D.I.Y. (O.F.S.) Atari Punk Console: The End is Pretty Fuckin' Nigh
Hey they Children of the Revolution,
We've had a lovely time, so far, building our Atari Punk Console, but all good things must come to an end (that is, until we did it out again, in a couple of weeks, in order to add a voltage control). So, it is with a heavy heart and soldering iron-burnt fingers that we conclude the work on our APCs.
(Photo credit: f!tO)
Of course, you can always do what I did, and go with the classic black project box. Either way you'll have to drill some holes. If you're following my design, you'll need to drill six holes: Three for the potentiometers; one for the on/off switch; one for the LED; and one for the audio jack. My technique is to mark the holes (I've placed the pots for the oscillators away from the volume pot); drill pilot holes ["Pilot Hole" would be a decent band name]; switch to a larger drill bit, then enlarge the holes with razor knives, test fitting the components as I go.
Now it's finally time to prepare your board. Here are a few tips: 1) Don't solder the components directly to the chip. Use a 14 pin socket (see below) and then carefully push the chip in after all of the soldering is complete. 2) Run leads from pins 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12 (after you've used a small jumper wire to connect 12 & 13), and 14. This will allow you to solder several components the the tend of a wire rather than making a mess of the pins. You can run a jumper from pin 5 to pin 8 but...3) make sure that you leave enough room to allow you to pop the 556 chip into the socket. If things go well, you eventually end up with something that looks this on the inside:
Don't forget to personalize your casing! Remember; it's the little touches that help to reflect the warm side of your personality. 
After you seat your motherboard, attach the batter, and screw down the lid, go get a glass of wine and enjoy Unwoman covering NiN - because you're done!
