Build Instructions

Collapse

• 1

  Unpacking the Kit

  Unless I screwed up, you should have all of the following in your Kit:

  The only difference between the Beginner and Experienced Kits is that the SMD components (the resistors and I/O expander) will be pre-soldered instead of coming in their own bag.
  

• 2

  Install SMD Components (Experienced Kits)

  If you have the Beginners Kit, you can skip this step. Honestly, if you've got the Experienced Kits you can probably skip this step as well, since you likely know what to do already. But just in case, we'll go over it quickly.

  The resistors are easy -- they're all the same value, and the orientation of course doesn't matter. Simply put some solder on one of the pads, position the resistor, and add a little heat to liquefy the solder and tack it down. With the resistor attached on one side, apply some solder to the opposite end.

  The I/O expander uses the SOIC-18 package, which is a bit harder to hand solder but still fairly forgiving. The trick is to apply solder to one of the pads as you did with the resistor, and use that to tack the chip into position. Make sure you have the mark on the chip (the intended circle) properly oriented with the triangle on the silkscreen -- it should actually be upside-down in relation to the rest of the PCB.

  Once you have one leg soldered down and the rest are lined up, you can run your iron down the length of the chip to solder the rest of the pins. This is a technique known as "drag soldering", and if you can forgive the music, the following video shows the process in detail:
  

  With all the pins soldered down, look closely for any bridged connections. If two pins have a bit of solder connecting them, you can usually fix this by holding the tip of the iron on them for a second or two to melt the bridge. Once all the pins look good, move on to the next step.

• 3

  Install LEDs

  To install the LEDs, insert them into the holes in the PCB and then fold over the leads. Once the leads are flat to the board, you may need to gently spread them apart so they align with the solder pads. 

  Note that the orientation of the LEDs is important: the longer led on the LED is the positive terminal, which needs to correspond with the pad marked "+" on the board.

  While this is best done with a pair of small pliers, it can be done with your bare hands. In either event, holding down the body of the LED with your thumbnail so it doesn't pop out of the board will allow you to get a better bend.

  Before soldering the leads to the pads, it helps to bend them upwards to make it easier to cut off the excess
  

View all 6 instructions