E-Limitator (Kit) on to your game board or a suitable PC interface. General Advice for building a circuit

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1 E-Limitator (Kit) Digital joysticks are divided by the number of directions that can be controlled with them. The most common are 2-, 4- and 8-way. It's uncommon that a developer has already built in a switchable option between different modes and if they did then it is usually unnecessarily complicated and expensive. Video games which only support 2 or 4 channels are difficult to control with a joystick which has 8 switching positions. The superfluous signals lead to problems, symptoms of the lack of limitation are faltering and stucking of the character in games such as Donkey Kong and Pacman. The controllability of the game suffers greatly and therefore the actual playing experience. The motion filter E-Limitator analyzes and filters the users intended movement of the game figure. This way the ease of play of 2- and 4-way games with an 8-way joystick improves noticeable. With a few steps the E-Limitator is built between joystick and play unit (such as pcb's, or a computer with any keyboard encoder). Refer to the instructions at the end of this guide. Immediately after start-up the ELimitator automatically detects the controller's intentions, filters it and returns the desired switching positions on to your game board or a suitable PC interface. General Advice for building a circuit The possibility that something does not work after assembly can be drastically decreased by a conscientious and clean construction. Check every step and every solder joint twice before you continue! Follow the instructions! Take the steps described therein and don't skip anything! Check each step twice: once for building, once for testing. Take your time: DIY is not a piecework, the time spent here is three times lower than those in troubleshooting. A frequent cause of nonfunction is an assembly error, e.g. used wrong components such as ICs, diodes and capacitors. Pay attention to the colored rings of the resistors, note that some have easily confusing colored rings. Double and triple checking helps. Also make sure that all IC legs are really fitting to the socket. It happens very easily that a leg bends during the insertion. A little pressure and the IC should fit almost without resistance. If it does not it's most likely a bent leg. If everything is checked then perhaps a dry solder joint is next to blame. These unpleasant occurrences in a hobbyists life appear when either the solder joint was not properly heated so that the tin has no real contact to the wires or if you have moved the connection during cooling just at the moment of solidification. Such errors can be recognized mostly by the matte appearance of the surface of the solder joint. The only remedy is to solder the point again.

2 90% of all complaints about kits are solder defects, dry solder joints, wrong solder, etc. Many returned "masterpieces" turned out to be a result from unprofessionally soldering. If up to here everything is fine and the subject still doesn't run then it's probably a defective component. If you are a beginner in electronics it's best to drag a friend for advice who is well versed in electronics and has a little bit of expertise and maybe some necessary measuring instruments. Note This kit was built as a prototype and tested many times before it went into production. Only after an optimum quality in terms of function and reliability was achieved, it has been released for the series. Take care that the components (if not stated otherwise) are soldered without space to the board. All protruding wires are cut directly above the solder joint with a wire cutter. Complete the soldering and the building carefully. Solder instructions If you are still inexperienced in soldering please read this instruction first before you pick up the soldering iron. Soldering is a job that has to be learned. When soldering electronic circuits never use solder liquid or soldering grease. They contain acid that could destroy components and conductors. Use a small soldering iron with 30 watt max. The tip must be clean so the heat can be easily derived. Meaning: The heat of the soldering iron must be well directed to the solder point. The soldering itself is to be made rapidly because too long soldering will destroy the components. Similarly it leads to detachment of the solder-pads or copper-lines. For the well-tinned soldering the tip has to be held on the solder joints in a way that both component and wire traces are affected. At the same time (not too much) solder will be added which then will also be heated. Once the solder begins to flow take it away from the solder joint. Then you wait a moment until the remaining solder has set and then remove the iron from the solder joint. Make sure that the soldered component is not moved about 5 seconds after you have removed the soldering iron. Back then remains a shiny silver, perfect solder joint. To ensure a perfect solder joint and a good soldering a clean and non-oxidized tip has to be used. Clean soldering with a dirty tip is absolutely impossible. Therefore take a damp sponge or a silicone scraper after each soldering to get rid of redundant solder and dirt. After soldering the wires are to be cut off directly above the solder joint with a wire cutter. When soldering semiconductors, LEDs and ICs it is particularly important to ensure that a soldering time of about 5 seconds is not exceeded, otherwise the component is destroyed. Similarly in these parts it's important to pay attention to proper polarity. After mounting each circuit generally has to be checked out again that all components are properly installed and poled. Also check to see if accidentally connectors or conductor paths have been bridged with solder tin. This can not only lead to failure but also to the destruction of expensive components. Please note that improper solder joints, incorrect connectors, faulty handling and assembly errors are beyond our control.

