Build Instructions for the Geiger Kit – v2 PCB

Please Read!
I have added this mainly to avoid confusion for people who have received the kit in May, and are building it in June.

There has been a part value change that began with the kits shipping in June. The values for R8 and R9 have
changed from 22K each, to R8 = 1.5K and R9 = 470K.

470K and 1.5K resistors are also used for R11 and R12. If you are building a kit that was shipped before June, you
will only have one of each of these values and two 22K resistors. You can continue to use the 22K for R8 and R9 or
get 1.5K and 470K resistors.

Why the Change? I recently discovered that if R5 is set to run the tube at a lower voltage, the microprocessor will
catch events, but the click & LED may miss some events. (This has to do with IC2 being a Schmitt trigger.) Changing
the voltage divider (R8 and R9) to the new values, allows you to run the tube at a lower voltage (~50V less) while still
getting clicks and flashes.

In most applications this change has little impact. If you use the method of setting the HV described in the HV Test &
Adjust section, you will be getting a good representation from the piezo and LED. Again, the microprocessor will
always catch events since it gets them before the Schmitt trigger. However, if you do wish to make the change, I can
send you the two resistors, if necessary.

Common Build Problems:

These are the most common problems that I've noticed that builders are having . . .
• Too much solder - This can cause shorts between the lead and the ground plane - Read Soldering below.
• Solder dust / flux on board – The HV is very easy to short. Brushing the board with an old toothbrush is
recommended. Cleaning off excess flux with alcohol or flux remover may also be a good idea. (Google)
• Parts orientation wrong - generally RTFM issues, and not referring to the pictures below.

General tips:
• RTFM – even if you’re experienced, you run the risk of wishing you had considered something beforehand.
• Refer to the Parts List (below) as you go through the build sequence. It describes orientations and options for
various parts as you go along.
• Do want to mount the piezo and/or LED on the case? Run on AA batts or 9V? Use different headers? Again,
the Parts List points out some of these options.
• It’s a good idea to print these instructions before you begin.
• Referring to the pictures and schematic (below) can be helpful.
• Consider the build sequence below.
• Missing parts / extra parts – You may get an extra part, but if something is missing, let me know.
• Take your time! It takes at least 2-3 hours to build this kit. Solder the right part, the right way, the first time.
Parts are hard to desolder.

Soldering:
To cut down on noise, the PCB uses a "ground plane". So all of the lighter green on the bottom of the board is
copper, and it is connected to the ground. (It's coated, but can't be trusted to insulate.) The reason for mentioning
this, is so you understand why a neat soldering job is important. Joints that slop over the pad and on to the ground
plane will cause a problem.

When you solder, start with a good iron, with nice clean tip that's freshly tinned. Solder the joint so that you have a
nice round dot that stays inside the darker green. The clearance between the backplane and the pads is pretty close
- do not use too much solder and add enough heat for a good flow. The holes are plated through so don’t worry
about getting solder up to the top of the board.

Sometimes it’s best to shorten long leads before you solder them, or re-solder them after they are cut. You will notice
some pads will connect to the back plane. These have 4 little traces from the back plane to the hole - like a "+" .
These will take more heat.
Suggested build sequence:
How you go about building the kit is entirely up to you, of course. The sequence suggested below is only one way.
Another approach is to build the board by height – starting with the shortest components.

• Add all resistors - except R5 - it's easier to work on a board that lays flat. It's not a bad idea to "Y" out the
leads, tack solder, clip the leads, and resolder or reheat the joint. It’s better solder them in one by one.
• Add the diodes, then capacitors, and then transistors (C1 last). Refer to the photo below to make it easier to
see the orientation of the diodes.
• Add R5 - R5 controls the high voltage, and comes preset to about 30Ω for the v2.0 boards. This should give
you good results from the tube without adjustment. (see HV Test and Adjust below)
• Decide on adding the regulator or not (see Powering the Geiger below)
• Complete the HV section (up to Q3) and test it. (see HV Test and Adjust below)
• Complete the detect and click section.
• Add the GM tube (note polarity) and power up the board. If you hear clicks congratulations! The hard part is
over.
• Complete the ATmega section. You can add an LED (with ~220 –
1KΩ resistor) between Pin 13 and ground to test. The default sketch
will flash the LED 4-5 times at power-up or when the Reset button is
pressed.

