Pixel PCB soldering

[apiel]

Prepare all the external boards, including the Raspberry Pi, display, DAC, and battery controller, and solder the pin headers onto each board as shown in the reference picture. For the DAC, solder the jumper according to the instructions provided here: https://github.com/apiel/zicBox/wiki/05-Hardware#audio-dac

Then, place the female pin headers on the PCB where the Raspberry Pi will be connected later. Shift the board to the other side and solder the pins. After soldering, trim any excess pin length protruding from the board.

Solder the USB-C connector onto the PCB, ensuring it is properly aligned and securely attached.
Once soldered, place some tape on the USB-C connector to prevent any short circuits.

Then, prepare the pin header that will connect to the battery controller. As shown in the picture, the two pins on the left should be slightly trimmed. Don’t remove too much, just enough to ensure they fit properly for soldering.

Then, place the pin headers for the display and the battery connector. As shown in the picture, I’ve already positioned everything in place, including inside the 3D enclosure, to ensure the headers are soldered at the correct height.

(On my PCB, I had to trim the header for the display slightly. However, in the revised PCB, there are multiple slots for the pin header, so you shouldn’t need to trim it, just test the fit and see which slot works best.)

Then, solder the resistor in place.

Then, solder the four rotary encoders onto the PCB, ensuring they are properly aligned and securely seated before soldering.

Solder the DAC pin header. The DAC is already placed into the connector to ensure it sits at the correct height.

Solder the switch onto the PCB

Finally, solder the battery to the PCB

You’re done! You can now connect all the external boards to the PCB.

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Tip

🎬 Watch the full assembly process here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVYzm90nAJw