Board Assembly Questions. . .

This forum is for general questions you have on assembling and troubleshooting your GPIO board. You can purchase a GPIO board at DIYAutoTune now!
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tjabo
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:40 am

Board Assembly Questions. . .

Post by tjabo »

Got my board yesterday (thanks Lance!), so I started through the assembly manual again with the intention of getting started. One problem I have is that I couldn't find 5/8" wide aluminum at my local Tractor Supply Company. Unless someone has a good suggestion of where to get some, I'll be "ripping" down some 3/4", which shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'll also give my local electronics store (not Radio Shack) a call to see if they have some too. Oh, in case this is still a concern or an unknown, my board fits perfectly (width wise) in the standard size case. I haven't confirmed the length issue yet, but I think I read that wasn't a concern anymore with the V2 board?

Second dumb question, for the mounting of U1 (voltage regulator), I'm guessing it doesn't really matter, but the diagram shows a piece of aluminum heat sink material sandwiched between the board and the LM2937ET-5.0-ND. Is it recommended to cut a short piece of aluminum and mount it this way so that it can absorb and dissipate some of the heat from the component, or is it unnecessary, and better to just mount it to the board?

Thanks in advance!

Thad
Turbo Neon, converting to 41te trans sometime?
Bernard Fife
Posts: 1696
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2008 1:28 pm

Re: Board Assembly Questions. . .

Post by Bernard Fife »

Thad,

Yeah, 5/8" wide aluminum is a tough find, and I did what you propose. The board does fit in the case perfectly (just like a V3 board). The problem is that the flange of the Ampseal connector sticks out past the end of the board, and is designed to be behind the end-plate. You can either space the end-plate out with some 0.100" think aluminum, or cut the end-plate around the flange of the Ampseal connector.

The voltage regulator doesn't need a heat sink, I will remove this from the build guide.

Lance.
"Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it." - George Bernard Shaw
tjabo
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:40 am

Re: Board Assembly Questions. . .

Post by tjabo »

Excellent, thanks Lance!

I'll have to give that board length issue some thought, because I'd kind of like to mount the GPIO and my V3 MS2 in the same case once we're through with Steve's development phase (or whatever, depending on how everything works out). I do like the idea of the GPIO for more than just the trans control though, VSS based boost control and various datalogging tasks are extremely interesting! ! ! !

Thad
Turbo Neon, converting to 41te trans sometime?
tjabo
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:40 am

Re: Board Assembly Questions. . .

Post by tjabo »

Alright, I've actually made some progress! This thing is no joke to build though--It's not "bad", but it does take some time to do a nice job of building it.

At any rate, it looks like I need to get some specific information for the Chrysler 41te transmission to get me correctly through build step "E", so I think I'm going to jump ahead. Just wondering if anyone knows of any good reasons not to do that? I'd like to keep making progress toward getting this sucker finished, and I hate to get stopped dead while we do research and "logic-ing".

Thanks everyone!

Thad
Turbo Neon, converting to 41te trans sometime?
devojet
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2008 2:39 pm

Re: Board Assembly Questions. . .

Post by devojet »

I can't see any reason to not skip that step. The IO circuits are all separate so it shouldn't matter what order you build them in. I have built mine to suit a toyota A340E which required quite a bit of re-arranging of the circuits.
Bernard Fife
Posts: 1696
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2008 1:28 pm

Re: Board Assembly Questions. . .

Post by Bernard Fife »

Thad,

Yep, devojet is 100% correct as always! And if you are re-working the circuits, there's general details on them here: http://www.msgpio.com/manuals/index.htm (I know you guys know this, but put the link in for others following this thread later).

Lance.
"Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it." - George Bernard Shaw
tjabo
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:40 am

Re: Board Assembly Questions. . .

Post by tjabo »

Hey guys, in build step "E" sub 3, where it says:
3. Install and solder 5.6 Volt Zener Diodes in:

* R28 - banded end goes towards Ampseal connector,
* R30 - banded end goes away from Ampseal connector,
* R28 - banded end goes towards Ampseal connector.
Should the second "R28" be taken to mean "R36"?

I'm going to assume so for now, I can always undo it later.

Thanks in advance!

Thad
Turbo Neon, converting to 41te trans sometime?
Bernard Fife
Posts: 1696
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2008 1:28 pm

Re: Board Assembly Questions. . .

Post by Bernard Fife »

Thad,

Yes, the second R28 should be R36, and I will fix this right away. BTW, getting the documentation sorted is as essential a function of beta testing as checking the hardware and software - so thanks for spotting this and mentioning it!

Lance.
"Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it." - George Bernard Shaw
tjabo
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:40 am

Re: Board Assembly Questions. . .

Post by tjabo »

No problem Lance!

I noticed a couple of other inconsequential typos, so I'll see if I can locate them again and e-mail them to you.

Thad
Turbo Neon, converting to 41te trans sometime?
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