i built one - it actually works.

[ploom2]

i finally got round to building my mini atmegatron and it actually works.
a bit slow as i'm a complete idiot ...

things i learnt ....
resistors dont matter which way they go round , supposed to be better if they are all 'similar' or something.
using iphone camera / ios12 magnifying thing really helps.
using the image of the fried one from this forum actually helped , an image of the components in place , close up gave me a lot of help and a bit of confidence on my progress. (can i request a nice , clear photo of a completed board top/bottom ??)

capacitors (the blue ones with funny legs , and the other brown ones)  can go in any way .. just put them in the right holes.

if you already have the case too , use the top of it to help ensure all the knobs, buttons , lights are in the right place while you are soldering things together. it'll keep them aligned and helped me out a lot (especially the small buttons and LED/light pipes)

the volume definitely touches on the usb socket on mine , i cut away what i could and put a bit of plastic in between.

LED's were tricky , i think i need to check its all working as i'm not sure i get all the expected colours on the Function led.

its making noises and changing sequences etc , all the dials do something , the button tweaks something , though i'm not entirely sure what the expected behaviour is , so more playing tomorrow. (some kind of guide on how it should perform a diagnostic might be great for an idiot like me , just a quick run through of the colours expected , sound changes , .. nothing lengthy). the youtube vids from various people look useful .

my soldering skills are not terrible and improved as i progressed ..
my eyesight is not good enough for this stuff.

overall , i learnt lots , had 'fun' i guess , very pleased it worked 1st time (even though i didn't check for shorts though i kept it clean as i went through it)

tomorrow :
check the led's are doing what they should.
hook up arduino to get some unique firmware on it , even if its just different sequences and defaults.
put the case together properly , i have 2 x screws left over.
add orangepaint to the top of each button and encoder so they stand out from the case.
add something to give each LED more sheilding so that then one flashes it doesnt impact the colour of the other too much. (piece of cardboard or something)
plug in a 9v adapter to see it that works.
find out what the note button does.

happy , my next project is repairing the encoders on my octatrack , then build my erebus diy .
if i can do this , I'm quite sure anyone can .