Sparkfun Joystick Shield Kit

[Chuckt]

My Spark Fun Joystick Board came today (SKU COM-09032). I put the parts through the hole. We're dealing with small parts here. I had ordered an extra joystick because of the problems I read online. It is a four directional joystick and you can also press it down like a switch because there is a tact switch on the side of it. The first joystick didn't want to go through the board because it isn't a perfect fit and the tact switch rides up meaning that the pins didn't go through the board so I tried a second joystick and was able to get it to work. I also think I'm going to need a fine needle on a soldering iron for these pins.

I'm ready to solder it when I get the chance. I have some solder that is probably over 30 years old but I may just buy some newer solder and some flux. I haven't soldered for a while so I should probably poke some tacts through cardboard and practice until I get the routine down.

I should probably mount the Joystick Shield (daughterboard) on something than an Arduino and design a cable extender for the four headers. One of the headers is unused because it is a pass through. I'm making an assumption that I probably only need four wires judging by the circuit board pattern on the bottom. I should probably consult the schematic. But for right now, I just need it to sit on top of the Gameduino which sits on top of the Arduino.

I may just get different switches in the future but they can get expensive because the ones I want are arcade switches and the ones I'm looking at are unknown to me so I may order a couple fo see how they feel and I'll make a decision on that. Someone does make light up switches and they might give acrylic some colored shine when they light up which might be nice in low light or no light conditions. I'm also thinking that acrylic can be backlit with some nice colored LEDs.

[brad]

Hi Chuck, are you able to post a picture?

[Chuckt]

My son and I read a cartoon book on soldering and today he put on safety glasses as I let him melt some solder under my supervision as I held the iron with him. (I'm concerned about safety.) The soldering iron I have is a cheap one from Radio Shack. I was able to solder the legs of the joystick on the Sparkfun board (while I made him watch from a distance with safety glasses) but the iron may not be fine pitched enough to do the small leads on the board as we were using lead free solder which may be hard to work with. The other issue was the board got singed from being near the hot iron as I didn't touch it. I'm hoping I can touch up the board up with some rubbing alcohol. We washed our hands and everyone is safe. I didn't want to finish the board in one sitting.

[brad]

Lead free solder is harder to work with.

One little tip is to tin the legs of your component first (melt a thin layer of solder onto it) this will help with soldering to the board.

Also, remember that solder actually cleans your soldering iron. Just melt a big blob onto the tip and rotate through ensuring that you get solder all over the tip and then wipe it off.

Cleanliness is 90% of soldering!

[Chuckt]

Hi Chuck, are you able to post a picture?

I finished my joystick shield. This is a picture of a Sparkfun Joystick shield (daughterboard) sitting on top of a Gameduino which sits on top of an Arduino.

Soldering Sparkfun Joystick 480 002.jpg (165.45 KiB) Viewed 11617 times

I had some practice with a new Elenco soldering iron. The 1/64th inch tips and lead free solder is a little different to work with. I made some mistakes by going too fast and adding too much solder but nothing I can't live with. I found by going slow and using a minimalist approach, I can get the job done better. The next board I do will be better because I had some practice and I just have to remember what I know now.

My only advice is not to solder to high on the pin headers because you want the board to come close to the next board as close as possible but it is possible to use the lead as an outward funnel to get the solder to flow down correctly. (Yes, I know you have to heat the pad and the pin with the soldering iron.) Not all the leads on the joystick shield (daughterboard) do anything but I added solder for structural support.

Soldering Sparkfun Joystick 480 003.jpg (166.28 KiB) Viewed 11617 times

My advice to everyone is to use a second set of hands. (My son was laughing because I said I was missing my hands and couldn't solder):

Soldering Sparkfun Joystick 001.jpg (156.74 KiB) Viewed 11617 times

I also found that I could solder pin headers upside down by using the allegator clips to hold the pin header from the top while soldering them upside down.

Now I have to test the Gameduino and Sparkfun Joystick shield.

[brad]

You're working like a pro now Chuck