The Arduboy Kit is a video game system on a circuit board. Based on the popular Arduboy open-source game platform, it is designed to be assembled by hand.

 

Goals

Intermediate Difficulty

Materials

Recommended: Flux, Solder Braid

Included: PCB, Pro-Micro, OLED Display, Short Pin-Headers, Reset Button, Buttons (x6),

Speaker, Headphone Jack, Flash Chip, Tweezers, Practice PCB, USB-C 2.0 Cable

 

Soldering involves melting a metal alloy to create a bond between components. Temperature control is important but almost just as important is our friend flux. Flux, or sometimes called rosin, is often integrated into the solder, cleans the surfaces, prevents oxidation, and enhances the soldering process by aiding the flow and bonding of the solder.

 

Begin by pre-heating the components and PCB. Apply solder where the components meet, heating the joint sufficiently to allow the solder to flow into place. Use as little solder as possible to avoid bridging nearby connections. Timing is key—hold the iron just long enough for proper wicking without burning the flux. Always ensure you are working in a well-ventilated area, clean the iron's tip frequently, and wear safety glasses to protect against splashes of hot solder.

 

Contained within the Arduboy Kit is a green circuit board. Use this board to tune the settings of your iron and practice your soldering before getting started. Practice making solder connections and get a feeling for how quickly the solder melts and how it flows to the PCB. Try to use as little solder as possible. Experiment with and without pre-heating the pad, intentionally use too much solder, make a mess and of course – have fun!

 

 

Step 1: Header Pins to Modules

1.a Cut and place short pin headers WARNING: Do not solder yet!

1.b Place Pro-Micro

It’s recommended to use the PCB for reference instead of counting the number of required pins. The PCB is used as a jig to align the pins to the module

CAUTION: When cutting pin headers, they can go flying

 

1.c Solder pins to Pro-Micro

1.d Remove Pro-Micro with pins

CAUTION: Do not disturb components already mounted to the Pro-Micro. Hold the soldering iron in a way that safely clears other components

 

1.e Cut and place pin headers WARNING: Do not solder yet!

1.f Place OLED Display Screen facing up

REMINDER: Do not solder to PCB yet, only solder pins to module

 

1.g Soler pins to OLED Display

1.h Remove OLED Display with pins

 

Step 2: Reset Button

2.a Apply solder to one pad for the reset button NOTE: Only solder one pad

2.b While re-flowing solder, slide reset button into place, then remove iron.

This method of applying solder to the pad is known as “tinning”

 

2.c Solder opposite lead of reset button to PCB

2.d Test the button! CAUTON: Wait for solder to cool

If you end up with solder tails, peaks generated when removing the soldering iron, try to complete the joint quicker as this is a sign of inadequate flux. This can be fixed by applying additional flux and re-flowing the solder joint.

 

Step 3: Buttons (x6)

3.a Apply solder to one pad for each of the 6 buttons NOTE: Only solder one pad each

3.b Place each of the 6 buttons, using the same re-flow sliding method as the reset button

 

3.c Solder remaining 3 leads of each of the 6 buttons

3.d Test all the buttons! CAUTON: Wait for solder to cool

 

Step 4: Speaker

4.a Solder one pad for the speaker and slide it into position while re-flowing

4.b Solder the opposite lead of the speaker

 

 

Step 5: Headphone Jack

5.a Place headphone jack

5.b Solder leads of headphone jack

Tinning the pads are not necessary for the headphone jack as it has pins that locate it to the PCB

 

Step 6: Flash Chip

6.a Solder the pad for the flash chip, closest to the circle and triangle marking on the PCB NOTE: This is pin 1 of the flash chip

6.b Align the marking on the flash chip with the marking on the PCB, slide into position while re-flowing solder pad

CRITICAL: Ensure the alignment of pin 1

 

6.c Solder the remaining leads of the flash chip TIP: Use small amount of solder

6.d If a solder bridge forms (connecting neighboring leads) it can easily be fixed in the next step

 

6.e Apply small amount of flux to flash chip leads

6.f Use a dragging motion to swipe the soldering iron along the flash chip leads

 

Step 7: IR LED and Receiver

7.a Solder one pad of each of the IR components

7.b Cut IR LED and Receiver leads to length

CAUTION: Cutting the leads often causes them to go flying

 

7.c Orient the IR LED Polarity NOTE: Cathode (-) is the flat side of the lens

7.d Solder IR components to PCB using previous methods

 

 

Step 8: Modules to PCB

8.a Place Pro-Micro and OLED Display with pins on PCB

8.b Flip PCB and solder pins to PCB NOTE: Ensure modules are flush with PCB

 

Step 9: Loading Games

Plug into PC via USB

Visit using chrome browser: https://arduboy.github.io/Kit

Use the one-click interface to upload all the games

 

Step 10: Making Games

Install Arduino software: https://www.arduino.cc/en/software

Upload Hello Word   Select from the menu: File > Examples > Arduboy2 > HelloWorld Select the Arduboy Kit on the active port: Tools > Port Upload the sketch using the Upload Button or: Sketch > Upload