE the notch on the top of the chip matches the notch on the white outline of the chip on the board. If your kit has an IC socket, DO NOT solder the IC socket to the board. The IC Socket plus the chip will be too high to fit in the case. If you do not have a case, you may solder the socket to it. It is not necessary however to use the socket.

Step 6: Attach USB-Mini Connector

The POWER!

The USB connector should fit snug on the board. Solder the metal tabs on the front and right of the board for a good mechanical connection. You only need to solder the two outermost data pins for ground and power. The pictures illustrate what it should look like.

Step 7: Place Crystal and Capacitors

Tick-Tock Goes the Clock...

Now it is time to add the oscillator. The crystal (shiny box) and the capacitors (orange round things with legs) send 16,000,000 vibrations a second to the integrated circuit which counts them and calculates the time. It is very important to solder these parts well and trim the leads nice and clean.

Step 8: Add Touch Sensor Pin

If you have a case, you'll need to solder the right angle connector as shown in the pictures. Be sure to solder the short legs into the board so you can touch the sensor with the case installed. If you do not have a case, you can solder the pins straight in.