Circuitmess Synthia Manuale utente
Introduction
The beginning
Welcome to CircuitMess Synthia build guide!
By following this build guide, you'll learn how to assemble your digital musical
sampler. With Synthia, you'll learn how microcomputers and other electronic
components are used for sound production; you will be able to create unique
music by playing with the pre-loaded sounds samples or recording your own
sound samples with the built-in microphone, and much more.
Age group
Like it says on the box, Synthia is designed for anyone who's at least 11 years old.
You should approach some of the assembly steps carefully, so make sure to have
an adult jump in if you need some help with soldering or tightening the bolts later
Synthia Build Guide
in the process. It's okay to ask for help.
Don't worry, though! We'll go through the assembly step by step and provide some
useful tips along the way. We'll give you a heads-up if there's something important
to keep in mind while assembling.
Assembly time
It should take you approximately2 hoursto fully assemble your Synthia.
Of course, the assembly time depends on your previous knowledge and
experience. If you don't have any experience yet, don't worry! It just might take you
a little longer to get into the groove and overcome the challenges in the beginning.
Skills
You don't need to have any specific skills before getting your hands dirty with this
DIY project.
The main objective here is to have fun and learn something new.
So hold on tight, read all the instructions, and get ready to have fun! This is a great
opportunity and your first step in your big engineering career.
Learning with Synthia
As previously mentioned, Synthia will teach you a few useful things in the following
few hours.
Here's what you'll learn:
How to solder and assemble your very own electronic device
Which electronic components are needed for digital sound production
About Digital-to-Analog signal conversion
What sound waves are, and how to synthesize them with electronic circuitry
How to code custom light shows for the built-in LED grid
How digital sound samplers work
How to record and edit sound recordings
What's in the box?
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Let's meet all the components that arrived in
the box!
Open your Synthia box and check if you have all the components. Make sure to lay
it all on a clean surface where you'll inspect if everything is there according to the
photo and the list below.
In case something is missing, please contact us at[email protected].
Send us a photo of everything that came in the box, and we'll get back to you as
soon as possible to resolve the issue.
Here's the list of components:
1. Acrylic casings
2. Circuit board
3. Plastic caps for sliders
4. Button caps
5. Encoder caps
6. Connector for the speaker
7. Speaker
8. Adhesive rubber feet
9. Screw roundhead M3x12mm
10. Brass standoffs
11. Screw roundhead M3x5mm
12. USB-C cable
13. Sliders
14. Rotary encoders
15. Pushbuttons
16. Headphone jack
Meet the tools
Mandatory tools
In this chapter, we'll explain what tools you'll need to assemble your Synthia.
If you have yourCircuitMess Tools packin front of you, you should be all set!
In case you got the Synthia kit without the Tools pack, this is a good time to borrow
some of the tools or purchase them.
The tools required are essential whenever you assemble, fix, or modify electronic
devices and are the tools of the trade for every maker/hardware
hacker/modder/electrician.
1.Soldering iron
2. Desoldering vacuum tool (solder sucker)
3. Soldering iron stand
4. A small reel of rosin-cored solder
5. Cleaning sponge
6. Phillps screwdriver
7. Needle-nose pliers
Soldering iron
This is the most important tool in a maker’s arsenal.
For Synthia's assembly, any entry-level soldering iron will suffice.
If you plan to dive into the world of DIY projects, you should consider getting a more
expensive one with more features. Many soldering irons with interchangeable tips
can be particularly useful when working with much smaller components.
In the next chapter, you'll find the instructions on how to properly solder and take
care of your soldering iron.
Soldering sponge
This small piece doesn't seem like much until you soak it in some water. It then
turns into a super solder-cleaning sponge! Use it after soldering a couple of joints
to remove the excess solder from the tip of your iron. Make sure that the sponge
isn't dripping wet or bone dry - it should be damp.
Diagonal cutter pliers
With pliers like these, you’ll be able to trim the legs of soldered components and cut
wires!
We prefer this type shown in the picture (Plato, model 170), but any other type will
do.
Needle-nose pliers
You’re going to need pliers like these when assembling the casing or when
plugging in some tricky connectors!
They’re generally helpful when doing some fine mechanical work.
Standard cross screwdriver
You’ll need this cross (Phillips) screwdriver to assemble the casing.
A standard 2.0mm cross screwdriver should do the trick.
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Desoldering vacuum tool (solder sucker)
This tool is useful when cleaning up soldering mistakes, but it isn’t necessary for
assembly.
If you plan on doing some hacking, modding, or hardware repairs in the future,
having this is always a good idea.
Additional useful tools
Helping third hand with magnifier
This could make your soldering experience a little more enjoyable, especially when
doing some more complicated projects.
Multimeter
A multimeter can be used for many things: testing tricky connections, measuring
battery voltage, testing resistors & capacitors, measuring the current consumption,
and more.
It’s a useful tool when you’re trying to figure out what went wrong with any
electronics kit.
Solder wick
You can use solder wick along with the desoldering vacuum tool to clean up any
soldering mistakes. Just put it on the wrongly soldered joint and press on it with a
hot soldering iron, then it will soak up the excess solder like a sponge!
Useful for fixing solder joints when they cannot be easily reached with a solder
sucker.
Assembly
Soldering introduction
The first thing that you'll do as a part of the Synthia assembly process is
soldering!
Have you ever done that before? If your answer is no, we suggest you look at the
following few links, where you'll find useful tutorials and blogs about soldering. It will
only take you 10 minutes to get into the zone and understand how it's done. Here
are the links:
1. Adafruit’s video tutorial featuring Collin Cunningham- A tutorial featuring
Collin Cunningham, a super charismatic electronics guru.
2. Adafruit’s standard soldering tutorial- A great and thorough video tutorial. An
absolute must-read, even if you know how to solder. Make sure to check the
“common soldering mistakes” section at the end.
3. Sparkfun’s video soldering tutorial- Another well-made how-to-solder video
tutorial.
4. Sparkfun’s standard soldering tutorial- A detailed tutorial made by Sparkfun.
There are several rules of soldering that everybody,
regardless of their skill level, should follow at all times.
Never inhale the dust and the fumes that can be produced by the soldering
iron! These can be hazardous, so please don't inhale them.
Never touch the tip of the soldering iron! Even if the soldering iron is turned off
or completely disconnected from the power source, there is still a possibility
that it’s very hot and, therefore, can cause very uncomfortable pain if
touched.Always keep it facing away from your hands. If you’re finished with
the soldering iron, unplug it from the power source and leave it to cool off for
at least five minutes before putting it back in the box.
Clean the soldering iron! The sponge is your best friend while soldering. Make
sure to use it often and clean your soldering iron if you wish to have an easy
and simple soldering experience.Carefully hold one part of the sponge with
one hand and wipe the tip of the soldering iron on the other part of the
sponge to remove the extra solder. Repeat the process until the tip of the iron
is nice and clean from the old solder.
Check your solder joints twice (at least)! Most of the malfunctions in the
world of electronics are due to bad solder joints, so regardless if this is your
first or 100th soldering project, always make sure to inspect your joints multiple
times before proceeding to the next step.
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