Swiss AVR Knife

Step 8 Soldering Parts to PCB

There are numerous resources on the Internet that describe the process of soldering electronic components to PCBs. See, for example the soldering tutorial at ladyada.net. The order in which you install components doesn't really matter, although I have found working from smallest to largest the easiest.

The LED/blinkenlight leads are long enough so that you can shape them into a menorah-like pattern in the tin. Carefully fit the LEDs and bend the leads so that the top of each LED is positioned so that it will poke up through its respective hole. This can be challenging but it looks really nice when it finally works out. If the leads are left too long, the LEDs might be squashed down and out of position by the lid of the tin.

Note The rightmost LED is not in the same orientation as the other eight. Make sure you check the polarity of the LEDs against the board layout when you install them. This LED is attached to the RESET pin, so you may choose not to install it.

Note The wires to the audio jack and the resistors share a hole. For convenience, put the resistors in upright in such a way that the body of the resistor is not over the hole with the audio wire. Either prepare and install the audio jack at this point or wait until it is ready to solder in the resistors. It is no fun desoldering the resistors later on.