Soldering - Step 10

Female Headers - Bottom Row

This step is similar to the previous one, we have to break the header and fit it into the board. The best way to do this is by cutting in the middle of an extra pin. For J1 we need 8 pins, so cut in the middle of the 9th pin. For J4 we need 6 pins, so cut in the middle of the 7th pin (of the remaining piece from the last cut).

From here, you can add them to the board and solder them in. Make sure that they are flush and perpendicular with the board, and that the solder connections are good.

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  1. Grab the other 1x20 F header, this one is for the bottom row
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  2. Measure how many pins for J1 (8)
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  3. Cut exactly in the middle of the 9th pin

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  4. Measure how many pins for J4 (6)
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  5. Cut exactly in the middle of the 7th pin
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  6. Add headers to board

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  7. Solder in the headers, make sure they are flush and perpendicular to the board
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  8. Add solder to the rest of the pins
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  9. Flip board over, this is what it should look like - Done!

Soldering - Step 11

Screw Terminals - Top Row

Time for the screw terminals! These will come in very handy when wiring up your RoboBrrd and adding more onto it. Some of the screw terminals need to be 'stuck' together. The way to do this is by sliding them together- there will be two 'rails' and 'grooves' that can fit together. See photo #2 below for an illustration. For the top row, we need to slide 7 of the screw terminals together.

After they are slid together, place them into the board. Make sure that the 'open' metal part (where the wires will be sticking in) is facing outwards. Solder it in, make sure that the soldered connections are good.

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  1. Grab 8 of the screw terminals for the first row
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  2. Attach them together by sliding the rails into each of them
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  3. They will fit together nicely

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  4. Attach 7 of them together
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  5. Add the screw terminals to the board
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  6. Add solder to the screw terminals, make sure they are aligned with the board

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  7. Flip board over, this is what it should look like- Done!

Soldering - Step 12

Screw Terminals - Bottom Row

Similar to the previous step, but this time we slide 5 and 2 of the screw terminals together. Same thing goes as before, make sure that the 'open' part where the wires will go in is facing outwards- and solder them in.

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  1. Grab the rest of the screw terminals (7)
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  2. Attach them together like the previous step, and insert them into the board
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  3. Solder in the pins and make sure the terminals are aligned with the board

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  4. Flip board over, this is what it should look like - Done!

Soldering - Step 12 & 1/2

Header Blocks for Power

We need to add on J6 and J11 so we can select what power sources to use for the RoboBrrd Brain Board! You will need the 2x3 M header block, as well as two 1x2 M headers (you can cut these from the long strip of M headers). Don't worry about the shorting blocks for now, as they will be added in a later step (step 15)

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  1. Grab the necessary headers as described above
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  2. Place them into the board, so the longer prongs are sticking up
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  3. Flip board over, and solder the pins in. Make sure that the headers are flush with the board

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  4. Soldering is done!
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  5. Flip board over, it should look exactly the same as when you started when done! (Except, obviously the pins are soldered in now)

Soldering - Step 13

2.1mm DC Jack

The 2.1mm DC jack is where a battery pack or transformer could be plugged in to power RoboBrrd. One of the differences between this component and the others is that the solder pad holes are quite a bit bigger. This means that more solder has to be added. Place it into CONN1. Before soldering all the pads, make sure that the jack is flush with the board. It's really tricky to fix later on! Also, be careful with the heat from all of the extra solder.

If you are wondering, the tab on the back of the connector is +V, and the other two tabs are Gnd. This means that the outside of the jack will be negative, and the inside prong will be positive. Sometimes there are different types of DC power supplies that you can get, so look for a 'positive centre'.

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  1. Grab the 2.1mm DC Jack
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  2. Insert it into the board at CONN1
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  3. Add solder to the pads, you may need a bit more solder for these ones since they are bigger

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  4. Flip board over, this is what it should look like - Done!

Next: Soldering - Part 4

There's still more components to be soldered! Keep going, on to part 4! (It's the last part!)

Soldering Part 4