CP16R (partial)DIY 45-speed crystal sync electronics

[Aapo Lettinen]

I am planning on releasing a partially diy assembled kit of my 45-speed cp16r replacement electronics.

The original ones had tcxo and the entire kits assembled by me. The diy kit would use normal crystal to make it more affordable and have couple of small modules with the tiny components assembled by me which contain the difficult-to-solder electronics and all the programmed parts readily programmed and tested by me. Then the rest of the kit would be delivered unassembled and one could solder the modules to the mainboard, solder other tht parts in place, install connectors and cables etc.

It would also be possible to get the kits cheaper if they only contain the modules and the mainboard pcb but no discrete components and connectors. 

The idea of these kits is that is is cheap enough to buy as a backup even if your original electronics work at the moment, and you can start assembling the replacement kit if your original electronics become unrepairable later on and get the necessary extra supplies then. 

The planned price of the kit with components and connectors included would be around 400usd outside-EU and preordered before October2026 and under 500usd after October. Includes shipping.  Planned shipping is between April2027 and July2027, likely May2027.

The modules included in all kits unless specifically ordered otherwise (lower price if something left out) :

- crystal sync module with speed generation, display control and shutter parking

- power module with motor driver circuit and voltage converters

- shutter parking sensor IR led board which is mounted underneath the main board, or if changing the current design then easy-to-diy-assemble alternative

- tachometer sensor board mounted to the motor

- led display board 7segment/2characters with integrated driver, mounted on the back panel

Also included with the kits unless specifically ordered otherwise(no price difference if left out) :

- aluminium back panel and display protection clear plastic material

- electrolytic capacitors (short special sized ones used to clear the belt)

- shutter parking sensor phototransistor 

- at least one main board pcb without components soldered in place, or might have the shutter parking sensor led light board in place 

- back panel switches

- main board gerber files and schematics if you need to make more of them as spare part or want to design your own main board and use the modules on that instead

The modules are proprietary and you need to use the supplied back panel or one with clear markings that the crystal sync is made by me if using the crystal sync module on the camera. 

It is possible to buy the modules separately, you can buy just the crystal sync module if you want and make the rest by yourself if you want. The modules are available for limited time in 2027 so you would need to buy at least the crystal sync module in 2026-2027 to get forward.

 

The IO connections will be a bit more limited compared to normal 45-speed kit but the speed presets and algorithms are the same.

Main difference between fully assembled 45-speed and this diy kit is the output connections, one power input instead of two, and normal crystals instead of tcxo used on crystal sync board. They are not the same electronics but functionally mostly the same and still one only needs the original electric motor drive from the camera, the rest is replaced with newly made electronics.

I am making soldering as easy as possible and using tht parts on the main circuit board and keeping surface mounted parts on the readily assembled modules. I am using almost exclusively smd parts to make my own assembly lines faster and more efficient.

Most of the design work will be done after December2026 but early orders would be preferred so that it would be possible to scale up/down the production early on. I am using some of the modules on CP-GSMO update kits so will start designing them in September already.

 

 

Edited July 24 by Aapo Lettinen

[Aapo Lettinen]

Crystal sync module first draft. The current size is about 30mm X 40mm. 

Will make a draft of the power module later this year. Piece of cake designing really as I have already tested everything on the regular 45-speed CP16R kits and now just need to split it to modules on smaller components and replace other ones with THT components which go to the mainboard. Makes designing and assembling mainboards easy too.

Ordering is open for the DIY kits if someone wants to order them at discount price of 400usd including shipping. Will raise the price later on so early orders preferred and I could use resources for fully assembled test boards later this year already to make fully assembled main board drafts.