Tim240z Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 Well I began assembling my Stimulator board today. Problem #1: I can't find any decent assembly instructions for the stim board. All the pictures of complete boards appear to be the old version of the PCB or something. Problem #2: I appears that 3 parts were not supplied (not on the pre-made order form?) the 2 little adjusters for the RPMs (1M pot, green body, and 1M pot, green body), and the little 3 prong "2N2222A NPN transistor", and the 9V battery clip (no biggie). Am I mising something, was the pre-made order form from the MegaSquirt site missing these parts, or what? Can I find these things at Radio Shack, or Fryes or someplace local? Also, the little electronics tutorial on the assembly website says that capacitors and resistors have polarity, but none of those items had any of the markings or unequal leads mentioned in the tutorial, nor does the board have any kind of + or - markings. What's the deal? The LEDs do have shorter -ve leads, and the instructions do tell which way to mount them. Thanks, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastzcars Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 Hi Tim, Sorry to hear about your simulator problems. But Frys would be the first place I would go. All the parts you need are probably in stock there. As far as markings. Capaciter should have an Arrow pointing from one lead to another , The Base of the arrow is the Negative lead. The tip of the arrow, Positive. Resister's don't have Polarity, they can be installed any way. LED's won't light backward's ,they usually have a longer lead , which is positive, but you can test them with a D cell battery , Depending on there voltage rating. As far as markings on the board, Thats a good one? They should have them?What did you recieve as far as documentation? Schematics? Component placement sheet? PM me and maybe I can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vashonz Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 a buddy of mine is an electrical engineer at Kettering University and decided to build a megasquirt. I sent this post to him and this is what he said "I already built them, my stimulator board is using jury ridged speaker Pots wihich are at radioshack, battery packs are at radioshack (just not on digi-key) and 2N2222A trans where replaced by PN2222A which is just a different shape" "plus I have a bunch of old 2N2222A trans from school" "My stim board is having problems with the LEDs and that's it" If anyone wants to talk to him further about this, I can get his AIM screen name to you, just PM me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 15, 2003 Author Share Posted June 15, 2003 a buddy of mine is an electrical engineer at Kettering University and decided to build a megasquirt. I sent this post to him and this is what he said "I already built them' date=' my stimulator board is using jury ridged speaker Pots wihich are at radioshack, battery packs are at radioshack (just not on digi-key) and 2N2222A trans where replaced by PN2222A which is just a different shape" "plus I have a bunch of old 2N2222A trans from school" "My stim board is having problems with the LEDs and that's it" If anyone wants to talk to him further about this, I can get his AIM screen name to you, just PM me.[/quote'] Thanks for the info. I did look at that PN2222A, but the shape doesn't match. 3 pins all in a row, the board has 3 holes in a triangle shape and the old part has a tab to locate it in the right position, the new part is just 3 in a row, so I don't know how to install it. Also, thanks for the Call FastZcars!!! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eric-z Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 I am also having trouble putting together my MegaStimulator . am I incorrect in using Pg.13 in the MegaManual to figure out digikey part numbers from the code on the board???? there are 3 places on my board that are clearly marked C1, C3, and C4, these are digikey part numbers 399-1880-1-ND for C1, C3 and 399-1882-1-ND for C4. my board seems to indicate that C1 and C3 are different parts(white outline is much larger on one) while the MegaManual says they are the same. In spite of this, I go ahead and put the pieces in, on to somewhere new... I go to put in the LEDs for the FIdle, Pump, INJ1 and INJ2... the code on the board is clearly marked as D1, D2, D3, and D4... I look up the digikey part number and stare at the part for a while then say "ya know, that doesn't look like it lights up...". I then later see pictures of the MegaStimulator and the board indicated C1 and C4 look more like digikey part number P4582-ND and C3 looks more like P4599-ND... the pictured LEDs also look like they would light up. anyways, I believe I will have my share of desoldering and then resoldering by the time this thing gets done if it ever does in fact get done. I don't know maybe I am just not capable of puting this thing together because I have just about no idea what is going on. I would really hate to have waisted $200 that could be effectively going tward my engine(or anything else for that matter). oh well, now I am just rambling(yeah, I was kind of doing that since the beginning). Now that you are all probably THOROUGHLY confused and are saying "what the H*** is this guy trying to say". I will stop talking... eric P.S. I'm truely sorry for everyone who had to read this... but I had to post it... a form of venting I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Eric and all, I really suggest you use the Megasquirt Yahoo group to get help. All the MS experts reside there. One suggestion, when all else fails, look at the schematic. If something doesn't make sense, look at the schematic to see how they connect. BTW, the LEDs will not light, unless the processor is running. I think I had mine wired in the wrong way the fist time too. I also had to adjust the series resistor value because mine were too dim (I used some LEDs I had hanging around). I think it's cool to update the HybridZ folks with your progress, but I suggest getting help through the MS people on Yahoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 19, 2003 Author Share Posted June 19, 2003 Eric, I used the stimulator directions from the Yahoo site. I've been somewhat successful: Here are those instructions: Megasquirt Stimulator V2 Parts Listing part description ---------------------------------------------------------------- CLT 10k pot, black body IAT 10k pot, black body O2 10k pot, black body TPS 10k pot, black body RPMC 1M pot, green body RPMF 50k pot, black body, marked 50k C1 0.01 cap C3 0.33 cap C4 0.01 cap R1 330 ohm res, 1/8 or 1/4W, orange orange brown R2 33k ohm res, 1/4W, orange orange orange R3 1.0k ohm res, 1/4W, brown black red R4 1.3k ohm res, 1/4 W, brown orange red R5 330 ohm res, 1/8 or 1/4W, orange orange brown R6 330 ohm res, 1/8 or 1/4W, orange orange brown R7 330 ohm res, 1/8 or 1/4W, orange orange brown R8 1.0k ohm res, 1/4W, brown black red R9 100 ohm res, 1/2W, brown black brown IC1 LM555CN timer IC T1 2N2222A NPN transistor D1 red LED, fuel pump circuit indicator D2 red LED, injector circuit 2 indicator D3 red LED, injector circuit 1 indicator D4 red LED, fast idle circuit indicator F37 female DB37 connector 9V battery holder 9V battery clip 2 position terminal block power input Assembly Notes : 1. install LED's with flats facing the side of the board with the sensor simulator pots 2. Connection directly to the MS can be made by removing the faceplate on the DB37 connector. Otherwise, use an appropriate cable. 