ELECTRONIC DICE & MORE | JAMECO PART NO. 2168368
Experience Level: Intermediate | Time Required: 2 Hours
This dice kit is different from all the rest of the kits on the market today. Many kits on the market only have one die where this kit has
two. When the dice are not being used as dice; it can also be used as a count down timer, light display, light display with turn off timer
and a one or two person laser target game. This makes this kit a great value!
This project assumes you can build the project from referencing the schematic. Point-to-point instructions are not provided.
Required Tools & Parts:
Soldering iron & solder
File
Wire strippers
Hot glue gun and hot glue
Drill
Hook-up wire
Kit Includes:
Capacitor, 0.022µF, 50V
Case, ABS clear top, 4.9" x 3.4" x 2.4"
Battery holder, 4xAA w/ PC connector
Speaker, round, 32 Ω
Capacitor, 180µF, 63V
Transistor, MPSA06, NPN
Switch cap, circular, black
Proto board, 2.44" x 4.13"
Resistor, 1/4W, 200 Ω
IC, PIC16F887-I/P, DIP-40, 14KB
Led, red, T1-3/4
Switch, push button, tactile, OFF-(ON)
Capacitor, radial, 1µF, 25V
Resistor, 1/4W, 1M Ω
Switch, mini slide, right angle
Step 1 - Dice
Use the schematic below to see how to wire the dice. Many of the parts can be hot glued to the inside of the box itself; switches LEDs,
etc. A larger/downloadable version of the schematic can be found on the product page:
http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/Products/ProdDS/2168368Schematic.pdf
Step 2 - Hand schematic
Hand schematic of the dice project which can be easier to follow than the computer make schematic.
Step 3 - How to layout front of case
Here is a tip for people who only have standard tools available. To layout the front of the box, use a blank prototype board with 0.1"
hole spacing. Use a pencil to circle the holes you will later want to drill a hole thru. Hold the parts you are going to use on the prototype
board to get an idea of the spacing and where you think the parts would look best in the box. Take the prototype board with all holes
marked off and tape it to the project box. Use a small drill bit that will fit thru the prototype board hole to start a pilot hole in the project
box. The hole in the prototype board will stop the bit from drifting on your box's material.
Step 4 - Face of dice
Use the pilot holes in the case to drill out holes for the LEDs and switches. For
the power switch, use a file to square out the hole. Use hot glue to hold the parts
in place. Remember to face the legs of the LEDs the same way so they are
easer to wire later. The image below is how the face of your dice may look. The
battery holder fits four AA batteries. The dice run on 5 volts!
NOTE: ******* ONLY USE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES SUCH AS NIMH OR
NICD IN THE BATTERY HOLDER ********
Step 5 - How to use the prototype board
Here is what you need to know when using the PICs prototype board. To have the resistor
span two holes; solder the resistor in place in an upright position. To have the resistor span
three holes; solder the resistor in place in an upright position. To have the resistor span four
holes; solder the resistor in a horizontal position. A protoboard allows lots of flexibility. From
pull up to pull down or having an output go through a resistor without having to solder more
wire to the PICs legs.
Step 6 - Things to remember
The LEDs in the kit comes with one leg longer than the other. The longer leg is the positive
side and is called the anode. The shorter side is the negative side and is called the cathode.
Don't forget the center LED of both dice does NOT go to ground. Because the LEDs do not
carry much power, you may wire wrap the LEDs.
**** ONLY USE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES SUCH AS NIMH OR NICD****
Step 7 - How to operate the electronic dice
When you first turn on the power to the electronic dice, one of the lights on the left die will come on. This die will show you what mode
you are in. To advance to another mode, press switch 1. To enter that mode, press switch 2. Once you are in a mode, the only way out
of that mode is to turn the power switch 3 OFF.
Enter mode 1. Press switch 1. Die 1 will flash and show a number. Press switch 2 and that die will flash and then show a number.
Enter mode 2. Press switch 1 and the center light on die 1 will light. This center light on die 1 is the only light on the timer that has a
value of 30 seconds. All the rest of the lights on the timer have a value of 1 minute. Press switch 1 again and the center light will go out
and the upper left light will light. The timer is now set to count down from 1 minute. You can count down from a maximum of 12 minutes.
Every 30 seconds the lights will change to show 30 seconds have passed. When all the lights have gone out, the timer will beep. You
can press switch 2 to turn the beeper OFF. If you do not turn the beeper off; the timer will stop beeping after about 50 seconds.
Enter mode 3. The lights light in delightful patterns.
Enter mode 4. The lights light in delightful patterns. The lights turn off after about 24.5 minutes. The dice are still using a small amount
of power with the light off in this mode. So when you get a chance to turn the power switch to off, you might want to.
Enter mode 5. In this mode the center LED of each die will become light sensitive. The die will count each time a strong light hits the
center LED on the die. You can use two laser pointers. Use one laser pointer for each die. Wave the laser pointer back and forth over
the center LED of the die. The first person to light all six LEDs on the die wins!