Super GrooveAxe

How to put together the Super GrooveAxe

  • Add Note x

Percussion in your pocket. Feel the tiny boom! With your Super GrooveAxe, the beats will always be with you, so you'll never feel lonely again.

The Super GrooveAxe is a simple to build project that uses a Picaxe microcontroller to make looping drum patterns. It includes a 3.5mm jack to output audio to headphones, a stereo, or directly power small speakers.

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Add Note Step 1 — Super GrooveAxe  ¶ 

  • Check to make sure you have all the parts required:

    • 8 Resistors

    • 5 Switches

    • Stereo Headphone Jack

    • PICaxe and Socket

    • Capacitor and LED

    • Circuit Board

    • Battery Box

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Add Note Step 2  ¶ 

  • R1, R3, and R5 are 10k ohm (Brown - Black - Orange)

  • R2: 220 ohm (Red - Red - Brown)

  • R4: 1k ohm (Brown - Black - Red)

  • R6: 100k ohm (Brown - Black - Yellow)

  • R7: 3.3k ohm (Orange - Orange - Red)

  • R8: 330 ohm (Orange - Orange - Brown)

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Add Note Step 3  ¶ 

  • The capacitor goes at C1 - note that the lead closest to the strip goes in the hole opposite to the '+' marked on the circuit board.

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Add Note Step 4  ¶ 

  • There are five switches, they snap in at the spots marked 1-4 and Tempo

  • The LED goes in the spot marked 'LED'. Note that LED's are polarized. The shorter lead goes through the square hole.

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Add Note Step 5  ¶ 

  • The socket goes in at U1. Note a small number '8' written on one side of the socket, that side goes closest to the 'U1' written on the circuit board

  • Add the Stereo Headphone jack on the board where it's marked 'Sp2'

  • Insert the PICaxe into the DIP socket - there's a small notch on the body of the chip. The side with the notch goes closest to the U1 written on the circuit board, just like the socket

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Add Note Step 6  ¶ 

  • Finally, add the battery box. The black lead goes through the square hole (closest to the '-' marked on the circuit board).

  • A simple trick for strain relief is to put both leads through the large hole in the middle and tie them in a knot before soldering them to the board. That way, any tugs to the cable will pull against the knot instead of the solder connections.

For more information, check out the Super GrooveAxe category page.

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