Strobotune User Guide
Contents
1. STROBOTUNE gt E 4 F P wm k H 4 Ce 2 e H ger ab La Ve KI Gs Sr Ba age 7 i X w at lt User Manual January 2012 Version 1 0 IRWELL SPRINGS ELECTRONICS Page 1 Of 19 Strobotune User Manual V1 0 Irwell Springs Ltd 2012 Kit Contents Your Strobotune kit should contain e 1x Hammond box 4 screws e 2xLEDs 1 yellow 1 red e 1x Strobotune PCB e 2x buttons e 2x CR2032 batteries e 2x button caps e 2x CR2032 battery holders e 2x 22pF capacitors e 1x PIC16F1828 microcontroller e 1x 100nF capacitor e 1x 20 pin DIP socket e 8x 620 Q resistors e 1x 5 pin header e 2x 36 Q resistors e 1x segment display e 1x 8MHz crystal e 2x 5 pin SIL sockets e 1x 220uF electrolytic capacitor Page 2 Of 19 Strobotune User Manual V1 0 Irwell Springs Ltd 2012 Tools required e Areasonable quality soldering iron with fine tip e Thin flux cored solder e Wire trimmers for component leads e Small Phillips and precision Phillips screwdrivers e Needle nose pliers for forming component leads for the box e Hacksaw blade junior hacksaw or similar serrated cutting tool e Drill or Dremel with low speed settings and 6mm drill bit e Small flat file sandpaper or emery board Optional tools e Multimeter e Oscilloscope for the box e 1mm or 2mm drill bit Electrostatic Discharge Precautions Some parts can be damaged by electrostatic discharge and you might not real2. 99 6 392 00 7 415 30 8 440 00 9 466 16 10 493 88 11 523 25 554 37 587 33 622 25 659 26 698 46 739 99 783 99 830 61 880 00 932 33 987 77 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ON OR Om E Frequency in Hertz semitones above or below middle C 1046 5 1108 7 1174 7 1244 5 1318 5 1396 9 1480 0 1568 0 1661 2 1760 0 1864 7 1975 5 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 ma m m m m m m m ee OM ee men 2093 0 2217 5 2349 3 2489 0 2637 0 2793 8 2960 0 3136 0 3322 4 3520 0 3729 3 3951 1 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 ON OR Om m The Strobotune has two buttons The left hand button is used to toggle between tuning selection and note selection mode The right button is used to cycle through the options in each mode In tuning selection mode there are 5 options which can be cycled through using the right hand button SW2 The tuning options are TUNING DISPLAY GUITAR DROPPED GUITAR DROPPED BASS Once you have cycled to your desired tuning using the right hand button you press the left hand button once to toggle into note selection mode Pressing the right hand button will now cycle through the notes in the selected tuning For example if G standard guitar tuning is selected the notes available will be 8 B E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 A sharp note
3. is displayed using the decimal point so for example G is displayed as Note that this symbol is also used for dropped guitar tuning in the tuning selection mode see table above so make sure you know which mode you are in On each right hand button press in note selection mode the selected note is displayed first for approximately 1 second followed by the octave number for 1 second The display then goes blank to conserve power Tuning The Strobotune uses a stroboscopic technique to achieve tuning On selecting a note the LEDs will flash at the appropriate frequency The two LEDs flash at the note frequency 180 degrees apart For example if A4 is selected then LEDs will both flash at 440Hz 440 times a second but each half a cycle apart Use the pointed part of the PCB to pluck the string to be tuned When the LEDs are pointed at the vibrating string it will appear as if 2 strings are present one red and one yellow LED is used for extra clarity When the string is out of tune the two strings will appear to be moving back and forth across each other The further from the correct tuning the faster they will move When the string is tuned correctly the two strings will appear stationary The amplitude distance between the two strings will die down as the strings oscillation dies out but they will not cross each other swap sides You will need to apply very small changes to the tuning peg as the string appro
