Chapter One- Soldering the components
Ready to start soldering?
In this chapter, we'll explain how to solder all the components. You'll see many photos that will lead you through the process and make it easy to follow.
Part One - Soldering the first two components
Here are the components you will need for the first step. Take your display circuit board and two female pin headers that you see in the photo below.
Display circuit board + 2 female header pins
There are only two pins that you have to solder here. The other two holes below the button should stay as they are. Please see the following photo to make sure you soldered everything correctly.
Turn the display board upside down and find the holes on the top of the board. Since there are two pin headers that you'll have to solder to the board, there are two places where those pin headers should go. It is hard to miss them because they are located just above the board's display on the left and the right side.
It's important that you insert the pin headers from the back of the board like in the photo below.
Insert the pin header from the backside of the board
Now turn the display board again and adjust it so that the pin header stays in one place.
Turn the display board again
Now it's time to solder the first pin!
Firstly, carefully place the soldering iron on the first pin, so that it’s touching both the pin and the little plated area around the hole that the pin is going through.
Leave it like that for about ten seconds so it heats up and then apply the tip of the solder to it. The solder should easily melt and spread evenly around the joint.
Make sure to create a volcano-like shape so that the base of the joint is filled with solder but the top is getting thinner and thinner.
Before you repeat this step for the other three pins, let's make sure your pin header sits at the right angle.
If you think your pin header is not soldered at the right angle, take the board and, while holding it, reheat the component so that it sits straight.
To resolder the header, you simply need to place the soldering iron tip to that one pin that you just soldered and adjust it with your finger as soon as the iron melts the solder. Once you remove the soldering iron tip, the solder should cool off and stay as it is, holding the header straight.
Adjust the header with your finger
After you adjust the header's first pin, it's time to solder the other three pins. Take your soldering iron and some solder and keep on soldering.
Your soldering joints should look like small volcanos - more solder at the bottom, less at the top
The first pin header is soldered to the board. Congratulations! Now do the same with the second pin header.
Turn the board upside down again and insert the component. After that, start with soldering the first pin and then adjust the header before soldering all the rest
Insert the second pin header
If you successfully soldered both pin headers, your display board should look like this:
Part Two - Resistors
You will need the main circuit board and two resistors for this part of the assembly.
Main circuit board + 2 resistors
Resistors are standard passive two-lead electronic components that implement electrical resistance as a circuit element. Spencer needs these resistors so they can adjust signal levels and regulate current flow.
Start by removing the protective paper from the legs of the resistor.
Remove the protective paper
Once you remove the paper, you'll have to fold the resistor legs so they bend right where the resistor is.
Take a look at the photo below.
The resistor should easily be inserted if you bend the legs like this
Now take the main circuit board and insert the resistors from the upper side of the board. You can see that the place where resistors should go is marked with 150R.
Push the resistor all the way to the board
Once you inserted the first resistor, it's time to solder it to the board. Repeat the same process as before. Flip the board upside down and place the soldering iron tip to the resistor lead so it touches both the lead and the little plated area. Add some solder and make the connection!
Soldering this resistor should be easier than soldering the pin header since the joints are not as close as in the pin header case.
Cut all the legs off the components you’ve soldered using your diagonal cutter pliers.
Remember
Face the board away from yourself when cutting the legs. If you cut them carefully, the legs shouldn't fly around, but make sure to face the board towards the table just in case.
Cut the resistor legs like this
Now repeat the same process for the second resistor. Bend the legs, insert the resistor from the upper side of the board, and solder it from the bottom side of the board.
Part three - soldering more pin headers
It's time to solder some more pin headers. These male pin headers will enable us to connect the main circuit board to the display circuit board.
Here are all the components you need for this step.
Main circuit board + 2 male pin headers
Insert the first pin header from the upper side of the board. The holes are located in the corners at the top of the board.
This header is inserted from the back of the board. Make sure that you put the rounded part of the pins on the board!
This might be a little bit tricky because the header will fall out by itself if there's nothing to support it while you solder. Therefore, we came up with a solution that you can see below.
Pro tip
Use the pliers as support when soldering the header to keep the main board in balance.
The first pin header soldered to the board
When you finish soldering the first header, proceed with soldering the second one. Repeat the process, and feel free to use the pliers to balance the board and hold the pin in one place.
You're doing great! Keep up the good work, there are only a few more components that need to be soldered to the board.
Your main board should look like this by now if you managed to solder the resistors and male pin headers.
Main circuit board from the back
Main circuit board from the front
Part four - Soldering the capacitors
In the next step, you'll solder the two capacitors.
These look like small black barrels with two legs. They’re used for filtrating noise and ensuring that Spencer's circuitry is powered with clean and stable electrical current.
Main circuit board + 2 capacitors
The polarity of the capacitors is indicated with the big white minus (-) sign on the capacitors (the big white stripe).
Flip the board upside down so you face the back side of it. The place for capacitors is marked by (-) and (+) polarity, so make sure to insert the capacitors correctly.
The big white stripe that indicates the (-) polarity should be in line with the (-) mark on the board.
Match the polarity of the capacitor with the polarity marked on the board
Insert the capacitor
Pro tip
When you insert the capacitor, bend the legs of the capacitor so that it doesn’t fall out from the board while you’re soldering it.
Cut the remaining part of the capacitor legs with your diagonal cutter pliers
Repeat the same process with the second capacitor.
Make sure to insert it correctly according to the polarity that's marked on the capacitor itself and the main circuit board.
Insert the second capacitor
Don't forget to cut all the legs from both capacitors!
Part five - Soldering the button
Finally, this button and the LED light are the last components you'll have to solder to the board.
Once you solder this button, you will put the big red button cover to finalize Spencer's look.
Main circuit board + button
Insert the button from the front side of the board, like in the photo below, then solder it from the back side.
There are only two pins that you have to solder here. The other two holes below the button should stay as they are. Please see the following photo to make sure you soldered everything correctly.
The button is now soldered
The last step in this chapter is soldering the LED light.
You did a great job so far soldering all the components! After this step, you'll switch from your soldering iron to your screwdriver to assemble the casing for Spencer.
Main circuit board + LED light
Watch out for the polarity again!
Just like when you soldered the capacitors, you'll have to check for the polarity before soldering the LED light.
You might have noticed that one of the LED light legs is shorter than the other. Make sure to match the shorter lead to the (-) polarity marked on the board and the longer one to the (+) polarity!
The shorter lead is matched to the (-) polarity and the longer lead is matched to the (+) polarity on the board!
Solder the LED light
Cut the rest of the legs with your diagonal cutter pliers
In the following chapter, we'll show you how to make the first check to see if the lights and the sound work when you turn ON your partially assembled Spencer.
Good job, let's move on!
If you need help with cleaning the tip of your soldering iron, please check our video tutorial.