Preparing the PCB

The NTS-1 Custom Panel reference board is open hardware and all source/description files are available on GitHub.

The PCB Gerber data can be used as-is to order bare boards from a PCB manufacturing service near you.

The provided KiCAD project can be used as a starting point to create your own custom panel designs.

Acquiring Parts

The following parts are necessary to fully mount the reference board.

Full bill of materials: PDF, Excel

Tip: The Excel file can be uploaded directly to Mouser to automatically fill your cart with the appropriate parts.

Manufacturer Description Qty Datasheet
Yageo Thick Film Resistors - SMD ZERO OHM JUMPER 1 datasheet
Yageo Thick Film Resistors - SMD 33 OHM 5% 1 datasheet
Yageo Thick Film Resistors - SMD 47 OHM 5% 4 datasheet
Yageo Thick Film Resistors - SMD 220 OHM 5% 8 datasheet
Yageo Thick Film Resistors - SMD 100K OHM 5% 1 datasheet
Yageo Thick Film Resistors - SMD 10K OHM 5% 4 datasheet
Yageo Thick Film Resistors - SMD 1K OHM 5% 2 datasheet
Yageo Thick Film Resistors - SMD 47K OHM 5% 1 datasheet
KEMET Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors - SMD 16V 0.1uF 0603 X7R 10% 4 datasheet
KEMET Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors - SMD 16V 1000pF 0603 X7R 10% AEC-Q200 2 datasheet
KEMET Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors - SMD 16V 1uF X5R 0805 10% 1 datasheet
TE Connectivity Headers & Wire Housings 38 MODII HDR DRST UNSHRD .100 2 datasheet
TE Connectivity Headers & Wire Housings 1X02P RCPT HV-100 TE 1 datasheet
TE Connectivity Headers & Wire Housings 6P RECPT VERT HV-100 1 datasheet
TE Connectivity Headers & Wire Housings 8P RECPT VERT HV-100 2 datasheet
TE Connectivity Headers & Wire Housings 1X03 POS VERT TIN 2 datasheet
TE Connectivity Headers & Wire Housings 1X04 POS VERT TIN 1 datasheet
Omron Headers & Wire Housings Sensor I/O Connector 2 datasheet
Kingbright Standard LEDs - Through Hole 5mm Red LED 640nm 8 datasheet
ALPS Potentiometers 10 KOhms 20% 1 datasheet
ALPS Tactile Switches RND 6.0x4.3mm 100gf 10 datasheet
STMicroelectronics ARM Microcontrollers - MCU Value-Line ARM MCU 64kB 48 MHz 1 datasheet
TE Connectivity Headers & Wire Housings 2 POS POST SHUNT 1 datasheet

NTS-1 Custom Panel and Parts

Soldering

Once all parts of the BOM have been acquired, refer to the schematic and mount diagram, and solder each part to its appropriate location on the PCB.

Soldering Tutorials

There are many tutorials all over the internet, however not all of them cover surface mount devices which are required for the NTS-1 Custom Panel.

The tutorial videos below do cover everything you need:

Assembling

After completing the soldering, remove the interface panel of the NTS-1 digital kit and replace it with the custom panel.

Note: NTS-1 main system has to be updated to at least version 1.10 in order to work with custom panels. Confirm the firmware version and update if needed before replacing the panel.

Note: NTS-1 digital kit firmware version 1.10 will be released towards the end of February 2020.