• Done – see HV Test & Adjust below.

 Parts List for v2.0 Geiger Kits
Qty Y
Ref # Value Description Notes polarized? -> N
R1 1 220KΩ ▐▐▐ RD,RD,YL 1/8 W NOTE: Color bands on resistors are sometimes hard to
distinguish (i.e. violet almost black). If in doubt it's best to N
check them with a meter before you solder.
R2 1 3.9KΩ ▐▐▐ OR,WT,RD 1/8 W N
R3 1 330Ω ▐▐▐ OR,OR,BN 1/8 W N
R4, R13 2 100KΩ ▐▐▐ BN,BK,YL 1/8 W N
R5 1 100Ω pot 25 turn pot Note: pot is preset to ~30Ω polarity: adj screw on left Y
R6 1 1MΩ ▐▐▐ BN,BK,GN 1/8 W N
R7 1 4.7MΩ ▐▐▐ YL,VT,GN 1/8 W Note: This value also works for the LND-712 GM tube. N
R8, R9 2 22KΩ ▐▐▐ RD,RD,OR 1/8 W 22K replaced by 1.5K & 470K in June – see Please Read N
R8, R12 1 1.5KΩ ▐▐▐ BN,GN, RD 1/8 W R8 value won’t match with photos. (may be blue!) N
R9 R11 1 470KΩ ▐▐▐ YL,VT,YL 1/8 W R9 value won’t match with photos. R11 adjusts duration of the click -
N
see schematic
R10, R20 2 10KΩ ▐▐▐ BN,BK,OR 1/8 W N
R14 1 27KΩ ▐▐▐ RD,VT,OR 1/8 W adjusts pitch of the click - louder when resonant - see schematic N
C1 1 100uF 16V electrolytic capacitor polarity: "-" stripe down. Y
C1B 1 if 6.8uF 35V electrolytic capacitor Optional for a board mod when regulator is used– see Powering the
Y
> Jun Geiger. This part only included in kits starting in mid June.
C2 1 .001uF #102 (1nF) ceramic cap N
C3, C4 2 .01uF #103 HV ceramic cap Note: newer part may look different than pic – small blue gumdrop. N
C5 1 330pF #331 ceramic capacitor N
C6, C7, 4 .1uF #104 ceramic capacitor (some variants require reforming the leads)
N
C20, C23
C8 1 .022uF #223 (22nF) ceramic cap N
C21, C22 2 22pF #220 / #22 ceramic capacitor N
D1, D3, 4 1N4148 signal diode polarity: Bend cathode (banded side) of the lead. See pictures
Y
D4, D5 for orientation.
D2 1 MUR1601 600V 1A Ultra Fast diode polarity: Bend cathode (banded side) of the lead. Anode goes into
Y
/ 1N4937 larger silkscreen circle. See pictures for orientation.
L1 1 15mH inductor N
Q1,Q3 2 2N3904 / NPN BJT transistor May need to reform the leads. Bend center lead back.
Y
2N4401
Q2 1 KSP441 / NPN HV transistor bend center lead back
Y
MPSA44
IC1 1 ICM75551 CMOS 555 timer Note: use socket polarity: Notch on left. Y
IC2 1 CD74ACT14 Hex Inverter w Schmitt Note: use socket polarity: Notch on left. Option - if removed stops
Y
Trigger click and led - interrupt still sent to uC.
IC3 1 if B ATmega328 AVR microcontroller KIT-B only Note: use socket polarity: Notch down Y
REG 1 78L05 5V / 100mA regulator . When powered by 4.5-5V, bypass with jumper IN to OUT.
See Powering the Geiger. Use the regulator if running on a 9V
Y
battery. Note: In some situations with the reg. a whine could be
heard in the piezo – see Powering the Geiger for a work around.
OSC 1 16MHz crystal Hole in the middle is not used with crystal. N
PIEZO 1 ~4 kHz 12 mm piezo - 5mm pitch Note: partially covering the hole with tape can make it louder N
LED 1 red 3mm polarity: Small flat on side, or shorter lead, goes left. May want to
leave leads long so it's not hidden by the caps. Option - for mounting Y
LED in case, replace with 2 pin conn.
switch 1 push button "polarity:" follow lead spacing. Snaps in and will lay flat. Y
term block 2 2 pin 5 mm pitch Option - replace with connector of your choice N
socket 1 8 pin IC socket install with notch on left Y
socket 1 14 pin IC socket install with notch on left Y
socket 1 28 pin IC socket install with notch down Y
header 3 6 pin fem. Pads are offset for easier placement. N
header 1 6 pin male FTDI header Pads are offset for easier placement. 90° male usually best for FTDI.
1 6 pin (does cover some user pads) N
male 90° Note – can use the extra straight header to connect LCD.
header 3 2 pin male for piezo interrupt jumper, and uC power N
misc 2 2 pin female for user power pins Option - use either female or male header depending on need.
N
header 1 2x2 male (not polarized)
jumper 3 2 pin for 2 pin headers For more comfortable soldering - put jumper over pins first. :-) N
fuse clips 2 ¼” for HV conn. to GM tube Reform as needed. Solder stranded wire to these. Tube is polarized Y
PCB 1 v2.0 Version number on left side of board N

