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SchmartBoard Kit Impressions & Success Stories — Parallax Forums

SchmartBoard Kit Impressions & Success Stories

HumanoidoHumanoido Posts: 5,770
edited 2010-01-06 06:43 in Propeller 1
If it was your first time assembling SMT (surface mount technology), using the SchmartBoard Kit, what was your success rate and impressions?

Comments

  • mparkmpark Posts: 1,309
    edited 2010-01-03 08:24
    This thread contains my and others' experiences:
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=819923

    I'd done some SM ICs before, but this was my first experience with 0805 and 0603 parts.

    With help from this forum I was able to assemble the SchmartBoard with just the SM parts. The SchmartBoard solder grooves worked perfectly for me.

    The greatest difficulty for me was identifying the values and orientations of the SM caps and LED. The caps turned out to be unpolarized so orientation didn't matter, but you have to put the LED in the right way 'round. The documentation (from the Parallax website) let me down here, but as I said, the forum filled in the blanks for me.

    Overall I enjoyed the challenge of working with those teeny-weeny components and found the experience to be quite educational.
  • mparkmpark Posts: 1,309
    edited 2010-01-04 21:27
    I just discovered that the 5V regulator isn't regulating. I'm getting ~12V out of the thing. Explains why the LED is so bright, I guess.

    Anyone else have problems with the 5V regulator?
  • HumanoidoHumanoido Posts: 5,770
    edited 2010-01-06 04:57
    mpark: good to know your experiences. The board is so small, it could work well in a number of projects, but tackling assembly of multiple boards could be a challenge. It is good to know you did so well. Were you able to replace the regulator?
  • mparkmpark Posts: 1,309
    edited 2010-01-06 05:39
    I haven't replaced the regulator yet. It does make me wonder how well I actually did as far as assembling the board. Who knows what else I messed up?!
  • HumanoidoHumanoido Posts: 5,770
    edited 2010-01-06 06:43
    I do know that with conventional soldering of components, it is a common practice to clip on a small heat sink to to the lead, to prevent heat from burning up the component during the soldering process. As the SMT components are so tiny, and the resistors and capacitors are so small they have no protruding leads, I wonder how they can be soldered safely with a soldering iron. Maybe someone can shed some light on this...

    mpark: Two options - do some more testing and run some programs, after the regulator operation is corrected. Does the kit come with the regulator presoldered onto the board?

    humanoido
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