New version (Revision 4): ILSE Build instructions for Revision 4
Archive for old version:
0. Check Parts
Check if all parts are included in the package. There should be:
- a printed circuit board (PCB)
- a parts list
- a lot of bags with components
Look at the parts list and check that there is a bag of components for each reference from the parts list. E.g. there should be a bag containing the battery connectors with the reference BT1,BT2 written on it.
| Item | Qty | Reference(s) | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | BT1, BT2 | 9 V |
| 2 | 3 | C1, C5, C11 | 1u |
| 3 | 2 | C2, C6 | 0.1u |
| 4 | 2 | C3, C4 | 10n |
| 5 | 1 | C7 | 47n |
| 6 | 2 | C8, C9 | 22n |
| 7 | 1 | C10 | 1n |
| 8 | 2 | C12, C13 | 10u |
| 9 | 2 | D1, D2 | LED Superbright |
| 10 | 5 | J1, J4-J7 | AUDIO / CV JACK |
| 11 | 1 | J2 | EURO RACK POWER |
| 12 | 1 | J3 | CV Input Header Pins |
| 13 | 1 | JP1 | Freq Gate Jumper |
| 14 | 3 | Q1, Q2, Q3 | BC560 |
| 15 | 3 | Q4, Q5, Q6 | BC550 |
| 16 | 3 | R1, R12, R34 | 4k7 |
| 17 | 7 | R2, R21, R23, R24, R25, R29, R37 | 47k |
| 18 | 10 | R3, R4, R8, R20, R26, R27, R28, R36, R38, R39 | 100k |
| 19 | 3 | R5, R6, R16 | 1k |
| 20 | 1 | R7 | 20k |
| 21 | 2 | R9, R35 | 1k |
| 22 | 3 | R10, R11, R22 | 47k |
| 23 | 4 | R13, R14, R17, R18 | 100k |
| 24 | 1 | R15 | 1.5k |
| 25 | 5 | R19, R30, R32, R33, R40 | 10k |
| 26 | 1 | R31 | 2k2 |
| 27 | 1 | RV1 | 5kB |
| 28 | 6 | RV2, RV4, RV5, RV6, RV7, RV8 | 100kB |
| 29 | 1 | RV3 | 500 |
| 30 | 1 | SW1 | Power Switch |
| 31 | 1 | SW2 | LFO to Filter / Freq CV |
| 32 | 1 | SW3 | Resonance L/H |
| 33 | 2 | U1, U2 | TL074 |
Some similar parts are grouped in the same bag to save packaging materials, e.g. R7, R15 and R31. Also the bag with 100kOhm resistors will be marked R3...R39 for brevity but will nonetheless contain 10 resistors.
Always start soldering the components of lowest height first! For the ILSE diy kit these are the resistors. Depending on the parts supply situation at the day you are reading this manual you might need to diverge a little bit from the order of soldering components. E.g. capacitors C12 and C13 might be larger then the Euro Rack power connector J2. If that is the case, consider soldering them after the Euro Rack power connector.
A: Back side
Solder the components on the back side of PCB first, since these are the smaller components. Otherwise it might get difficult to solder the resistors in-between the long knobs on the front panel!
1. Flat resistors
- So take the bag marked
R1,R12,R34and find their markings on the back side of the PCB. - Bend their legs by 90° close to the end of their bodies
- Put their legs through the holes and bend them over on the front side, so they won’t fall out anymore.
- Now you can turn around the board, such that the resistors are facing away from you and you are looking at the bend over legs.
- Solder them: Heat up the pads on the circuit board and the legs of the resistors together, so the solder can melt around it. Once melted, wait a little bit until the solder sucks into the pads. Otherwise you might get loose connections that are hard to debug!
- Now take a wire cutter and cut away the legs after the solder joint.
- Repeat these steps for all flat resistors (items 16,17,18,20,21,24 and 25 on the parts list)!
- Do not solder the standing resistors yet (items 19,
R5,R6,R16, 22R10,R11,R22and 23R13,R14,R17,R18)
3. Opamps
The opamps are marked with the reference U1,U2. So these are the big black chips with 14 legs.
- Make sure the orientation is correct: they have a small dip on the left side of the label that is printed on them, this dip is also marked on the PCB, so make sure they align.
- Turn around the board again, so the chips lie on there back and you can see the legs from the other side of the board.
- Solder them!
4. Transistors
The transistors are marked Q1,Q2,Q3 and Q4,Q5,Q6. Their orientation matters, so put them such that the printed shapes on the PCB match with their bodies.
5. Capacitors
- Solder
C1,C5,C11,C3,C4andC8,C9 - then
C2,C6andC10 - then
C12,C13(in order of ascending height of the parts).
6. Standing Resistors
Solder the standing resistors now. These are the following items on the parts list:
- item 19:
R5,R6,R16, - item 22:
R10,R11,R22and - item 23:
R13,R14,R17,R18
Now you need to bend them to make them stand on the board:
- Bend only leg of every resistor by 180°, such that is is parallel to the leg on the other side of the resistor.
- Put the unbent leg of the resistors into the hole that has the circuit drawn around them to prevent shorts.
7. Euro Rack Power 
Connector
The Euro Rack power connector is marked J2 on the bag and PCB. Again, orientation matters! There is a small opening both on the body of the connector and on the PCB drawing. Make sure they align.
8. Trimmer
The octave scaling trimmer is the highest part on the back side of the PCB, it is marked RV3. Solder it now.
9. Battery 
Connectors
The battery clips BT1,BT2 serve as an alternative power source if you haven’t got a Euro Rack power supply yet. You don’t need to solder them, if you plan to put your ILSE in a modular synthesizer rack, since you won’t need batteries and they are just dangling in the case - potentially causing shorts. At least you should consider isolating the metal contacts of the battery clips with electrical tape if you solder them and put them inside of a self powered rack.
Yes! Back side is done!!!
B: Front side
1. LEDs 
Orientation matters also with LEDs! They have a long and a short leg. The short leg should go where the little dip is on the drawing on the circuit board. Solder them in and cut the legs as you did with the other components, but this time from the front side of the PCB!
2. Pin Headers
Solder the pin headers J3 and the jumper JP1 to the front side of the PCB so you can access them more easily. But it doesn’t really matter, it rather depends on how you plan to use your ILSE module. E.g. you might want to hide additional circuitry behind the ILSE PCB that connects to the headers. If not, then it is probably better to solder them to the front.
3. Audio Jacks
The audio jack inputs J1, J4-J7 go into the rectangular marks were the connections are written out:
- Filter In
- 1V/Oct
- Gate
- Cutoff
- Out
4. Switches
The orientation of the switches influence in which state they are on. The switches have manufacture codes printed on them, these should face to the side were the prints on the PCB are (facing upwards).
5. Potentiometers
There are two kinds of potentiometers: a single 5kOhm pot (RV1) and six 100kOhm potentiometers RV2, RV4-RV8.
RV1is the global tuning pot and should be placed in the according holes.- Press them in firmly, they will snap and then sit tightly.
- Solder all five contacts so they get maximum stability.
- Repeat for
RV2,RV4-RV8!
Congratulations: you finished soldering your ILSE module!