Introduction

Thank you very much for purchasing one of our DIY kits.

This manual is aimed at guiding you step by step through the process of assembling an AtoVproject lx-euclid. If you have any questions or if you are missing a part please contact us at Support@atovproject.de.

Although the LEDs are color-coded, the kit is designed to be color-blind friendly (except maybe those with achromatopsia), making it easy for anyone to assemble.

Required tools and materials

First, to successfully build this DIY kit, you will need a few tools and materials.

Soldering Iron
- No need for a high-end iron. Temperature control is preferable to avoid burning the flux in your solder and leaving residues. With prolonged use, higher than necessary temperatures will damage your soldering iron tip. We recommend the TS-100 or TS-80 digital soldering irons for hobbist use. As professional tools we use the JBC CD-2BQF with a range of tips.
Solder
- We recommend lead-free solder as it is gentler on the environment and your health.
- We have tested a lot of solder over the years and we now recommend the Stannol Kristall 611 TSC - Sn96.5Ag3Cu0.5. For a good all-rounder we would recommend 0.7 mm diameter solder. This is a truly no-clean solder; leaving very little residue, a great finish and with odorless flux fumes. (They do not sponsor us, we just very much like their product and we use them in our production line -Bonus- Their customer service is great!)
Side cutter
- We like flush cutters but side cutters will also work. Any cheap cutters will do but higher quality tools will last longer. Knipex is our go to in the workshop
Multimeter
- This is important to have for testing and troubleshooting. Use a multimeter with continuity mode. Our reliable and inexpensive multimeter recommendation is the ANENG AN8009. If you are in the market for a professional tool, we use the Brymen BM867s (or BM869s if you need temperature probing)
Flux (optional but recommended)
- Liquid no-clean flux is sufficient for such a build. In our workshop we use Stannol 32-10/i no-clean flux pen.
Oscilloscope (optional, could be a good investment if you want to get serious into electronics)
- We use the Siglent SDS1104X-E which has been fulfilling our needs until now. Unfortunately, we don't have experience with cheaper oscilloscopes. But I would recommend getting a digital one instead of analog as they have measuring tools, memory, take snapshots, can decode digital signals etc… Good oscilloscopes are expensive and this one is a great budget option.

Secondly, to build this kit you need to know how to solder. If you want to learn how to solder, our recommendation is to purchase an inexpensive DIY kit from your local electronics shop. This will allow you to train yourself at soldering and build confidence before building a more complex kit.

If you need a small refresh on soldering techniques, here is a tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qps9woUGkvI

Opening the kit

The kit should contain:

1 x Aluminium panel
1 x PCB populated with SMD components
1 x Touchplate PCB
1 x flat flex cable 5 cm
1 x bag of parts
1 x 3d printed plastic ring
1 x Eurorack power cable

Open the bag lx-euclid Parts. Make sure this bag contains the following.

5 x M3 screws
10 x jacks + nuts
6 x LED buttons
1 x 90° 2*5 header
2 x 90° 3 pin header
1 x SMD 2*6 header
1 x SMD 2*6 socket
1 yellow LED
1 Red LED
1 Blue LED
1 Turquoise LED

Check if the kit is complete as well the state of the provided parts. We inspect inspect everything in the workshop but it's possible that damages occur during shipping. If there are any obvious defect on any of the parts provided please contact us, we will provide a replacement.

Part 1 - Touchpad SMT header

The first step is to solder the SMD header and socket. DO NOT PANIC! Despite being SMD, these parts are big enough to be handled without tweezers.

It is important that this step is done with a good amount of precision. Therefore take plenty of time correcting the position of the header so that everything aligns well at the end.

We included a few little videos to guide you in the soldering procedure for this part. Please see below.

Part 2 - Main board SMT Socket

The procedure to solder the SMT socket onto the main board is very much the same as the header on the touchplate.

Put some solder on one pad, reheat the solder and place the socket, solder the other side and adjust the position of the socket by reheating the pad, finally solder the rest of the pads.

Part 3 - Through parts on main board

1 - THT Headers

Place the two 3 pin headers and the boxed 2*5 header on their corresponding locations.

The trick here to to secure the header by soldering one pin from the top side of the PCB and reheat the same pad to correct the position of these header by pressing on them with your finger. Finally turn the PCB around and solder the rest of the pins on the back side of the PCB

2 - Display

Preparing the display

First thing to do is to remove the tape that is on the threaded standoffs.

