Power Distribution Box Build Guide
Added by iCON on March 16, 2023iCON
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The screw terminals holes were designed to be tight to prevent twisting when tightening the screws. Test fit the terminals in the holes, file or sand the opening if it is too tight. The PCB fit should be tight also. If necessary, file or sand the PCB so that it just fits into place inside the power distribution box.
The opening of the screw terminals look similar when they are open and when they are closed. Use a small flat head screwdriver to open all of the screw terminals so when the time comes to insert wires, you will not wonder why the wires didn’t stay inserted. The terminals on the left are open, the ones on the right are closed.
Install the PCB into the bottom of the box. If the PCB is loose, use a couple short M2 screw to hold it in place. Insert the terminals into the PCB from the top of the box. The front and back of the terminals look similar, make sure they are all oriented correctly (the center terminal in the picture is not installed properly). Once all terminals are in inserted, lay a piece of tape over the top of the box to hold the terminals in place. Turn the box over and solder the terminals in place. Remove the tape and remove the PCB from the box.
Insert and solder the USB breakout board to the PCB. To prevent the USB breakout from being soldered crooked, solder only 1 of the outside pins and temporarily reinstall the PCB into the box. Solder the opposite outside pin then reflow the solder on the first pin to relieve any stress on that pin. Remove the PCB from the box and solder the inside pins.
The ground distribution wire is highlighted in yellow. The thin lines show parts of the same wire that are on the opposite side of the PCB, the thick lines show where the wire is on the side you are looking at. Cut a 4″ piece of 22 (or 24) gauge solid conductor wire and remove all of the insulation. From the solder side of the PCB, insert one end of the wire through the hole circled in red and solder in place. Push the other end of the wire through the hole circled in blue. Pull the wire tight and and bend the remaining wire next to the terminal pin as shown in black. Solder the wire to the terminal pin. From the component side of the PCB, push the other end of the wire through the purple circle and pull tight. Bend the wire next to the outside of the left USB breakout pin as shown in black. Solder the wire to the USB breakout pin and trim both ends of the wire.
The “switched” Vcc distribution wire is highlighted in pink. Cut another 4″ piece of 22 gauge wire and remove all insulation. From the solder side of the PCB, insert about 1″ of wire through the hole circled in red and solder in place. From the component side of the PCB, bend the wire back through the PCB at the blue circle and bend the remaining lead next to the terminal pin as shown in black. Solder the wire onto the terminal. Insert the loose end of the wire through the brown circle and pull tight. From the component side of the PCB, insert the wire through the purple circle and bend the wire between the terminal pins as shown in yellow. Solder the holes and form a solder bridge between the yellow wire and the two inside terminals. Trim the excess wire.
The “always hot” Vcc distribution wire is also highlighted in pink. Cut a 2″ piece of 22 gauge solid conductor wire and remove all insulation. From the component side of the PCB, insert one end of the wire in the red hole. Insert the other end of the wire in the blue hole. Bend the ends of the wire next to the terminals as shown in black and yellow. Solder the wires onto the terminals and trim excess wire.
The resistance value used for limiting current through the IR LED assemblies is a frequently discussed topic. 6.8 to 10.0 ohms is the typical range. Factors that affect what resistance value you should choose include the variations in the characteristics of the IR LEDs that you purchased, gauge of wire you are using to connect the IR LED assemblies and the voltage of the power source you are using (is it exactly 5.0 volts?). The lower the resistance, the more current will flow and the brighter the IR LEDs will shine, letting you play further away from the screen. Too much current will cause the IR LEDs to heat up which can damage the bezel on your screen and possibly shorten the life of the IR LEDs. Resistors can be 1/4 watt or 1/2 watt with a tolerance of either 1% (preferred) or 5%. 1/2 watt resistors are overkill but that’s what I had available.
From ledcalculator.net: Supply voltage = 5V, LED voltage drop = 1.4V, LED current = 100mA, 3 LEDs => 8.2 ohm resistor
Insert a resistor as shown. To avoid short circuits, bend the lead next to the terminal pin next to the outside of the terminal pin and solder it to the terminal pin. end the other lead over the ground distribution wire and solder it to the ground distribution wire. Repeat this for the remaining 3 IR LED current limiting resistors.
The resistance value for the indicator LED depends on the LED you are using and how bright you want it to be (test the brightness in the environment you will be playing in most of the time so it’s brightness does not annoy you). I used a 47kohm resistor with a blue LED but YMMV.
Insert the indicator current limiting resistor as shown. Bend the lead next to the terminal pin on the outside of the terminal pin and solder in place. Bend the other lead over the ground distribution jumper wire and solder it to the ground distribution wire. Trim excess leads.
Cut 3 1″ pieces of 22 gauge solid conductor wire, remove all insulation and form them into “U” shapes. From the component side of the PCB, insert the wire in the holes circled in red. From the solder side of the PCB, bend and solder the wire next to the terminal. Bend the other end of the wire over the “switched” Vcc jumper wire and solder it to the wire. Trim excess wire. Repeat this for the remaining IR LED terminals.
If you are not building a power distribution box with an integrated switch, insert your PCB into the bottom of the box and skip the rest of this step.
Cut two 3″ pieces of wire but do not remove any insulation. Push one wire between the USB breakout board and the PCB. Strip a small amount of insulation and push the bare wire the wire as shown in red. Make a loop and solder the connection. Repeat this process for the wire shown in blue.
Insert the rocker switch into the opening on the box until it snaps in place. Insert your PCB into the bottom of the box. Solder the two wires to the rocker switch. You may want to leave the wire length a little long so you can easily remove the PCB later if necessary. Tuck any excess wire around the switch and bend the switch solder tabs down so the cover can be snapped onto the box.
Turn the power switch OFF and plug in a 5 volt micro USB power source. Using a voltmeter, make sure there is zero volts across the indicator LED each IR LED terminal pins. Turn the switch ON and verify there is 5 volts across each of the LED terminals and that the polarity is correct.