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Instruction ManualWarning : Protect Board from electrostatic discharge. Ground yourself before handling.

The Model #NCC-1701-REFIT-A Wide Range Adjustable Flasher board was designed for the Starships offered by various Model manufactures including Polar Lights NCC-1701-Refit or A, NX-01 1:350, as well as many other Federation Starships. Also useful in Hobbies and other projects. Designed for ease of use and longevity, the board can be mounted directly inside the model, though we prefer to mount them inside the stand for easy access and control in the future. Section 1. The board contains 2 circuits: 1. Navigational running lights : The board contains 1 circuit for NavRunning effects. Approximate flash rate is between .63 to 2.20 secs giving this board a multiple range of uses.(The Enterprise "Refit" and "A" contains 10 slow flashing lights, 6 white, 2 red and 2 green. ) 2. Navigational Strobe lights: The board contains 1 circuit for strobe effects. Approximate flash rate is between .3 to 1.7secs. (The Enterprise "Refit" and "A" contains 4 white fast flashing lights.) Both circuits may be used to strobe 10 single leds in parallel or 10 pair of leds in parallel wiring 2 leds in series for a total of 20 leds on each circuit, depending on your power supply.

Supports 9volt(Recommended) or 12 volt power supply either by battery or by a "Regulated" DC power supply adapter that you plug in to the wall(Not Included). (NOTE: Running at 12 volts will make components run warmer, 1/2watt resistors may be required instead of 1/4watt resistors for leds.)

Section 2. Connections

Warning : Protect Board from electrostatic discharge. Ground yourself before handling. All important areas of the board have been clearly marked. 1

We chose a screw terminal block connector to make things easier, no special wire connectors are needed. Just strip your wire and screw it down. If sealing this unit directly into your model, you may want to run a bead of hot-glue across the top of Terminal block, filling the screw heads and also the front connections, as well as the trimpot adjusters. This is a safety measure to prevent any loose connections in the future. The connectors are rated for 22 AWG - 14AWG wire, but we have successfully used smaller gauge wire. Test your wire. Connect a 9v battery connector or a regulated power supply to the terminals marked DC IN. Red wire to + black wire to -. If you are using a DC wall adapter, test that it is regulated to make sure it is putting out your desired voltage. Many adapters are not regulated and if not under a load, will put out more voltage than is stated on the adapter. Example: A 9v DC adapter may actually put out 13v. This is not good for your LEDs and if you are calculating the resistors for 9v, may even burn out the LEDs. If this is your situation, you can purchase an adjustable voltage regulator. You plug your power supply into its input and connect your devices to its output. Then adjust the trimpot to your desired voltage. You can find one on ebay or other online electrons stores.

How to use a wall AdapterMake sure the wall adapter is a regulated power supply or purchase an adjustable voltage regular mentioned in the paragraph above.The simplest way of using a wall adapter is to cut off the round connector on the end, separate the two wires, and check the polarity with a volt meter. Mark the positive using tape, so there is no confusion, and make the connections to the board. The other option, which looks better and more professional, would be to measure the round connector and its internal pin. Then find a "dc power jack socket connector" to match. I used a laptop power adapter and found a "dc power jack socket connector" that mounts to a laptop. Solder wires to the connector and mount the connector to the base. You can find them on Ebay or check out several electronics stores. They usually list the measurements. You may also be able to find a kit that includes the socket as well as the male end that matches it. You would cut your adapters end off and replace it with the one in the kit.

Photo of a laptop style DC power jack socket.

Section 3. LEDs Example setupStated earlier only 4 lights for the strobes and 10 lights for the Nav Running lights will be needed. You will need : 10: 3mm white L.E.D.s 2: 3mm green L.E.D.s 2: 3mm red L.E.D.s Wire of choice: I use 22 AWG at the board and connect 24 or 26 AWG to the 22 AWG wired up to the LEDs.

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You may use all white L.E.D.s instead if you would like to paint the other four using acrylic Clear Green and Clear Red. Decide on what voltage you are going to use, 9 or 12 volts, and Goto http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz The LED wizard will help you choose the resistors needed to cut down the voltage to what the LED needs to run correctly.Decide if you want to connect your lights in series or in parallel. If you decide to use in series, should one LED burn out, all others in the chain will not light.(Example: If you use the 10pair setup, as mentioned above, and one led in one of the pairs burns out, both leds in that pair will not light. All other pairs will still be lit.) The life expectancy of an led is 100,000 hrs. so this should not be an issue. Definitions for the LEDwizard questions.Source Voltage : This would be 9 or 12 , whatever you choose for your project.Diode forward voltage: This depends on your LED, check its specifications. A white or blue is usually 3volts. Red is usually 2 volts.Diode forward current: This is usually 20ma. You could use 15ma to extend the life of the LED and dim it slightly. Do not exceed 20ma, this will shorten the lifespan of the LED. Again, check the specifications. Number of LEDs in your array: If you choose parallel, enter 1. If you decide on series, using 9volts, do not exceed 2 3volt LEDs for Strobe or Nav Running. Doing so, your light will be quite dim or not light at all, Experiment. Experiment with your resistor/LED combinations. If you want a dimmer light, use a higher rated resistor. For more help on LEDs and Resistors, goto http://www.theledlight.com/ledcircuits.html.They have a very easy tutorial.

