BCD Counter PCB Kit

This was a fun build and there are a lot of good lessons in such a small package. Unlike a lot of kits, the instructions provided are amazing. Lots of history and backgound on top of the step by step assembly steps make this really easy to recommend for any skill level. Packaging was nice and even had some extra care taken so you wouldn't mix up some of the parts.(i.e the tiny blue capacators) A quick build for those with experience (1 - 1.5 hours) but lots of options to modify and customize if you wanted. This was my first kit from Mixed Signal Development and I look forward to trying more.

This kit was a present for my 14-year-old nephew. Together we built this kit, even though he actually did all of it and made it work in one go. It boosted his confidence in soldering and hopefully sparked his interest in electronics even further.

A quick overview of the documentation: The table of contents I think is well organized and goes from explaining the basics of the theory, to then the actual labor aspect of soldering and testing the kit. In the introduction you can see some clear goals that the devs have set. Some recommended extras to have that aren’t mentioned would be a pair of clippers to shorten the lengths of some components once you solder them on.

The kit comes all the components, the PCB, a QR code that leads you to their website, some stickers, and a little sheet that helps you identify the components as well as determine the resistance of the resistors.

As I read through the documentation, one thing I notice is that the schematic doesn’t have a legend of what the components are called, for example this image here is a transistor. This is obviously really minor, and a quick image search can let you know what you’re looking at.

When it comes to explaining the actual diagram, I had a pretty easy time understanding how schematic and the inputs and outputs worked, including the purpose of the integrated circuits. Some of the explanations were a bit harder to understand for me especially when it showed some diagrams with the transistors, but overall, the explanation is done well enough to where you can understand the basics of what each chip does and why they are implemented. It does get a bit more technical at times and understanding that will depend a little more on your experience and exposure to electronics, and it may take a moment to digest, but I still find it as a good start to figure out what else I need to learn. I do like how the PCB design is organized as it’s grouped in a way that makes it easy to compare between the schematic and the actual board.

When it comes to following the soldering instructions they’re pretty straight forward. I soldered the kit the same order the instructions said and didn’t experience any complications. I did contact have to contact the devs as I got confused on one of the instructions. They responded in less than 24 hrs! Response times may differ.

In terms of functionality of the device I passed the continuity test with my multimeter, however my power supply isn’t working so I wasn’t able to fully test it in that regard.

Overall I’m highly satisfied with the kit, the documentation, and the customer care! I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to learn to solder and have something more interesting and useful than a plain solder practice board.

The kit arrived promptly and came very well packaged in a box containing all of the necessary items along with stickers, a key fob, and easy access via QR code to all of the necessary files. Building the board in the order suggested in the docs felt sensible and was very easy to follow with a couple of resistors and capacitors left over as spares. Whilst I could have built it quicker, it was great to spend a couple of hours over a couple of cups of tea to put together, with the anticipation that should there be any bad connectors, this would later show up as faulty LEDs. As it was, all worked perfectly. All considered, the board is beautifully laid out which makes it very obvious what sections are responsible for the various functions. The instructions also give a really indication of how the circuit could be modified, should a change in speed be desired. All in all, this is a fantastic bit of kit which is a pleasure to build where, if desired, will definitely help take you further in your understanding of similar systems. Highly recommended and a joy to spend a few hours with.

Wieder ein tolles Kit in der gewohnt guten Qualität vom MSD. Sehr gut geeignet für Elektronik Anfänger und Einsteiger in Digitalelektronik. Das Kit bringt einem die Funktionsweise von gleich mehreren Logikbausteinen der 74xxx Serie nahe und zusätzlich einen kleinen Einblick in eine der unzähligen Möglichkeiten des 555 Timers. Es fehlt meiner Meinung nach nur die Möglichkeit, mehrere Boards zu kaskadieren um einen mehrstelligen Zähler zu bauen. Vielleicht eine Idee für die nächste Revision des Boards?
Ansonsten super gemacht! Ich hatte viel Spaß beim Aufbau und kann dieses Kit nur wärmstens empfehlen!