The Ardweeny: the little friend of the Arduino (and how to beef it up)

Step 10 Soldering of the Atmel to the PackPack PCB

Here the most critical part of this project. The soldering of the Ardweeny.

You must first put the chip on the right side. Don't solder it in backwards! It's a real chore trying to fix a chip soldered in the wrong-way around!

Look closely at the Atmel chip - it has a little notch or recess on one of the narrow ends. The Ardweeny pcb has a similar line drawn on the end of the PCB (the opposite side to the push button). Check out the picture below to confirm you have it right!

Once you are positive you have things lined up correctly, squeeze the Atmel chip between the leads under the Backpack PCB, so the top of the IC mates with the the bottom of the PCB.

If you are having some trouble lining things up, use a breadboard to hold the PCB upside-down and steady with the programming pins.

Again, use the "single-pin" soldering technique: After soldering the first leg of the chip, make sure the chip is correctly in place on both sides. All looks good? Excellent - finish soldering, using as little solder as you can. Too much solder can blob down the pins, and make it hard to use with a breadboard!