Buzz Soldering Instructions (Preview)

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Buzz

For best results, read through all the instructions before beginning.

New to soldering? We’ve compiled a quick reference about soldering and links to tutorials on our Soldering Tutorial Page. You will need to familiarize yourself with the basics of soldering before continuing with this project.

If you do not have the appropriate soldering tools or want personal instruction, look for a Makerspace in your area. They are an excellent resource and tend to have soldering classes open to the general public. If you are in New Jersey, come on down to FUBAR Labs .

Let’s get ready to solder!

Saftey First.

Put on your safety glasses.
Clear your workspace of any food or miscellaneous materials. You should only have your soldering iron, solder, small wire cutters and your Pi Pal kit.
No food or drinks by your space!
Wash your hands after you are done.
Never leave your soldering iron on and unattended

Take Inventory.

Open up your kit and check that you have all the components.

You should have:

(1) Right Angle 10 Pin Male Header
(3) 220 ohm Resistors (Blue or Beige colored)
(1) Piezo Buzzer
(1) Buzz Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
(8) Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

Lay out your Pi Pal components.

Pick out and set aside:

2 LEDs for his eyes
2 resistors for his eyebrows
1 piezo buzzer for his belly
1 right angle 10 pin male header for his feet

Note, your resistor base color may be beige or blue – but the value is the same. If you like, you can color your resistors with a marker before soldering in place.

Solder Right Angle 10 Pin Male Header.

The right angle header allows Buzz to plug into the Brain Board, the Pixel Power Board, Arduino, or a breadboard.

Place the short end of the male header through Buzz’s feet from the front. They sort of look like toes, don’t they? The long leads and the plastic component should face down. We will solder the pins on the back of Buzz.

Flip both Buzz and the header over so that the back is facing you. Take the heated soldering iron and soldering in hand and gently touch the tip of the iron to the PCB and the header pin for a few seconds. When you touch the solder to the pin and iron, the solder will flow evenly.

Tip: use masking or blue painters tape to tape Buzz to your work surface so he does not move around while you solder.

Solder the Resisors (Buzz’s Eyebrows).

When the header is done, you are ready for the resistors. It does not matter which way the resistors go, there is no (+) or (-) side. Insert them from the front so they sit flush.

Bend Resistor leads.

Bend the resistor leads at 45 degree angles to the PCB so they hold in place while you solder them.

Clip the excess leads.

After you solder the resistors, clip the leads. Be sure to hold on to the lead when you clip it. They fly!

Rule of thumb: The smaller the part you clip, the farther and faster it will fly across the room! — safety glasses are important. When you clip the lead, clip it just above the solder ball. Do not clip it flush with the board.

Soldering Piezo Buzzer.

The Piezo has no polarity, so it does not matter which direction we put the pins in the holes.

From the front of the board, place the buzzer leads through the two holes on Buzz’s belly. Then, flip him over and solder and clip the leads as you did with the resistors.