Assembly and Soldering Tips
Use a clean soldering iron tip. Heat the component lead AND PCB pad at the same time, then apply the solder
to the component lead while heating both with your iron. Do not apply the solder only to the iron.
Do not remove all the parts from the zip bags until you are ready to solder them. I’ve taken the time to sort
them out; do not make a big unsorted pile out of them.
The holes on the PCB are plated through. This is also a double-sided PCB. Solder needs to make good contact
inside the holes and on both sides of the PCB. Check that some solder flowed on the other side of the PCB, or
that the holes are completely filled.
Be careful that you do not solder resistors in the wrong locations
Note the orientation of LEDs, IC chips, voltage regulator and electrolytic capacitors. There is only one correct
way to mount them. Do NOT mount electrolytic capacitors backwards. Do not mount the IC chip and voltage
regulator backwards too.
When soldering multiple-pin devices (like trimmers, headers, IC chips, voltage regulators) solder one leg/pin
first. Then check if the device is still flushed to the board, straight and not crooked. If crooked, re-heat the leg
and straighten with your fingers while the solder is still soft/melted. (DO NOT STRAIGHTEN THE PINS AFTER
THE SOLDER BECOMES HARD. You’d risk ruining the PCB or breaking the part.)
I sometimes use masking tape to hold the component in place on the board, while I solder the leads on the
other side. This is very useful when soldering resistors, and small parts, etc…
Use a magnifying glass when soldering. This prevents you from using too much solder and let’s you see what
you’re doing. Also, the IC chip has very fine pin spacing. You need good eyesight to solder all pins properly
without shorting them together.
VU-1MK500 Assembly Guide
The general guideline in electronics assembly is to solder the smallest/shortest component first (resistors),
and solder the bigger/taller components last (ceramic capacitors, electrolytic capacitors, headers, etc).
IMPORTANT NOTE: Observe the orientation of the VU Meter Chip!!!
NOTE: The photos on this Assembly guide may not exactly match the PCB you received. But the instructions
are still valid.
Follow this checklist during your construction.
STEP 1. Solder jumpers. Depending on your VU meter orientation (Horizontal or Vertical), solder the jumpers
into their correct location (marked HORZ and VERT).
