Hypnocube 4Cube User manual
Hypnocube 4Cube Instructions v 6.5, December 2013
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Things that go blink in the night
Thank you for purchasing the Hypnocube 4Cube kit! Kit instructions and a user manual are available for
Parts List
The following parts make up the 4Cube kit and should be in the box:
1. 5″ x 5″ x 7″ clear plastic case
2. 4Cube printed circuit board (PCB)
3. 100VAC~240VAC USB power adapter
4. Mini-B USB cable
5. 22 AWG galvanized soft steel wire x40
LED Bag:
6. Diffuse RGB LED x64 (+5 spares)
Discrete Components Bag:
7. Mini-B USB jack
8. 0resistor
9. 47Kresistor x4
10. 1Kresistor x2
11. 1N4148TR signal diode x24 (+1 spare)
12. 22pF ceramic capacitor x2
13. 0.1uF ceramic capacitor x6
14. 0.47uF ceramic capacitor
15. 10uF electrolytic capacitor
16. 12Mhz crystal oscillator
IC Bag:
17. PIC18F4620 microcontroller
18. PIC18F14K50 microcontroller
19. SN74AHCT574 octal flip-flop x4
20. ULN2803A Darlington transistor array
21. 22resistor array
22. 47resistor array
23. 68resistor array
Hardware Bag:
24. 12” red wire
25. 24” white wire (possibly black)
26. Toggle switch
27. Momentary toggle switch x2
28. 1” threaded standoff x4
29. 3/8” 4-40 screw x8
30. Rubber feet x4
USB Features
We provide a few sample programs to interface with your device and change settings, control the Cube from
your own application, etc. See www.hypnocube.com for instructions and sample software for USB features.
Basic Button Commands
The two buttons are named A and B. “A”
denotes A button up, “a” denotes A button
down, etc., for sequences. See the online user
manual for more details.
Sequence
while running
Description (Command name in bold)
aA
Next visualization.
bB
Prev visualization.
abAB
Lock current visualization. Gadget shows a brief
pause then continues running the visualization.
Executing Next or Prev releases lock
baBA
Pauses current image, resulting in a still image.
Executing Next or Prev releases pause.
abBbBA
Removes currently playing visualization from the
playlist.
Visualization can be reinstated through the console
editor or through a Reset. Lock the visualization
prior to removal to prevent accidently removing
the wrong visualization.
Button(s) Down on
reset
Effect
Neither
White screen
Button A
Blue screen
Button B
Green Screen
Buttons A and B
Red Screen
Buttons A and B, hold
Red Screen, then
blinking, then Reset
Gadget
Hypnocube 4Cube Instructions v 6.5, December 2013
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Introduction
This is the instructions for building the 4×4×4 “4Cube”kit.
The three main parts are titled “The Good”, “The Bad” and “The Ugly”.
In “The Good” we construct the circuit board. This should be similar to any other electronics kit.
In “The Bad” we will construct four planes of LEDs, each being a 4×4 grid. This is the hardest part of the kit.
In “The Ugly” we will attach the LEDs to the PCB, testing as you go, and finally put it all together in the case.
Tools
You will need the following minimum set of tools:
1. Soldering iron. Any iron can work, but a nicer one will make the job a lot easier.
2. Solder - we recommend 63/37 Sn/Pb rosin core. All normal electronics solders should work fine for the
PCB, but the wire lattice can be quite particular (see page 17 for more details.)
3. Hardened wire cutter. Take care not to damage a delicate pair on the steel lattice wire.
4. Wire strippers (for 24 AWG wire).
5. Needle nose pliers.
6. Small Phillips screwdriver.
To make the jig you'll also need one of the following:
1. Cardboard for making a poor jig.
2. Wood and wood tools for making a good jig.
Disclaimers!
Before you begin, some items to note:
1. READ EVERYTHING IN THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE YOU START! You will make a much
nicer cube by knowing where steps are leading before constructing items. The instructions attempt to
make the kit foolproof, but we all know that is impossible :) Don’t become a FAQ entry.
2. One good idea is to print out the instructions and cross off each paragraph as you finish it, to ensure you
don’t miss a sentence or instruction step. This can save you trouble later.
3. This kit assumes you have built electronic kits before, and are proficient at soldering items to a circuit
board. Chips and LEDs can be damaged from ESD and too much heat, so make sure you are properly
grounded and don’t hold the iron on the leads too long. Make sure all solder joints connect well.
4. Many of the parts in this kit require correct orientation (rotation). When mentioned there is a right way
and a wrong way to connect something, both of which look similar. Be sure to have them correctly
positioned before soldering.
5. The LEDs are difficult to bend correctly. Make sure you are EXTREMELY diligent in bending them
correctly.
6. Plan on spending some time constructing the kit. Chris’s first (and only) kit build took him about 10
hours, over three nights. Gene, with much experience (having constructed all others) can build one in
about four hours. We have heard from a number of first-time builders who report from 6 –12 hours.
Plan on setting aside at least that much time.
For a look at the finished cube see Figure 77.
Good luck :)
Hypnocube 4Cube Instructions v 6.5, December 2013
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Part 1: The Good
Part one is assembling the controller PCB. This should be straightforward for anyone who has done PCB work;
there's nothing exotic here.
Estimated completion time: 1.5 - 3 hours.
We will start with the lowest-profile parts and work our way up, as that allows your working surface to hold the
parts in place while we solder the bottom. Besides that, there is no particular requirement for assembly order.
