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Bigger components

note

Take your time and make sure the pots and speaker are perfectly flat against the PCB before soldering all of their pins.

Last is the bigger components: pots, speaker, and IC.

  1. Push the two 500k pots ("pot" is short for "potentiometer"!) into their footprints at RV101 and RV102
    1. A trick to get the pot to snap in better is to gently push its mounting tabs inward before popping it onto the PCB. Bending the potentiometer tabs
    2. Check that they're flat against the PCB, then solder into place.
    3. You can solder the mounting tabs on the side too, if you want!
  2. Fit the speaker into LS101, matching its + and - pins to the right holes.
    1. Don't bend its leads! That can break it.
    2. Hold in place and solder. Soldering the APC speaker at LS101
    3. Check that the speaker is flat against the PCB before continuing. Speaker, flat against PCB
  3. And the absolute last component to solder is the IC socket
    1. Place the IC socket into U101, matching its little indentation to the footprint. Placing the IC socket at U101
    2. Hold in place and solder. Soldering the socket
  4. With its socket soldered, we can add its 556 chip.
    1. In order to fit well into its socket, the pins of the 556 need to point straight down from the chip's body. You can use a pin straightener tool or simply bend them against any flat surface. The IC chip's pins, straightened
    2. Carefully insert the 556 chip into the socket at U101, matching its indentation. If its pins don't seem to go in well, try the previous step again. 556 chip into socket at U101