Solid Wood Digital Clock

Step 6 Solder the Matrix

For this step, place one of each type of the LEDs in each hole so they wedge in place. If you used 2 5mm LEDs like me, then you will need to widen the the holes for the LEDs. Be careful when doing this, the drill bit can catch much easier and pull the board up, poking out the hole.

If you used 2 LEDs, then when you insert the LEDs into the holes, place the cathodes in the middle of the hole, so the 2 flat sides meet.

To start soldering, first bend all of the cathodes (shorter leads) down so they form 17 columns very close to the board, then solder them together.

To solder the anodes together first bend all of one colour's anode up and then bend them horizontally, so there are 5 anode rows for that colour. Bend the other anode colour's leads down and then horizontal, so they form another 5 anode rows.

Now solder all of the rows together so there are a total of 10.

The final part of this step is to solder wires to the rows and columns for the electronics to hook up to. When choosing the length of wire, run the wire from the row/column to where you want the electronics to be placed and add 5-10cm extra to work with.