3 Assembling the components on the board Check the BOM (1) 1x Electrolytic Capacitor 47uF (2) Microcontroller (3) IC socket (4) RGB LED (5) Capacitor 100nF (6) Terminals (7) Board (8) Terminals (9) 3 pc. Resistors Capacitors Insert the capacitors in the appropriately marked holes, bend the wires slightly apart and solder them clean to the conductor pathes. Pay attention to the polarity (+ -) of the electrolytic capacitors. 1 x capacitor 100nF

4 1x Electrolytic capacitor 47uF (check polarity (+ -)!) IC socket Insert the integrated circuit (IC) in the corresponding position on the component side of the board. Note the indentation or other markings on the front side of the IC. This is the marking (connection 1) for the IC which is later to be used. The IC must be used in a way that this marking matches with the marking in the assembly print! To prevent the IC from tipping out of the socket while turning the board (for soldering) two diagonally opposite pins are bent and then all legs are to be soldered. 1 x socket 28-pin

5 Connection terminals Connect each 6 screw terminals to one unit (twice) and insert them into the corresponding positions on the board. Connect all 24 pins clean on the conductor path side by soldering. Due to the larger ground plane of conductor path and terminal the solder joint here must be heated a little longer than usual, until the solder tin flows well and makes a clean solder joint. 12 x 2-pin terminals RM 3.5mm Microcontroller AVR ATMega8 Finally the microcontroller has to be plugged into the provided socket (check polarity). Microcontrollers are very sensitive to wrong polarity! Therefore pay attention to the appropriate marking of the micro controller (notch or dot). Microcontrollers must not be changed or plugged into the socket at applied operating voltage!

6 RGB LED Now you have to build the RGB LED into the circuit. This 5mm LED has 4 pins. The longest pin identifies the common cathode. The following chart illustrates the connection of the RGB LED to their circuitry. The resistors are recognizable by so-called color-codes. 100 ohms: BROWN - BLACK - BROWN - GOLD 150 ohms: BROWN - GREEN - BROWN - GOLD Pin Description Resistance Terminal Pin1 Blue anode 100 ohms S5 Pin2 Common cathode - GND Pin3 Red anode 150 ohms S3 Pin4 Green anode 100 ohms S4 Solder the appropriate resistors to the legs of the LED. Put stranded wire from the resistors to the appropriate terminal clips. 1 x 4 pin RGB LED 2 x 100 Ohm resistor 1 x 150 Ohm resistor Test and routine check Immediately after completion of the unit a routine test must be carried out. The purpose of this routine testing is to identify hazards through equipment damage and improper assemblies. During visual inspection the device may not be connected with its power supply. Check again whether all components are properly installed and poled. Check on the solder side (conductor path side) whether there have been bridged conductors by leftovers of solder as this can cause short circuits and the destruction of components. Furthermore it is to be checked whether cutted wire ends lie on or below the board as this can also cause short circuits. Any deficiencies should be eliminated!

7 Connecting the board Function Connection terminals Joystick 1 input up J1 in up Joystick 1 input down J1 in down Joystick 1 input left J1 in left Joystick 1 input right J1 in right Masse GND 5V 5V - S1 - S2 Joystick 2 input up J2 in up Joystick 2 input down J2 in down Joystick 2 input J2 in left left Joystick 2 input right J2 in right Joystick 1 output up J1 out up Joystick 1 output down J1 out down Joystick 1 output left J1 out left Joystick 1 output right J1 out right Joystick 2 output up J2 out up Joystick 2 output down J2 out down Joystick 2 output left J2 out left Joystick 2 output right J2 out right Red anode S3 Green anode S4 Blue anode S5 Button S6 Important Notes: The switch S6 is connected to earth ground (GND). The push button switches the filter through the cycle: 8-way at the first operation, then 2-way horizontal, then 2-way vertical, then 4-way and at the end 8-way again. The button is not included. The supplied RGB LED has to be connected to the terminals S3 to S5. Depending on the mode set, the LED will light up in the following colors: 8-way = purple 4-way = blue 2-way vertical = turquoise 2-way horizontal = green Annex Saxamp only supplies electronic components and circuit boards and is therefore explicitly not distributer within the meaning of the WEEE Directive and 89/336/EEC (CE marking / EMC) compatibility. Only RoHScompliant parts will be delivered. If a buyer builds a complete model made of delivered parts or kits, Saxamp has no control on the actual design and implementation of the construnction and can therefore not be held responsible for concerned matters of finished constructions - the buyer bears the responsibility. If a buyer resells a kit in its original or modified form or a complete model that uses Saxamp-kits he has to obtain comprehensive information on all applicable legal circumstances and to respect those rights. The included source code is copyright protected. Even for study purposes it is not allowed to either wholly or partly be read, copied or modified.