Connect the display to the main board

The display is connected to the main board using a 5cm flat flex cable. First start by inserting the cable into the connector of on the display assembly itself. To do so you need to use a pair of tweezers. Open the connector with the tweezers. Bend the blue section of the cable at a 90 degree angle. Insert the cable into the connector using the tweezers and close the connector to secure the cable in place.

Once this is accomplished you can connect the cable to the main board in same way. Make sure the cable is connected the right way around with the blue section up. See the picture :

Finally, secure the display in place using four M3 screws.

3 - Interface components

First start by placing the led switches. Please note that these are polarized. There is a painted mark on one of the pins. These pins go on the right.

Then proceed to place the rest of of the parts.

It can help to prop up the module a little so the legs of the LEDs have somewhere to go. A roll of tape for example does the trick nicely.

Note about the LEDs:

The LEDs are polarized and the long leg goes to the left where the + sign is.
Despite the fact that the LEDs are colour coded, we tried to make the kit colour blind friendly by using LEDs with different length of legs.
- From left to right the LEDs colours are Yellow (long legs), Red (short leg), Blue (Short legs), Turquoise (Long legs)

It is now time to remove the protective film of the display.

4 - Place the panel

Before mounting the panel on the parts. Start by placing the provided plastic ring on the back side of the panel. Then place the panel while holding the ring in place.

After placing the panel, ensure the ring is properly positioned before securing it. Misalignment could put pressure on the display and potentially damage it.

Finally, secure the panel using the last M3 screw and a nut on one of the jacks.

Turn the module around and solder just one pin of the jack where you’ve placed a nut. Then, reheat the pad and press the jack to ensure it sits flush against the board.

Next, adjust the LEDs to fit properly into their panel holes, then proceed to solder the remaining components.

Touchpad installation

Connect the touchpad to the main board, ensuring the connectors are properly aligned. Push the touchpads all the way in. The plastic ring has a small lip designed to help center the pads on the module. You may need to adjust the pads slightly for proper alignment.

For factory-assembled modules, we use cyanoacrylate (superglue) to secure the touchpads to the panels. If you choose to do the same, use only a very small amount, as excess glue can damage the panel.

Part 4 - Firmware upload and testing

Firmware upload :

Download the Firmware

Download the latest firmware on the GitHub project page.
- Latest: Stable and official release.
- Pre-release: Unstable, in development, with upcoming features.

Connect to Your Computer
- Use a USB-C cable to connect the LX-Euclid to your computer.
Detect the LX-Euclid
- If no firmware has ever been loaded, the LX-Euclid will appear as a storage device named RPI-RP2. In that case, skip to step 5.
- If it doesn’t appear, proceed to step 4.
Enter Boot Mode
- Press and hold the USB BOOT button.
- Tap the RST button and release USB BOOT. Both buttons are located on the edge of the PCB.
- The LX-Euclid will now appear as a storage device named RPI-RP2.
Upload the Firmware
- Drag and drop the downloaded firmware file into the RPI-RP2 storage device.
Install the Module
- Once the firmware is uploaded, place the module back in your system.

This process will upload the firmware to your LX-Euclid module.

Testing

Power Up in Debug Mode

Connect the LX-Euclid to a Eurorack power supply.
Turn on your system while holding down both the Tap and Config buttons.
The module will boot into debug mode, allowing you to check if everything is functioning correctly.

Testing the Rings, LEDs and buttons
- Run your finger around both rings and ensure that the indicators follow your finger all the way around.
- Check the LEDs to confirm they light up in sync with the rhythm.
- Ensure that all buttons are lit up.
- Press each button and check if the LED for the corresponding button turns off.
Check CV Inputs
- Send CV signals to each of the CV inputs and monitor if the voltages are being read correctly.
Check Gate Inputs
- Send gate signals to the Clock and Reset inputs to verify that the signals are being detected properly.
Test Outputs
- Connect each output of the LX-Euclid to a device that responds to gate signals and check that all outputs are functioning correctly.

These steps will help you ensure that your module is working as intended.

Any issues? Contact us at Support@atovproject.de

Part 4 - Final assembly

When everything works well, then you can finally install the remaining jack nuts and install your module in your system for you to enjoy!