Step 22: Driver Part 3

We haven't actually put that many components on the board yet, but in this video we will. I'm speeding up the video to get more components into this step. There are a lot of components on this board. With that said, I was actually able to get the board populated in one night. In terms of the video, however, it seems longer.

Today, all of the components up to the large capacitors get installed. I also move the resistor network to the correct position from RN4 to RN5. It was a painful alteration. My usual technique removing a multi lead device yeilded a leadless component. Actually, I was able to save one lead. My method of removing a multilead componend is to first remove all of the solder with a wick. Even though this is done, there is still a bit of solder on the leads to render the component unmovable. I then use the soldering iron on its side and push all of the leads towards the PCB. It usually works, but this time it didn't. Instead, I got a little impatient and broke all but one of the leads. To mend the problem, I add solder to the top side of the PCB (silkscreen side) into each hole for the broken leads. Then I insert the resistor network with the single lead and re-heat the solder to create a solder bridge onto the broken leads. I turn the board over to add solder to the trace to complete the contact.