Important: the soldered MCU jumper pads should be on the same side as the switches, encoder and MCU ; the diodes should be on the back on the PCB.
- put your PCBs in front of you, one on each side
- solder the jumper pads on the top: this will be the side where the keys are
- be careful to solder the jumper pads for the encoder on the back!
- (optional) put the MCU sockets and tape them so that they won't move
- if you don't have sockets you can skip this step ; however note that you will have to permanently solder your MCU
- put the TRRS jack and tape it
- flip over the PCBs and solder the TRRS jack and sockets (optional)
- to make it easier, first solder the corners of the sockets, and ensure everything is aligned correctly before going any further
- for each diode footprint, solder one pad
- take a diode, which the mark being on the same side as the silk on the PCB, put it over a pad you have tinned, and heat the pad ; the diode should stay in place nicely
- solder the other leg of the diode
- repeat 7 -> 8 for every other diode
- if you have trouble putting diodes near each other, try holding them by their legs which twizzers
- flip your board over, and start placing your switches ; be careful not to bend any pin
- the switches should stay in place, without any tape
- solder your switches: your iron should be in contact with both the pad and the pin, then put your solder on the pad and it will melt easily
- put the encoder and solder its pins in the same fashion