1
May be a similar part with a different number.
Board built up to HV test. The 5V regulator was bypassed. (R8 & R9 and C3 & C4 may look different than pictured here.)

Board built up to click test with tube added . . .

 HV Test & Adjust
This is going to sound more complicated than it is, but this page will show you how to measure, test and adjust the
HV section of the circuit. If you are happy with the way your board is working you may want to skip all this.

Measuring the HV:

It's a bit tricky to measure the high voltage. The GM tube needs a lot of voltage but only a tiny amount of current. So
the HV circuit only needs to provide a very tiny current, and that's what it does. This is good because the battery will
last longer - and it won’t kill you! However, it makes measuring the high voltage a bit more complicated.

When measuring voltage, a decent DVM puts a load on the circuit it's measuring of about 10MΩ (1MΩ for a cheap
DVM). This load is far too much for the tiny amount of current available, and the DVM will read much lower than the
actual voltage. A meter with an 11MΩ input impedance may read 420V as 214V. I've read that you need a gig-ohm
(1000MΩ) of input impedance to get accurate values of the HV for Geiger circuits.

One way to increase the input impedance of your DVM is to put large resistors in series with the probe and multiply
the reading on your DVM. For example adding 9 10MΩ resistors adds 90MΩ. If you want to a full gig-ohm of
input impedance it's best to just buy a high value resistor - (example). Once you have the resistors added in series
with the meter, you have to multiply the reading by some factor. The formula for this is
Vactual = Vread x Rmeter + Rprobe / Rmeter
So for example, my meter has an 11MΩ input impedance. If I use a 1000MΩ “probe” I have 11 + 1000 / 11 = 92.
This means that I multiply my reading by 92. If you built a 90MΩ probe for a typical 10MΩ meter, you’d have 10 + 90 /
10 = 10 so you multiply your reading by 10.

What’s the difference between using a 90MΩ vs. a 1000MΩ probe? Here is what I saw:
460V with a 1000MΩ probe, 358V with a 90MΩ probe, and 222V with no probe (11MΩ meter).
There is more on this subject here.

Don’t sweat all this unless you want to! In the Adjusting the HV section below I describe a method that doesn’t
depend on being able to measure the actual HV. And by the way . . .

The high voltage is measured from the cathode (band side) of D2 and the negative side of the GM tube.

Testing the HV:

After building out the HV section of the board, you can see if things are working up to that point. First read through
the next section to get a sense of the final picture. Then, using the 90M ohm probe described above, or even without
it, connect the battery, and measure the voltage between the cathode (band side) of D2 and the negative side of the
GM tube. If you get something like 200V without the probe - congratulations! The HV circuit is working.

