Assembly
and Operating Instructions for HiViz.com Kits
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These instructions are written for the SPG2-BB
and SPG2-DU-BB kits. For these kits, the infrared emitter
and detector are housed in the two posts of the interrupter,
shown below.
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Parts:
Interrupter
3-conductor cable, 3’ length
1" piece of hookup wire (Cut this
from the hookup wire supplied with your kit.) |
Tools
and supplies:
Wire stripper
For soldering:
15-30 W soldering iron, solder, wet sponge, heat sink
(a metal clip will do) |
One end of the photogate cable will be stripped and
its individual conductors connected to the appropriate
legs of the interrupter. The other end of the photogate
cable will be stripped differently, for easier connection
to the breadboard. |
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larger view |
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At one end of the gray 3-conductor cable, strip the
outer casing back by 2" (5 cm). Then strip the
individual conductors back ¼" (¾ cm). This will
yield short lengths of wire that will be easy to tack
solder to the short interrupter legs. See the photo
to the left.
At the other end of the cable, strip the outer casing
back by 2" (5 cm). Then strip the individual
conductors back ¼" (¾ cm). This short length
will make these multiple-stranded conductors easier
to push into the breadboard. (no image for this)
Strip all the insulation from the 1" piece of
hookup wire so that you have a bare wire.
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The symbols and on the top view of the interrupter
below refer to the LED and phototransistor (PT) respectively.
The numbers refer to the legs on the underside (not
shown).
The interrupter has short legs, so you won't be able
to wrap the photogate cable wires around the legs.
Instead, you will need to hold the wire to the leg
and tack solder the two parts together. A clamp to
hold the interrupter may be useful for maintaining
alignment while you are soldering. Since you won't
be able to use a heat sink, minimize the amount of
time that the soldering iron is in contact with the
leg. We recommend melting some solder on the tip of
the iron first. Then, while holding a wire to a leg,
touch the liquid solder to the pair and let just enough
solder flow to make a bond. Avoid touching the body
of the interrupter to keep from melting the plastic.
See the series of photos to the right.
After soldering each connection, remove the soldering
iron and hold the wire to the leg for a few seconds
to allow the solder to solidify.
When ready to solder, make the following connections.
- Solder the black wire to leg 2.
- Solder the green wire to leg 3.
- Solder the 1" piece of hookup wire between
legs 1 and 4.
- Loop the red wire anywhere along the length of
the 1" hookup wire and solder them together.
Check to make sure that you don't have any solder
bridging between legs. If you do, you'll need to melt
the solder to clear the bridge. A completed soldering
job is to lower right.
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Solder in a well-lit, well-ventilated, open
area. Avoid contact with all metal surfaces
on the iron.
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Keep the tip of the soldering iron clean
by wiping it against a wet sponge or towel
before and after each use. A clean tip should
look shiny and silvery; any yellow or black
material on the tip will get into the solder
and may weaken your solder joint.
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Once the tip of your soldering iron is clean,
touch a bit of solder to the tip just before
use. This is called tinning, and helps the
solder run more evenly.
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Heat the connection to be soldered by holding
the soldering iron to it, until solder applied
at the junction between the two melts and
flows freely. This ensures the connection
and the solder are both hot enough to yield
a good solder joint. This should take no more
than 10-15 seconds. After the connection is
heated, try to get solder along the entire
length of the connection by briskly moving
the solder and iron along.
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Avoid touching only the solder to the connection,
and then the soldering iron to the solder
to melt it onto the connection. The connection
will be cooler than the melted solder and
won’t form a good solder joint.
- Let new solder joints cool for several seconds
before examining them. There should be solder
all the way around the connection, forming a
rigid joint. When done, unplug your soldering
iron and let it cool.
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If you're concerned about the wires breaking off
of the interrupter legs from use, try covering the
base of the interrupter with hot glue.
All there is left to do is to make the following
connections between the breadboard side of your photogate
cable and your completed photogate trigger. Then you're
done!
Black wire to 1J
Red wire to + column
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