Step 6b: Building the CubeSatSim Solar SMT PCB Part 2

These are the instructions for building the Solar board v1.3.2 with SMT Components.

These are the Through Hole instructions after the Solar SMT components have been installed and reflowed.

Here is the Solar PCB v1.3.2:

Here is the schematic:

https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/blob/beta-v1.3.1/hardware/beta-v1.3.2/cubesatsim-solar-b1.3.2_schematic.pdf

You will need these tools:

• Safety glasses (to protect eyes while soldering or trimming leads)
• Soldering iron and solder (I use lead-free solder, but leaded solder is easier to work with)
• Needle nose pliers (to bend leads and hold parts)
• Side cutters (to trim leads)
• glue, such as super glue gel to attach the JST connectors to the PCB

Other tools that are helpful:

• Blue mounting putty(to hold components in place while soldering)

Solar Board Through Hole Soldering

You will need:

• Stacking GPIO header J1 (mounted on the bottom of the PCB)
• 14 JST 2.0 connectors JP1 - JP6, JP10 - JP15
• Soldering iron, solder
• Qwiic connector and 1x4 pin male header

Start by mounting the GPIO header J1 on the bottom of the Solar PCB:

Flip the board over and solder one pin on either side on the top.

Check to make sure the header is fully inserted and straight:

Next, you will solder the JST 2.0 connectors. Make sure you have the correct alignment of the connectors. The slot should always face the edge of the PCB.

Solder the pins on the bottom.

Next, insert the 1x4 pin male header into the top of the PCB:

Flip the PCB over and solder the four pins. Then flip the PCB to the top and place the Qwiic connector. Hold in place with blue putty then solder pins on the top, being careful not to touch the black plastic connector with the hot iron.

Here's how the board looks finished:

The next step is V2 Solar Board Testing