Keyboard Building Tips and Tricks

Learning and discussion Guides
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I was thinking that collecting tips and tricks for keyboard building might be helpful for those building, or wanting to build.

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A method for soldering pins to a Microcontroller (MCU)

Socketing a MCU can be a lifesaver when building a keyboard kit. Because de-soldering them from a board is an exercise in aggravation (not impossible, just irritating).

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(Photo by gogurt enjoyer#8035)

  1. First, get a breadboard and stick some female pin headers into it that matches the width of your MCU pins.
  2. I recommend applying some Kapton tape to avoid the solder following the pin down into the socket and making a permanent connection
  3. Then pierce the Kapton tape with a pin to make it easier to insert them.

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  1. You can now insert the pins into the sockets.
  2. Then you place the MCU in place and solder it to the pins.
  3. When finished it will look something like this.

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Now you can plug your MCU into the female header sockets you attached to your board.

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