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part onto the board incorrectly, it can be a minor pain to remove if it only has two pins, or it
can be virtually impossible for something with a lot of pins like the processor. The Eggtimer
Limited Warranty does not cover incorrect assembly, so if you mess up badly enough you
may end up having to get another kit and starting over; neither of us want that.
There are several different resistor values, so make sure you get the right ones in the right
place. They are marked on the boards, but once again you need to make SURE that you have
them in the right place before soldering. Unsoldering parts on a small circuit board like the
Eggtimer isn't a lot of fun, even if you have a vacuum desoldering tool. Trust us, we've been
there before...
In general, you are going to assemble the Eggtimer from the lowest-profile components first
and work your way up to the taller components. This will make it easier to keep parts from
falling off the board as you turn it over to solder them. To help keep parts from falling out,
you can use a little paper masking tape to temporarily hold them in place until you solder them.
DO NOT use "Scotch"® tape or electrical tape for this; plastic tapes can pick up static
electricity, and electrical tape tends to leave a sticky residue.
If you have been doing this kind of thing for awhile, you have probably noticed by now that we
do not include sockets for the processor or the optoisolators. There are a couple of good
reasons for this. First, they add cost and weight, although not much. Secondly, they add
about ¼" to the height of the board, which can make it a tight fit in 29mm motor or BT-55
body tubes. Finally, and most important, components CAN be dislodged from sockets during a
flight due to acceleration and vibration. We have seen it happen, and the results are not pretty,
particularly if you are doing electronic recovery system deployment. Soldering these
components to the board completely eliminates this possibility. Neither the processor nor the
optoisolators are going to be damaged by the low-heat soldering that you will use to mount
them to the Eggtimer PC board, as long as you keep to our recommendations for the soldering
iron and solder.
Eggtimer Assembly Checklist
Before you solder anything, make absolutely sure that you have the correct part and that it is
inserted in the board correctly. The board has all of the component values, outlines, and
polarities silk-screened on the top, so there shouldn't be any doubt about what goes where and
how. Nevertheless, if you have any questions about the assembly procedure, do not hesitate to
drop us a line at
support@eggtimerrocketry.com
before you solder the parts to the board. You
may have to wait a day for the answer, but it could save you a lot of grief later on!
The Eggtimer Limited Warranty does not cover damage to parts while attempting to desolder
them because you inserted something incorrectly. We spent a lot of time making sure that the
assembly instructions were clear, but once again if you have any questions about the assembly
procedures drop us a line at
support@eggtimerrockety.com
before you solder.
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