4. aches the correct tuning In Tune Yellow LED illuminates string at this point in cycle a w w e Se am e Vibrating string iy keng Kg TS em op we wa n Wm WI Be Red LED illuminates string at this point in cycle Out of tune Yellow LED illuminates string at various points in cycle string no longer appears stationary User tuning setup The USER tuning can be used to enter your own up to 20 note tuning selecting each note in turn from 8 octaves CO to D8 To enter the user tuning setup hold both buttons down until the symbol appears on the display Release the buttons and the display will change to CO the lowest note in the Strobotune memory This is the note selection mode in which you select each note of your tuning in sequence starting with the first e To cycle through the notes use the left right buttons to move up down a note e When you have reached the correct note hold both buttons down until the display flashes e The first note of your tuning has now been stored Now the Strobotune expects the second note of your tuning Repeat the above steps until you have stored all the notes in your tuning When you have stored all the notes cycle to the exit symbol 3 times then release This is a special symbol and is found between D8 and CO Move to this symbol and hold down both buttons until display goes blank Release buttons and you have now stored your
5. e Take one LED with the flat side of the body to the right see below picture this is important using needle nosed pliers or similar gently bend the leads 90 degrees downwards as seen on picture about 5mm from the LED body Do the same with the other LED but with the flat side of the body to the left Fit the LEDs with flat side short lead aligned to the flat side of the D1 D2 footprints the colours can go either way round and solder in place Page 10 Of 19 Strobotune User Manual V1 0 Irwell Springs Ltd 2012 Once soldered you can gently adjust the position of each LED ideally they should point slightly inward so the light beams cross just after the point of the PCB where the string will be The result should look something like this with the LEDs just above the logo Finally fit the 5 pin header P1 and plug the PIC16LF 1828 into the DIP socket with the dot and notch on the chip facing the same way as the notch on the socket waf L Be H P BEREND E v F f SS f j j EET owe ff ag t i Insert the batteries you should see the LEDs flash Press the right hand button a few times and the display should cycle through the standard guitar tuning E A D G B E If there are problems check the troubleshooting section If all looks well then you are done with the PCB assembly Page 12 Of 19 Strobotune User Manual V1 0 Irw
6. ell Springs Ltd 2012 The Box You should have a fully functioning tuner Now you ll want it properly enclosed We ve provided a good quality strong attractive box or you can be creative with anything else that you have to hand If you decide to use our box you ll need to make two holes in the lid and a notch on the side You can improvise with whatever implements you have available but remember that the material is quite tough and can crack or scratch Working carefully with the right tools will ensure a neater finish Page 13 Of 19 Strobotune User Manual V1 0 Irwell Springs Ltd 2012 Ideally you ll have available a drill with 6mm bit Standard HSS for metal will work better than wood drills Also if possible a smaller 1mm or 2mm bit for the pilot holes Then you ll need a small hacksaw or hacksaw blade and a small file emery board or sandpaper Use the templates below If you re printing this document check that your printer has faithfully replicated the right measurements as shown in the diagram 44 mm Dh mm 16 mm EO E wn 3 3 20 mm 20 mm Cut out the top lid template and place it on the inside of the top Drill through from the outside of the top Drill slowly less than 100rpm to avoid melting the plastic We ve included two possible templates for the side in case you have the inclination and means to remove an oblong piece Simply drill out two 6mm holes and square off usi