I can't recommend this (for obvious reasons), but I found that putting two fingers (same hand) across the wires that
go to the GM tube will simulate an event on the tube pretty well. The current is so low, I can't feel it. I use this as an
easy way to test the circuit without the tube. Again, I can't recommend this, however.
Adjusting the HV:
R5 controls the high voltage. (see Circuit Description on web site). It has been preset for about 30Ω. This should give
you about 580V at the TP with the 90MΩ probe described above. This is more than enough for most tubes. The idea
is to adjust the HV so it's voltage is about in the middle of the tubes operating range (“plateau” as shown below).
Note that the Geiger will work fine with R5 set to it’s default, but it’s probably better for the tube (and battery) if you
don’t apply more voltage than you need. Also remember that as long as the voltage in the operating range the tube
will have about the same sensitivity. So don’t get too nuts about this.

So how do you do this? First let’s look at the data sheet for two of the most common tubes. The readings in red are
what I actually measured with my 1000MΩ probe and multiplying by 92.

Initial Voltage Recommended

Tube Operating Range
(just get counts) Voltage
SBM-20 260-320 350-475 400
my readings for SBM-20 340 365-510 430
LND 712 325 (max) 450-650 500
my readings for LND 712 440 475-675 575
(675 is over max HV)

To get the values for your meter do the following:

Using some kind of active source, lower the HV (CCW) until you get no response. (R5 is a 25 turn pot). Now slowly
increase the HV (CW) until you just start to get clicks. Record the initial voltage. Now slowly increase the HV again
until you are getting a good response from the source that doesn’t seem to change as you go higher. Record the low
end of operating range. By now you will have an idea how far your readings are from the data sheet.

Notice the operating range for the tube. It’s 125V wide for the SBM-20 and 200V wide for the LND 712. If your
readings sort of followed the spec. you can assume about the same range and figure your high end of operating
range. Now take the center of your operating range as your recommended voltage and set your pot to that. Finally,
take two aspirins, and quit messing with it. And by the way, remember two things - it’s not that critical, and I don’t
know any of this for sure.
 Powering the Geiger
You have options when powering the Geiger kit. When using batteries the two main options are AA/AAA batteries or a 9V battery.

Powering at < 5.5V:

When using AA or AAA batteries, they will typically be used to supply less than 5.5V. Since alkaline cells deliver ~1.5V and NiMH cells
deliver ~1.2V you can use 3 alkaline or 4 NiMH (AA or AAA). The key is stay under 5.5V - the max for the microcontroller. Without a
microcontroller and display, the Geiger kit draws less than 5mA. However, with the microcontroller and backlight LCD, the Geiger can
draw over 100mA. Because of this, I prefer to run with 4 NiMH since they can provide ~2000mAH of power.

When running under 5.5V, the voltage regulator in the kit should not be installed, or should be bypassed. The pictures below will show
you how this is done. Otherwise you will be wasting power. The regulator will also always drop about .7V so you will also be running at a
lower voltage than expected. Note: Do not power the Geiger with 9V if the voltage regulator is bypassed!

Powering at > 5.5V:

This typically means using a 9V battery. On the plus side they are small and easily changed. On the minus side, a typical 9V battery only
supplies ~600mAH. When using 9V, the voltage regulator in the kit must be installed.

So the voltage regulator must be used, and unfortunately there is a possibility for a whining sound to come from the piezo in this
configuration – especially when the microcontroller and backlight LCD are not powered. Mea culpa. In an effort to save board space I
didn’t add an electrolytic capacitor on the output side of the voltage regulator. Fortunately, there is a work-around to fix this. The section
below will show you how this is done.

Other Options:
Of course there are. You could supply 5V regulated power and skip the voltage regulator, 6-9V with it, etc. I have not tried LiPO batteries
– 3.7V is just under the ATmega328 spec, but some do run at that without problems. The HV circuit should work at that voltage.

