The first problem was that I didn’t realise that the built-in plug needed a fuse to operate. This was solved by just buying one from Ebay.
The second problem that I encountered affected the design process of the PCB quite a bit.
The issue was that I underestimated the size of the 230V-24V transformer. The result of this is that I had considerably less space for my PCB than I originally expected.
That’s why I had to design the PCB in a way where all the components were right next to each other, which made it a little bit claustrophobic.
The third problem was that the footprint of R13 was too small, this was fixed by adjusting the dimensions in Ultiboard.
The fourth issue was that in Ultiboard, the space between the pins for C2 were too small. This was also rectified by adjusting them in Ultiboard.
The fifth was a potential problem.
After considering how I would mount the transformer and the PCB onto the case, I decided to use regular nuts and bolts.
Then I realised that the bolts would cause an indentation underneath the case.
That’s when I decided to buy a pack of rubber feet from the local store and mount them onto the case.
µThe next issue that I encountered was that the amount of pins on the connectors would not match the ones on the PCB;
Pins on connector : 5*4 = 20
Pins on PCB : 19
If the PCB was ordered this way, I would have either had to shorten a connector to three pins or drill a hole in the PCB myself.
To avoid such mess I decided to make an extra no-purpose pin.
The following issue was that the pad of pin 2 of IC3 came off.
I had to take a jumper wire and make a manual connection from pin 2 of IC3 to the negative pin of C9.
In when wiring the connectors, I noticed that the connectors blocked the area around the potentiometers on the front panel. This would prevent the front panel from being closed.
I had to use longer bolts to raise the PCB to avoid this.
I didn’t realise that the display on the front panel needed an external power supply for it to function. This was solved by using a 9V battery as a power source for the display.