Kit v3 Assembly – Open LED Race Project

Assembly instruction for the “V3 AD20” PCB version.

Please note: This version of the KIT includes two alternatives for the LED Strip Connector, described in the Step 2 below.

1: LED Strip cable

2: Speaker

3: J3 – Pin header

4: Speaker cable

5: R1 – Resistor

6: C1 – Capacitor

7: C2 – Capacitor

8: UEXT – DC3-10 pin connector

9: PCB

10: J4/J5 – 2 x 3.5 mm Stereo Audio Jack Connector

11: LED Strip – 5 Pin “Led strip cable” connector

12: IC1 – 2 x Pin header (15 Pin – female)

Note: In Color you see references for components as printed in the PCB

Insert into the PCB the 5-pin connector

Solder it to the PCB

Alternative Component

The default and suggested component for the Kit is the 5-pin connector (11).
If, for some reason, you want to install a Screw Terminal Block instead, skip this step and do not solder the 5-pin connector (you will solder the Terminal Block later, as the last step)

Please note: you will need another LED Strip cable – the one included in the kit is for the 5 pin Connector (11) – you may as well modify the one provided, cutting the female connector made to match the component (11)

Insert the Audio Jack connectors (10) into the PCB – J4/J5.

Turn the PCB upside down and solder them to the PCB

Insert the connector (3) for the louspeaker cable into the PCB (J3) and solder it.

Insert the 10-pin connector (8) into the PCB (UEXT) and solder it.

Note: You may skip this step and solder the Arduino Nano to the board. Doing this the assembled PCB will be “low profile” and fit the Slim Case (see C2 at Step 7 as well)

The two 15-pin female headers need to be soldered parallels and form a 90-Degree angle with the PCB to let the Arduino Nano fit smoothy.

1: Insert the Headers into the PCB (top picture)

2: Turn the PCB upside down. Solder the 4 outermost pin only (center picture)
While soldering, press down the PCB to hold the Headers in place.

3: Check if the headers are in the correct position (bottom picture) – They need to ‘touch’ the PCB for the whole length and be parallels.
You can use the Arduino to check the headers position but do not push it into the header yet !!!
If you push the Arduino all the way in and try to remove it before soldering all the pins, the headers will be damaged!!!

If the position of the headers is not right, de-solder it and fix the position.

When you have the Headers in the right position, solder all the pins for both of them

Note-Low profile: Mount capacitor C2 “parallel” to the board (horizontal) if you have soldered the Arduino to the board (for Low profile case). In picture at Step 9 you see C2 mounted this way.

1: Insert the Resistor (5) and the two Capacitors (6,7) into the PCB.

Be sure to respect Capacitor Polarity as marked in the PCB!!! The white part indicates the negative terminal (-). (Top picture)

2: Open a little bit the wires to hold components in place.

Solder them to the PCB

Solder the Speaker cable (4) to the Speaker (2)

That’s it!

Your Open LED Race kit is now ready.

Alternative Component – Screw Terminal Block

For us, the 5-pin connector (1) is the preferred way to go – The PCB is designed for this component.

Some Makers told us they prefer to use use a 3-way Screw Terminal Block (like in the previous version of the PCB). These are the instructions and hints to do this.

Only 3 pins of the 5-pin connector (11) are currently used for the LED Strip, so the 3-way Terminal Block can replace the default 5-pin XHB Connector.

Please note:

The 5-pins XHB connector have terminals of a slightly smaller diameter than the 3-Way Terminal Block.

To insert the Terminal Block into the PCB you will need push a bit harder than for the other components.

After inserting the Terminal Block, solder it to the PCB

Prepare the cable for the Terminal Block.

Prepare the Cable crimping a Terminal on each wire

and if you don’t have terminals available…

If you just Strip the wires and put them in the terminal, they are likely to break soon.

To build a stronger cable with a decent electrical contact you can wrap the conductor around the insulation (image 1)

After that carefully compress the tip of each wire with pliers (image 2).

This make each tip “flat” enough to fit into the Terminal Block (image 3)

Low Profile – Arduino Soldered to the PCB

This is an extra step you need only if you have soldered the Arduino to the PCB and mounted C2 “parallel” to the board (horizontal).

3D Printed Case

If you want to put your Assembled PCB into our 3D-Printed Case design, click on the Download STL button below.

In the pictures you can see the two available models: The one on top is the “Low Profile” to be used when you solder the Arduino to the PCB, and the other one is for the standard kit assembly, with Socket-mounted Arduino. The zip file you will download contains both models plus the STL for the lid.

Download the STL files and ….happy printing!

If you will design a new one and want to share it, contat us an we’ll be happy to publish it on this site!