Below is an example of LEDs in Parallel and Series.

LEDs. have a short leg and a long leg. The long leg is usually the positive. The parallel setup above draws 60ma of current where as the series setup below only draws 20ma.You can run more LEDs using less amps running in series, but at a risk of having more lights go out if one burns out. The life expectancy of an led is 100,000 hrs. so this should not be an issue.

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In series setup, you can run as many LEDS as your selected voltage will allow. Example,you can run 3 3volt LEDs in series on 9 volts with no resistor needed. You could run 4 3volt LEDs in series on 12volts with no resistor. (Note: Model #NCC-1701-REFIT-A board supports a max of 2 3volt LEDs in a series chain for 9volts.)In Series setup, should one burn out, the others in that chain will not light.The life expectancy of an led is 100,000 hrs. so this should not be an issue. Your power supply must also support the current required by the LEDs.

Example of max Led setup.

Section 4. Timing

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Warning : Protect Board from electrostatic discharge. Ground yourself before handling. With the board facing you, as in the image above, using a small flat end screw driver, adjust the Strobe and Nav counter-clockwise to flash at a faster rate and clockwise to flash slower. It will take many turns to reach the minimum and maximum flash rates. Approximately 25 turns from each stop. If you own an OHM Meter, Checking the resistance at the trimpots can make it easier to adjust for syncing to a movie. You may find that 4k or 5k ohms is equal to 1 frame rate. Then, viewing your video frame by frame, you can calculate how much of an adjustment you need. The Trimpots are 200k ohms allowing a wide range of flash rate adjustment. Disconnect Battery. Using an ohm meter, you may check the settings of the trimpot.Under the trimpot are 3 pins. Flip over the board and find the three soldered pins. Setting your volt/OHM meter to OHMS, touch each probe to the end pins and take your reading. If the meter reads 0, the strobe is running at its max fastest speed, if the meter reads 200, it is running at its max slowest speed.

Section 5. Movie Sync Example The board is not calibrated to any specific Star Trek movie do to its versatile wide range of adjustments. We were able to adjust to the movie version by viewing certain parts of Star Trek VI frame by frame using video editing software. If you have this movie, or any movie, you may do the same to sync the flash rates. For Star Trek IV NCC-1701-A, the 4 Strobe lights are "off" for 47 frames and "on" for 3 frames. The Running Lights are "off" for 64 frames and since the IC being used to flash this circuit has a 50% duty cycle, we don't need to count the "on" frames. You can video tape your lights and view it frame by frame and adjust the trimpots as needed.

Section 6. Specificatons Warning : Protect Board from electrostatic discharge. Ground yourself before handling.

Board dimension: Approximately 2" x 2"

Board supported voltage: 9volt(Recommended) - 12 volts battery or Regulated DC wall adapter.

Max LEDs: 10 pair of leds in parallel wiring 2 leds in series for a total of 20 leds on each circuit.

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(Note : Strobe circuit ONLY: For advanced users ONLY. Advanced users may find that they are able to use more leds in parallel than what is recommended. Using the longer delay flash rate allows the transistor to cool, allowing you to run up to a max of 20 leds in parallel. Touch the transistor to make sure it does not get hot. This may also allow you to use 1/4watt resistors with your leds at 12volts. Always test temperature of transistor and led resistors.)

Strobe Approximate Min and Max Timing : .3 - 1.7 secs.Nav Running Approximate Min and Max Timing: .63 - 2.20 secs. Section 7. Alternative UsesThe NCC-1701-REFIT-A Flasher board can also be used in other projects and hobbieswhere the provided flash rate is desired, such as planes, towers, ships, etc. The strobe effect may also be desired for use as a signaling device for emergencies.

The NCC-1701-A board conveniently uses easy accessible Components. If a component should wear out in the future, it can be desoldered and a new component soldered in its place. The 2 IC's used are set in a socket and can easily found and replaced.

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