Bypassing the Regulator (5.5V or less)

There are two ways to do this. The first is to not install it and solder a lead cutting from the IN to the OUT pads from the top of the board.
This is shown by the photo on the left.
Another option – shown by the photo on the right - is to
install the regulator, but to solder a lead cutting from the IN
to the OUT pads from the bottom of the board. Keep the
wire off of the ground plane. (The advantage of this is that
the regulator can be used by simply cutting the shorting
wire.

Stopping the Whine if the Regulator is used:

If a whining sound is heard in the piezo, the following workaround should stop it. Basically you need to add an electrolytic capacitor
between the output side of the voltage regulator and ground. I’ve had good success with 6.8uF, but anything higher should work as well.

Just below the inductor there is an extra pad that connects to the output side of the voltage
regulator. Solder the “+” side of the capacitor to this pad.

The easiest way to connect the negative side of the capacitor is to bend the lead around the
edge of the board and solder it to the negative side of C1. You can see this in the photo on
the left and above.

If you’re a bit more daring you can drill a small hole for
the negative lead. Scrape the varnish off the ground
plane around the hole, and solder it to the ground
plane. See photo on right..
Powering with the FTDI and the uC PWR Jumper:
Many FTDI cables also supply 5V power to what they are connected to. So when they are connected to the Geiger board, it's a good idea
to disconnect the battery. The FTDI cable will then power the whole board just fine.

Beginning with the v2.0 board, there is a jumper for "uC PWR" (top center of board). Removing this jumper separates the positive supply
voltage (VCC) between the Geiger circuit and the ATmega328 (including it's FTDI connector, and user "+" header). This allows you to run
the Geiger from one source, and the microprocessor from another (with the grounds in common). You could supply power for the Geiger
through the screw terminals and supply power to the microprocessor from either the user "+" header, or the FTDI connector with the
jumper removed.

Note that the jumper can also be removed in order to run the Geiger without the microprocessor to conserve battery power. However, with
the microprocessor shut down, you should also remove the INT jumper. Otherwise, the response from the piezo and LED may be
reduced.

The Jumpers:
There is info on the about the jumpers scattered about, but it may be useful to have it all in one place.

There are 3 jumpers on the Ver. 2 board. During assembly you were subtly encouraged to add the jumper before soldering the pins so
you wouldn't have two little burn holes in your fingertip. However, there are other reasons for installing the jumpers as described below.

P_JMP
This jumper simply disconnects the piezo. It would be easy to replace the jumper block with female 2 pin header and wire it to a switch.
The switch would turn off the sound from the Geiger so that the other people on the airplane won't notice it. Note the LED will continue to
flash with this jumper removed.

INT JMP
This jumper connects the ATmega328 ("uC") to the Geiger circuit. This is the only connection between the two. Each event creates a
negative going pulse that is sent to the "Interrupt 0" (pin 2) of the uC via this jumper. So when this jumper is removed,
the microcontroller will stop counting. This jumper might come in handy if you wanted to run the events into a different microcontroller.
Also, as you will see below, it plays a part in powering off the microcontroller completely.

UC_PWR
As mentioned in Powering the Geiger, this jumper separates the positive supply voltage (Vcc) between the Geiger circuit and the
ATmega328. This includes the FTDI connector Vcc, and the two "+" pins on the 4 pin power header. This jumper give
you several options.

The simplest, is that it allows you to run the Geiger without the microprocessor and display. This will conserve a huge amount battery
power. One note on this is that if you remove or put a switch on this jumper, you should also remove or switch (DPST) the INT JMP as
well. Otherwise the event pulse will go to an un-powered microcontroller pin and the response from the piezo and LED could be reduced.
(To be honest I haven't taken the time to figure why it's affected!)

This jumper also allows you to run the Geiger from one source, and the microprocessor from another. Be sure to keep the grounds
common. With the jumper removed, you could supply power for the Geiger through the screw terminals and supply power to the
microprocessor from either the user "+" header, or the FTDI connector. Note it's not a good idea to leave the jumper in and do this. In fact,
it's a bad idea.

Take a look at the schematic for a better idea about these jumpers, and I'm sure others will find different ways of using them.