MiOYOOW 4-Digit Digital Clock Kits with PCB, DIY Alarm Clock Soldering Project Kit for Learning Electronics Soldering Practice with English Instructions

This is a great kit to learn about electronics. Of all the kits available on Amazon this one is most likely the best for learning. It also ends up with a great clock. I have built three of them so that for my day job I can track my employees who are in different time zones.If you are looking for a way to learn about electronics, a way to learn about soldering, a great alarm clock that you can be proud to have built – THIS is the kit to purchase. It is the best one on Amazon. Look no further!I am using this in my university courses to get students exposed to circuit components and construction.Here is a portion of my lab assignment for this project that might help you build it.ToolsMake sure you have a• Soldering Iron• Solder• Small wire clippers• Optional – a silicon work mat (so you wont burn the surface you are working on)Here are ways to make your project NOT work.• Inserting certain components with the wrong polarity (in the wrong direction).• Cold solder joints.• Missing a solder connection.• Solder bridges (inadvertently connecting two solder pads on the back of the PCB).• Not inserting the power barrel connector all the way in.Layout the parts in the order that they will be installed.Build• Insert the two resistors and bend the leads to hold the resistors in place. They can be placed in any direction as resistors do not have polarity.• Install the two 30 pf ceramic capacitors and bend the leads to hold the capacitors in place. Make sure you put the right capacitors in the right locations.• Install the 104 pf ceramic capacitor and bend the leads to hold the capacitor in place. Make sure you put the right capacitor in the right location.• Install the 12 MHz crystal oscillator and bend the leads to hold the oscillator in place.• Solder all the leads to the PCB board. Remember to heat the board and the wire and not the solder. The solder will flow when the PCB connection and wire are hot enough. The connection should be shiny if a good solder connection has been made.• Clip all the leads.• Install the network resistor. The network resistor must be installed with the dot aligned with the mark on the PCB board.• Solder the network resistor’s nine pins.• Insert the DIP-20 IC socket. The DIP-20 IC socket must be installed with the notch aligned with the printed notch on the PCB.• Solder the 20 pins.• Insert the transistor. The transistor must be installed with the flat side of the transistor aligned with the flat side printed on the PCB. Bend the leads to hold the transistor in place.• Solder the three leads.• Clip the three leads.• Insert the two button switches. If they aren’t going easily in they are most likely being installed incorrectly.• Solder the eight pins.• Install the 10 uF 25V electrolytic capacitor. Electrolytic capacitors have polarity. The shorter leg goes into the shaded area on the PCB. Bend the leads to hold it on place.• Solder the leads.• Clip the leads.• Install the power socket.• Solder the three pins. These pins are close. Make sure there aren’t any solder bridges.• Install the buzzer. The buzzer has polarity. Insert the longer lead into the hold marked with a + on the PCB.• Solder the leads.• Clip the leads.• Insert the 4-bit display. Make sure there isn’t any Styrofoam on the leads. The display has polarity. Make sure the decimal points are toward the other components. The pins might need slight adjustment to fit into the holes.• Solder the ten pins.• Clip the pins.• Insert the IC making sure that the notch in the chip are aligned with the notch on the socket. Check that the pins are aligned with the sockets before pressing the chip firmly in place.• Remove the white sticker from the buzzer for a louder sound – it’s really loud with it off.• Plug the power cord into USB power and then plug the barrel connector into the clock. The connection is firm and might not be fully in place. If the clock turns off when you take your hand off the power cords then it wasn’t fully inserted.Consider covering the back with tape – like blue painters’ tape – to prevent shorting out the clock. Remember too, there aren’t any memory components so when power is removed and then reapplied the clock will reset back to 12:59.All in all, this project can be completed in fifteen minutes or less!

This is a good project for someone learning about electronics that wants to use solder. There are some kits that are better for "1st project", but this one should be something a beginner can complete in about an hour or so.To help make the components lay down on the board while being soldered, you might want to put a folded washcloth down for your workspace and start with the shorter components and ending with the thickest components. This can help keep the components in place while soldering.I was very impressed with the brightness and clarity of the display component.Setting the clock is pretty easy, but by default there are 3 alarms set to go off within 5 minutes after you power it on. You will need to turn each off manually if you don't want daily reminders every 24 hours.I recommend this kit as a 2nd or 3rd project. It might be a bit challenging as a 1st project.

Adjusting my rating/review to 4/5 stars.. the project functions as advertised. Putting it together and soldering was easy enough to do with minimal references to the instructions. Overall, if not for the missing diode, it would’ve been 5 stars. Very satisfied with the final product.(Will adjust as needed but as of right now, project is on hold because DO-35 1N4148 Diode was missing from the packaging. Looked through the packaging multiple times.. currently awaiting the replacement I ordered separately.)

UPDATE: turns out I got the $16.99 clock kit with four buttons which is different from the beginner one most people are talking about in the comments. The one I got is NOT for beginners and has dozens of microscopic parts that need to be soldered onto a patch on the board (unlike the much simpler method where the part goes through a hole on the board). Even after finding the tiny transistor I dropped (2 hours later) and doing my best to complete everything as instructed… my clock doesn’t work. The power indicator light comes on when it’s plugged into the wall and that’s it. I can’t figure out where the error is at all but I did notice that one of the pieces in the kit varied slightly from what was written in the instructions (a 112 resistor instead of a 102 resistor or something like that)Many pieces are microscopically small. One of the transistors fell and it’s impossible to find. Now the project can’t work as intended. Not as beginner friendly as it claims

This is a review of "MiOYOOW 4-Digit Rechargeable DIY Digital Clock Kit", since it seems many different items are sharing reviews in this system. The kit was a fun build. Be sure you know that this is a surface mount design kit. Although this was my first SMD build, I found some YouTube videos that showed strategies that worked well, although I really missed not having very thin solder for the project. Not all components were clearly labeled, and I had to use elimination strategies and the picture in the downloaded instructions to identify all of the parts. Even then, one required resistor was listed in the instructions as "122" (1.2 kohm) but I was provided "112" (1.1 kohm).The battery is advertised as being "AA" but once you get into the instructions, you need to get a rechargeable Lithium 14500 battery (same size as AA, but 3.7 V). The charging circuit seems to work okay, but the draw on the battery must be rather high as the clock is drained after only a couple of active hours. Functionality seems fine when it is plugged in via USB.

Go slow especially on the surface mounted 40 pin controller!