Step 1: Diodes
The first parts we will place are the 24 signal diodes. Orientation is
important here; make sure the black stripe on the diode aligns with the
stripe on the part outline. The diodes go in the three banks marked D0-
D7, D8-D15 and D16-D23.
Figure 2 shows the board with all diodes in place.
Figure 2: Diodes in place.
Figure 1: Diode
Hypnocube 4Cube Instructions v 6.5, December 2013
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Step 2: Resistors
Next we will place the resistors and a jumper masquerading as a
resistor. We have three resistor values here, 1K(brown-black-red,)
47K(yellow-violet-orange) and 0(single black stripe). The 47K
resistors go in R24, R26, R27 and R28. The 1Kresistors goes in R25
and R29. Finally, the 0“resistor” goes across J1. Resistor orientations
do not matter.
Figure 4: Resistors in place.
Figure 3: 47K(left) and 1K(right)
resistors
Hypnocube 4Cube Instructions v 6.5, December 2013
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Step 3: Small capacitors
Next solder the six 0.1uF and two 22pF ceramic capacitors, shown in
Figure 5 and Figure 6: 22pF ceramic capacitors.The two look very
similar so take care to not mix them up. The 0.1uF capacitors go in C4
through C9 (Shown if Figure 8: 0.1uF ceramic capacitors in place.)
The 22pF capacitors go in C11 and C12 as shown in Figure 7: 22pF
ceramic capacitors in place..
These ceramic capacitors are not orientation dependent.
Figure 8: 0.1uF ceramic capacitors in place.
Figure 5: 0.1uF ceramic capacitor
Figure 6: 22pF ceramic capacitors
Figure 7: 22pF ceramic capacitors in place.
Hypnocube 4Cube Instructions v 6.5, December 2013
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Figure 9: USB jack
Figure 10: Crystal
Step 4: Crystal and USB jack
The mini USB jack and the crystal both have similar heights so we’ll
do them together next.
The USB jack might be a bit tricky since it has a smaller pin spacing
then any of the other components, and the leads are barely long
enough to go through the PCB (it was, however, the only through-hole
mini USB jack I could find, and I figured many of you would prefer it
to the common surface mount variety.) Solder one of the large support
legs first, and make sure that the jack is reasonably well aligned, as
there is a bit of wiggle room in placement. Make sure that the solder
flows into the holes to make good contact with the USB pins. Also
make sure to solder the other support leg to give the jack extra support
during insert/removal of the plug.
The crystal on the other hand is a simple affair, and goes in the spot
marked ‘XTAL’. It is not orientation sensitive.
Figure 11: USB jack and crystal in place.
Hypnocube 4Cube Instructions v 6.5, December 2013
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Step 5: Chips, dips, chains, whips...
It's time to place some chips. When the chips are down....
ICs can be damaged by static from your fingers, so ground yourself as usual when working with static-sensitive
electronics.
The chips usually don't quite fit since their pins are splayed a little wider than the PCB slots. It might help to
bend the pins slightly before inserting. Use a flat right-angle surface to bend them all slightly and at once.
We will start with the 4 SN74AHC574N chips (Figure 12)
Be sure to orient the chip properly! There is a notch on one end of the
chip (to the left in the picture above,) and this should align with a notch
drawn on the PCB footprint. Note that two of the SN74s face the
opposite direction as the other two SN74s –make sure they are all
oriented properly.
It can be helpful to tack the chip by soldering just 2 corner pins in
place, and making sure that the chip is properly seated before soldering
the rest. Uneven seating won't harm anything, but may not look very
good either. It's also good to double-check that the chip is oriented
properly - you really don't want to be trying to extract one after it's all soldered in.
Figure 13: SN74AHC574Ns in place.
Figure 12: SN74AHC574N
Hypnocube 4Cube Instructions v 6.5, December 2013
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Next do the ULN2803A (Figure 14.) Again, note the orientation –it’s the opposite of the other ICs on that side
of the board, so it’s particularly easy to get wrong.
Here’s the board with the first set of chips in place.
Figure 15: ULN2803As in place.
Figure 14: ULN2803A
Hypnocube 4Cube Instructions v 6.5, December 2013
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Step 6: Resistor arrays
These are just an array of resistors packaged into a chip which we
decided to use over discrete resistors for convenience. Note that the
footprints on the PCB still show the individual resistors. Since these are
just resistors in a fancy package, the orientation does not matter. Each
package is labeled with their resistance value; make sure you place
each one in the correct spot. R0 –R7 (the green resistors, and marked
‘G’ on the PCB) is 47, R8 –R15 (red, ‘R’) is 68, and R16 –R23
(blue, ‘B’) is 22.
The resistor arrays have been transitioning from a yellow package to
black. The 22and 47shown here are yellow, but chances are good
yours will be all black. The markings should be the same however.
The label on the 68package is impossible to read on the picture here,
but it’s there.
Figure 19: Resistor arrays in place.
Figure 16: 22resistor array
Figure 17: 47resistor array
Figure 18: 68resistor array
Hypnocube 4Cube Instructions v 6.5, December 2013
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Step 7: The PICs
We have two PIC microcontrollers, one running the main firmware and
the second handling USB duties.
The Big Kahuna is the PIC18F4620. Just make sure you put it in the
correct orientation. The tab goes towards the edge of the board. If you
plan to reprogram your PIC be sure to read the Appendices and use a
socket before soldering down the PIC.
The second PIC is the PIC18F14K50 and goes at the bottom of the
board. It has the same orientation as the 18F4620.
Figure 22 shows the PCB with all of the chips in place.
Figure 22: PIC18F4620 in place.
Figure 20: PIC18F4620
Figure 21: PIC18F14K50
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