500EXT Assembly Guide

Safety Precautions, Warranty, and Disclaimer Improper soldering and handling of electricity can cause serious injury and damage to your property. Read and understand the instructions below before beginning your project. Follow the instructions, build carefully, and use the appropriate tools. Build at your own risk. DIY Recording Equipment, LLC is not responsible for any damage or injury resulting from the assembly or use of your kit. You are the manufacturer of your kit. It is your responsibility to turn this group of parts into a working piece of recording equipment. DIY Recording Equipment, LLC does not guarantee the success of your project and disclaims any Implied Warranty of Merchantability. Please visit the support forum for assembly support.
Damaged or Missing Parts All kits and parts are checked before being shipped to you. If something arrives damaged or if your kit is missing a part, please open a support ticket to inquire about a replacement. Missing parts will be replaced at our expense. Damaged parts should be returned for verification. If the part shows signs of use beyond what was necessary to determine that it was damaged, DIY Recording Equipment, LLC reserves the right not to replace the part.
Welcome to the 500EXT Assembly Guide

Thank you for purchasing a 500EXT 500 Series Extender Kit!

If this is your first DIY project ever, we recommend reading our Getting Started Guide.

Table of Contents

Required Tools

You'll need the tools below to complete this build.

Soldering Iron
We recommend an adjustable-temperature station, such as the $40 Weller WLC100.

Solder
You can use 60/40 "leaded" solder or lead-free. We recommend 60/40 because it flows better and is easier for beginners to use.

Wire Cutters
You'll need a pair of good "snips" for cutting of the excess leads after soldering.

Optional Tools

These tools aren't strictly necessary but can make your build a bit easier.

Multi-Meter
If you find the color bands on resistors a bit hard to read, you can use a meter to sort them with absolute confidence.

Desoldering Pump
If you accidentally solder something in the wrong place, a desoldering pump can save the day.

Assembly

Break Apart the PCBs

Snap apart the two circuit boards (PCB) against a hard surface.

Solder the Card-Edge Connector

Place the card-edge connector in the J1 position. Double check that the connector is on the correct side of the board: the blue, plastic body of the connector should be on the same side as the DIYRE logo. Once you've confirmed the position, solder the connector and trim the excess leads down to the solder joint.

Solder the Ribbon Cable to CON1

Place one end of the ribbon cable in the CON1 position. The ribbon should sit on the opposite side of the board from the card-edge connector. The ribbon cable should face down toward the card-edge connector. Confirm the orientation of the connector, then solder and trim.

Solder the Ribbon Cable to CON2

Place the remaining end of the cable in the CON2 position. Make sure that the blue, plastic connector is on the same side of the PCB that says "CON2" and "v1.0 2018." Orient the PCB so that the ribbon cable does not cover the card-edge pads, then solder and trim.

Complete!

Your 500EXT is now complete. To use it, plug your 500-series module into the connector as shown, and plug the PCB with the card-edge fingers into a slot of your 500-series rack. Orient the card-edge PCB in your rack so the "v1.0 2018" text is on the lower end of the connector.

You can use the pads above the connector to make sure power is getting from your rack to the 500EXT. Set your multi-meter to read DC volts, place the black probe in the "Gnd" pad, and place the red probe on the +16v, -16v, or +48v pads to test their actual voltages.

Final Checks

Before you wrap up, check the following things:

  • Soldering: Is every solder joint shiny and clean? If one is cloudy or misshapen, try reheating it for 8 seconds and adding a tiny bit more solder.
  • Trimming: Are all of the excess leads trimmed down as close to the joint as possible?

All good? Congrats on finishing your build! Have a question or problem? Drop us a line.

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