These instructions are to build and test the Battery board.

Here is the board built with SMT instead of the purple INA219 board:

Here is the PCB top and bottom:

Here is the schematic

Here is the board with the top on the left with the AMSAT logo and the bottom on the right:

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)
• Wire strippers or a blade (to remove insulation from wires)
• Heat gun or hairdryer (to secure heat shrink tubing over connector wires)

Other tools that are helpful:

• Multimeter (to read battery voltage)

Checklist

The BOM has a sheet "By Steps" which lists the parts needed for each step in order. http://cubesatsim.org/bom If you have a Google account, you can make a copy of this spreadsheet ("File" then "Make a Copy") and check off each part as you install it.

For example, here is the checklist for this step:

Battery Board Instructions

Video

Here is a video of this step:

Assembly

The Battery Board stacks on top of the main board.

Either AAA or AA batteries can be used. When doing public demos or events, I would recommend using AA batteries. The CubeSatSim will take over 3 hours to discharge and about the same time to recharge. I'd recommend AAA batteries for classroom demonstrations or videos where you want to see changes in battery voltage right away. The CubeSatSim will discharge in about an hour, and recharge in about the same time.

You will need the following parts to make the Battery board as described in the BOM https://cubesatsim.org/bom:

• Battery PCB

• Stacking GPIO header

• Three Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) cells (either AA or AAA size)

• Battery holder (either AA or AAA size)

• INA219 blue voltage and current sensor board

• JST 2.0 jumper cable

• JST 2.0 connector

• PTC resettable fuse F1

• Foam mounting square

• Two small zip ties

The parts are shown here:

Start by mounting U1 the battery voltage and current sensor. It can be mounted on a female socket or directly on the board after first testing it. The female 1x6 header mounts on the top of the PBC as shown, held straight and vertical with blue putty:

Flip the board over to the bottom and solder one pin on the bottom.

Flip the board onto the top and double check the header is inserted all the way and is straight. Then solder the rest of the pins on the bottom:

Flip the board to the top and insert the 1x6 male pin header into the female pin header. The long pins are inserted into the socket. If you aren't using a socket, insert the 1x6 male pin header directly into the PCB.

Then install the INA219 board on top and support with blue putty so that it is horizontal and straight:

Then, solder the pins on the top of the INA219 board:

Next, mount the PTC fuse F1 and the JST connectors JP1.

F1 is inserted on the top of the PCB and the leads soldered on the bottom of the PCB:

Trim the excess leads after soldering:

Next, insert the JST connector. Make sure the slot is facing the edge of the PCB:

Then solder the battery holder BT1. The battery holder can be mounted with screws and nuts, or with a foam square on the bottom as shown here:

Carefully insert the battery holder on the top of the PCB:

Flip the board over and solder the two pins on the bottom.

The stacking GPIO header J1 is inserted on the BOTTOM of the PCB as shown here:

Make sure it is fully inserted and straight:

Flip the board back to the top and solder one pin one each side. Double check that the connector is straight and fully inserted. Here is an example of a badly inserted connector:

Here's how a correctly inserted connector looks:

Now solder the first 3 rows of the pin header and the last 3 rows.

The batteries and the INA219 board can be inserted

The address jumpers on the INA219 board need to be set. Here's how it looks before the address is set:

The A1 jumper is set with a blob on solder, which looks like this:

Here is the board with the batteries and INA219 board installed.

It is a good idea to test your battery polarity using a voltmeter. Use the BAT+ (J1) and BAT- (J2) test points on the board, being very careful not to short them together:

If you read a positive voltage in the range 3V - 4.5V, your Battery board is "nominal" and ready to be used. If you get a negative voltage, check that the red and black test leads are plugged into the positive and common inputs on your meter, or that your batteries aren't inserted backwards.

Finally, use one or two zip ties to secure the batteries. If you use two, join them on the top and on the bottom of the PCB as shown:

Here's how the completed board looks:

A JST jumper cable will be used to supply battery power to the rest of the CubeSatSim:

The next step is to assemble the Solar Panels.