This is my first time ever soldering and doing this type of work, so I donāt know if this next statement is true or not, but I think Iāve gone beyond the point of return on my current kit
I put the regulator in the wrong way because my board is arranged differently than the tutorial. The regulator in the tutorial is placed well away from the 12c port. My regulator slots seemed to be too close to the 12c port, so I thought maybe Iām suppose to spin the regulator around on my board to fit it in. After seeing some completed projects Iāve realized that I should have put it in the correct way and the bent the piece down a little bit to fit it into the space.
So I attempted to undo my mistake by trying to remove the solder without the suction tool or copper wickā¦ Iāve made a pretty big mess. The solder wonāt even melt anymore. Iām definitely going to need a new regulatorā¦ Do I have to buy another kit in order to retry? Iām not sure if this is salvageable, but it was fun while it lasted
The board looks to be OK, just get your iron nice and hot and remove the excess solder.
Did you cut the regulator off the board? If so, if it still has long enough ālegsā, it should still be OK to use if not damaged. Otherwise, visit your local electronics shop or online, this component is very cheap to replace just make sure you get the same one.
Tip: You need to make sure youāre soldering iron is clean by using a wet sponge and you need to use some solder flux on the solder joints. there is nothing wrong with using loads of flux.
But you need to be careful as too much heat on the solder pad could end up damaging the pcb board.
If you need a new 3.3v regulator then the part number is MCP1702-3302ET
Thanks for the tip about the flux. Just picked some up with a solder pump and Iāve successfully cleared out the holes. I might have damaged the board thoughā¦ the metal plate on the joint of one of the holes popped off.
The āmetal coverā is called a āPadā, these pads also connect both sides of the pcb board.
Iām guessing the pads on the other side of the board are still in good condition?.
What you are going to have to do is pull out all youāre solder skills here
When you get the new 3.3 regulator, solder it so that the regulator faces down and solder the regulator
as you would normally following the MAKERbuino instructions, you will then have to solder a wire link
on the bottom of the pcb, this will then connect the broken ground pin (pin1) on top of the board back to the two
capacitors that the pin 1 ground also connects too. (this is bit with the broken pad).
Here is an image which shows you the two solder points you will need to solder a piece of wire too.
Iāve done the exact same thing for the exact same reason. The guide does not match the kit that I was set and all that it says for fitting the regular is āBe careful to turn it on the right side!ā. Not being familiar with electronics and using this as a learning experience (as advertised), Iām not too happy that I now have a useless device. I have a solder sucker, but itās not doing the job as far as I can tell (Iāve never had to use it before). Iāve let the iron get really hot and tried to apply to all 3 pins to allow for some movement but no luck. Just a few burnt fingertips trying to move it.
I wouldnāt advise any beginners to start working on this project until the guide has been completely rewritten so that it matches the kit that has been sent out and clear and accurate photos exist for each step, since this is what we need to follow. As a backer, I realize that the kit wasnāt too expensive, but I was honestly excited about this project and now itās worthless if I cannot fix this honest mistake. All because I had to make a 50/50 guess as to how to what the āright wayā was and, unfortunately, I made the wrong one.
Iām very disappointed this whole experience, to be honest. I was going to get another after this one for my partner, but Iām reluctant to hand over any more money to this project. Documentation is key and it feels out-dated and lacking in some key areas. Iām going to try desoldering again tomorrow, with a clear head, but I donāt have much hope that itās going to work.
I only noticed at the stage where I had to turn it on for the first time. Nothing happened and I knew immediately that I must have made the wrong choice at this step. Iāve since looked up the piece online and found a simple diagram that showed the 1 2 3 numbers mapped to pins based on the top shape. This would have been perfect to see in the guide, to help others avoid wrecking their device too.
I managed to get the wrongly inserted regulator out, but I had to cut of the pins entirely to be able to remove it. This means that I have to get a new regulator somehow.
Iāve bit the bullet and paid for 10 (common minimum order quantity) from element14, which cost a lot more than theyāre worth
As I said before, Iām very disappointed by this experience, but Iām still excited about it at the same time. Definitely conflicted. Hopefully the replacement works and Iāve not damaged the PCB in any way while attempting to remove the solders for the incorrectly inserted regulator.
I understand your disappointment and frustration. If it at all helps here is how the 3.3v regulator should be fitted, with the flat part of the regulator facing downwards onto the board. Are all your solder pads on the PCB board ok?.
I advise you to change your circuit silk layer for the next device you fabricate. I donāt know what software you use for PCBs, but with Eagle there are many libraries and usually this kind of transistor-like package are represented with a kind of D shape on the silk layer, which clearly indicates the direction.
By the way, are the schematics available somewhere?
Iām with you on this one @Tom. I donāt know why they changed the component layout and silk layer, If you look at the building guide then that shows you a perfect D shape (obviously an older version of the board), my only guess is that the component sat too high on the PCB and came in contact with the casing?
Yes, anything that outputs 3.3V and is capable of delivering more than 100mA should do the trick.
Just have in mind that LM317 cannot be used to regulate the Li-Po battery as it needs 3V difference between Vi and Vo (check out the datasheet, itās very well written)
My new regulator doesnāt come in for another week so Iāll let you know how it goes.