7. ise it at the time We ve supplied these in an anti static bag Keep them safe in the bag until you re ready to install them When you do take them out handle gently by the edges with minimum contact If you need to lay them down put them on a non metallic surface such as rubber or wood and not on the outside of the anti static bag itself Try to avoid a build up of static in your own body You can buy special kit for this ant static mats wrist straps etc If you don t have any of these there are other simple precautions you can take Avoid friction between man made fibres for example socks on a carpet or clothes on upholstery Earth yourself regularly by touching a ground point This might be an unpainted metal surface such as a copper water pipe or chassis of an earthed appliance such as a PC plugged into an earthed socket but switched off at the socket If the air is dry the risks are higher Assembly Fit resistors R1 and R2 both 39 Q and R3 R10 all 620 Q and solder in place ZHMBZ69 G S G D a LS Fit ceramic capacitors C1 and C2 15pF and ceramic capacitor C4 100nF Also fit crystal Y1 this can go either way round r STROBOTUNE v1 0 ee E A Or O zl co Z Nr A Fit 20 pin DIP socket for U1 with notch on socket in the same direction as dot in footprint Prior to fitting mount the 7 segment display on
8. new tuning and are back in normal tuning mode To check your tuning is correct use the left button to toggle to tuning selection mode and select U then toggle to note selection and cycle through the notes using the right button to confirm that they are correct Troubleshooting PROBLEM ACTION Check replace batteries Check battery connections Check battery polarity No display or LEDs Check soldering visually Look for opens or shorts Use multimeter to check continuity Check micro controller is right way round Display or LEDs hang Unpredictable Replace BOTH batteries operation Buttons unresponsive No LEDs but display works Check LEDs are fitted the right way round Incorrect display but LEDs work Check display is fitted the right way round enquiries irwellsprings com Still no joy
9. ng hacksaw and or file Secure the PCB to the base with the two smaller screws Finally attach the lid using the two larger screws You re ready to rock and roll Using the Strobotune The Strobotune uses the Equal Temperament system of tuning and has a range of notes spanning eight octaves from CO to D 8 with the numbers after the notes being the octave in Scientific Pitch Notation If you don t know what equal temperament is don t worry tuning system follow the above link if you are interested to learn more it basically means it follows a common western The scientific pitch notation is shown in the table below For example the low E string on a guitar is 82 407Hz so the Strobotune displays it as E2 Octave Note C Db Ep D F Gb Ab G Bb A 16 352 17 324 18 354 19 445 20 602 21 827 23 125 24 500 25 957 27 500 29 135 L e es L L 4 a L 30 868 32 703 34 648 36 708 38 891 41 203 43 654 46 249 48 999 91 913 55 000 58 270 61 735 65 406 69 296 73 416 17 182 82 407 87 307 92 499 97 999 ke 103 83 110 00 116 54 ke 123 47 TITITITITITITITITITITIT nA bel 130 81 138 59 146 83 155 56 164 81 174 61 185 00 196 00 207 65 220 00 233 08 246 94 1 a E Se C 1 4 261 63 0 277 18 1 293 66 2 311 13 3 329 63 4 349 23 5 369
10. to the 5 pin SIL sockets and then fit with decimal point nearest the SW1 footprint as shown in photo and solder in place Tg STROBOTUNE v1 0 n e a L Page 6 Of 19 Strobotune User Manual Vi Irwell springs Ltd 2012 Take each battery holder upside down with the closed side facing towards you Using some pliers ideally needle nosed straighten the kink from the left solder pin Page 7 Of 19 Strobotune User Manual V1 0 Irwell Springs Ltd 2012 This is how it should look after straightening Fit both battery holders offset on either side of BT1 footprint with bottom holder leftmost as facing into the PCB as shown below and with each straightened solder lead on the inside of the other holder see bottom holders straightened lead visible on inside of top holder at the right of below picture Solder securely in place on both top and bottom of each pad heat the junction well until solder sticks to the holder casing Re Me iE KONT dC Page 8 Of 19 Strobotune User Manual V1 0 Irwell Springs Ltd 2012 Fit buttons SW1 and SW2 and mount caps onto shafts Also fit electrolytic capacitor C1 C1 is polarised so make sure it is the right way round the longer lead should go into the pad with the sign next to it the negative side is also marked with a gold or white stripe on the side of the capacitor see top of stripe visible in pictur
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