3. Although there is a 9V battery clip and holder, this should only be used for quick checkout of the MegaSquirt. For extended use, an external 12V supply is recommended. Simply plug the power source into the terminal block taking care to get the polarity correct. The stimulator power supplies the MS with power which returns 5V power to the stimulator. Use the double sided tape to attach the battery clip to the PCB. The stimulator will not operate independently so there is no need to disconnect the battery after each session to avoid discharge. 4. The RPM circuit has been improved to provide coarse and fine control. The combination of the 1M (RPMC) and 50k (RPMF) pots should allow the precise setting of rpm. The tach circuit now switches at close to the voltage of the input power supply rather than the 5V of V1. 5. Note that resistor R9 is heavily loaded in operation and will get very warm. If this becomes a concern for extended use, a change in value of one or more of C3, C4, R3, R4 can be made to lower the duty cycle of the tach circuit. See the LM555 datasheet for formulas to help determine these values. 6. The 10k and 50k pots look identical, look closely on the bodies to find the 10k or 50k marking. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eric-z Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 "I think it's cool to update the HybridZ folks with your progress, but I suggest getting help through the MS people on Yahoo" yeah, I was going to do that. I guess I was just venting(this seems to be a safe place to do it) I will wait to talk to the Yahoo people until after I start thinking correctly agian. "One suggestion, when all else fails, look at the schematic. If something doesn't make sense, look at the schematic to see how they connect." you wouldn't happen to know where to find the schematic for MegaStim would you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eric-z Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 thanks Tim, disreguard that last post. I read the first reply and then did some more looking around and by the time I posted you already did with me not knowing it. eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 19, 2003 Author Share Posted June 19, 2003 No such thing as far as I can find and I searched for ages! There are some pictures on the Yahoo files page, but it is of the Version 1 board as far as I can tell, because it doesn't look the same. I am going to write up some decent instructions when I'm done with it. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eric-z Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 hey Tim, I found this on the megasquirt site... http://members.shaw.ca/megasquirt/Stim.htm I think that is the correct picture(I'm not sure but it looks about right) and they also have a section about assembling the Stimulator but it really isn't enough information to build the stimulator based on those instructions. your instructions really helped me out, I was really screwed up. I had to take out all of my resistors and what were supposed to be capacitors. Now, I think I am back on track eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 20, 2003 Author Share Posted June 20, 2003 Can someone help me figure out which direction to install the NPN transistor? The unit that was supplied from DigiKey is a new design I guess and it doesn't have the locating tab on it! The one I got has a flat side ("D" shaped if looking at it from the top), with 3 connectors all in a row....the PCB has the three holes in a triangle shape, so there is no way of telling which way to install it....HELP>>>> Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 The stim schematic is here: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/megasquirt/files/Megasquirt%20Stimulator/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 20, 2003 Author Share Posted June 20, 2003 Thanks for the link, but that schematic is greek to me...I'm no EE! But I did find the answer on another page (component cheat sheet) here: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/megasquirt/database?method=reportRows&tbl=1 Even Digikey tech help didn't know!! Well I know now....thanks guys.... Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 The schematic uses an output arrow on the lead from the emitter. The NPN has the leads EBC from left to right, with the flat side facing you. EBC is Emitter, Base, Collector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zen Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 Tim, did you get those parts configured correctly? if not here is a link that gives you a better view of the leads.. http://members.shaw.ca/megasquirt/manual/mass.htm scroll down till you find the PN2222A listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zen Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 I got my Megasquirt assembled this past weekend, tested it with the stimulator, everything is set, finished the relay board yesterday. I have one of the engineers here use the lab and cut my face plates to fit. Now I just need to look up and order enough wiring to wire it up. Of course wiring the system up is going to be the hardest part. I've looked at the haynes manual which has a EFI harness drawing but didn't really get a good feel for whats what! I know one user said he pulled his entire harness and re-wired it for the megasquirt. That would be the way to go I think. what a job that must of been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted July 15, 2003 Author Share Posted July 15, 2003 Tim' date=' did you get those parts configured correctly? if not here is a link that gives you a better view of the leads.. http://members.shaw.ca/megasquirt/manual/mass.htm scroll down till you find the PN2222A listed.[/quote'] Yeah, I got everything together, but I can't get my laptop (running the MS application) to see the board!! I am thoroughly frustrated and haven't touched it in weeks!! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zen Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 Are you sure the com cable is not a cross over cable? Im assuming you checked to make sure your cable was plugged into com1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted July 15, 2003 Author Share Posted July 15, 2003 Are you sure the com cable is not a cross over cable? Im assuming you checked to make sure your cable was plugged into com1? The cable is straight thru, and have tested connectivity at each terminal on both ends of the cable (with my multimeter set to Ohms). It also tests ok when the laptop is connected to the MS board with no processor in place (using the jumper between pins on the processor socket and using Hyperterminal). But when I plug in the processor and connect everything up and launch the MS application, I don't get any action on the Runtime display!!! I have tried various com port setting etc....and two seperate laptops, one on W95, one on W2K!! ARGGGGGGG Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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