$50 robot board help.. PLEASE!

[maverick monk]

ok, i got half a HS credit and a big science fair project hinging on my horrible soldering skills. when i soldered the connectors on i figured this would be easy, but when i began soldering those wires onto the back of the board, this thing went compleatly to hell. i dont think i can do it, and i need this thing done by the end of december and running, with as little money as possible.

what needs to be done to this to make it work with the $50 robot code?
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=29
how much soldering is required, where do i solder and will i need to run wires on the back?
i dont want to go with the adurino board if i dont have to because my parents are already mad aboiut the money spent on this. I need a response that a mildly electronicly intuitive high school nerd can understand. please, go into explicit details

[nathan25]

go to your locally wally world (wal-mart) or radio shack or anyother place that sells tools and electronic components... and look for a de-soldering tool... its around 20$ but its a great tool to invest in if your soldering is terrible like u say and like mine... basiclly the tip heats up and u scrape off the solder 

[ed1380]

I know how that feels. except my problem was programming.

AFAIK. you'll need to add this stuff

and connect it how it's supposed to be. you'll still have to solder, but not as much, but you'll still be risking potentially losing alot if you mess up.

[maverick monk]

that helps, but not much, my problem is connecting all these little wires in the back, like all the grounds and all the powers...

i know what a solder braid is and what a solder sucker is, i just cant solder wires for my life, circuts no problem, but wires... ugh, somone should make an etched trace board and sell it for like $20 a pop... (hint hint admin )

[Admin]

Yea its partially my fault in that I forgot that soldering takes a bit of practice yet I used l337 soldering on the $50 board . . .

I recommend practicing on an unused side of the board once or twice, desolder your mistakes, then try again. Sometimes I make small mistakes and use a razor blade and multimeter to separate traces. The temperature of your soldering iron is important to get right too - experiment until it works well for you.

Then next time I solder something up Ill film it and post it for you guys to learn from it.

[maverick monk]

gunna try take 2 later today, with my own version of 1337 soldering, i have a trick or 2 up my sleeve... bwahaha... lol

[maverick monk]

ok, ive failed again, im just gunna go with this
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=29

id love to get the aduino but i dont have 35$ + a 16$ shield

now what do i have to do to this to get it to work well without too much code modification

edit edit: do i need a programmer dongle? or can i use the serial port?

[Admin]

That board doesn't have pinout headers (for servos and sensors), meaning you still need to do about 80% of the soldering as on the $50 robot board.

Also, this development board requires a programmer. It offers a pinout for the 10-pin version, but not the 6-pin version programmer which you probably have. You will therefore have to solder a seperate 6 pin header for your programmer.

(sorry for the bad news!)

[maverick monk]

never got the 6 pin header... lol, whats the serial port for then, and does that meen it already has the inputs in?

[Admin]

The serial port is for serial communcations with your PC:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/microcontroller_uart.shtml
(really useful feature!)

You can also program your microcontroller through the serial port using a special program called a bootloader. However, you still need to use the programmer at least once to install the bootloader onto the microcontroller.

and does that meen it already has the inputs in?

Im not entirely sure what you mean. That development board handles the crystal, serial, power regulation, and programmer wiring for you.

[maverick monk]

ok, that seriouslyy sounds like me then, ordering it tonight
thanks

edit: WHY DOES THIS PROJECT HATE ME! THEY ARE OUT!!! GAHHHHH