Close
0%
0%

Supercon 2024 SMD Challenge SAO (Cursed)

The classic Supercon SMD Challenge, turned Simple Add-On. Then I screwed it up.

Similar projects worth following
0 followers
In honor of the focus on Simple Add-Ons (SAOs) for the 2024 Hackaday Supercon, this is a special version of the SMD Challenge PCB that drops the CR2032 battery in favor of an SAO connector. Finally, you can proudly wear your completed SMD Challenge entry for everyone to see. Or at least, that was the idea.

This SAO was intended to be used for the 2024 Supercon SMD soldering challenge, but in the mad rush to finish the design and get the PCBs made before the event, I somehow managed to invert the power and ground pins for the ATtiny85. Unfortunately, the mistake went unnoticed until somebody tried to solder one up in Pasadena and the chip started getting toasty. Oops.

As luck would have it, the folks at Supplyframe had made their own SMD Challenge SAO, which is what we ended up using for the competition. But that still left me with 150+ little reminders of my own hubris.

I very nearly threw them all away before getting on the plane back to the East Coast, but at the last minute, decided to take a few bags of them home with me. I've since handed a few of them out at different events, so if you find yourself in possession of one, you have a rare bit of Hackaday memorabilia on your hands.

  • 1
    A Little Hot-wiring Among Friends....

    Although the PCB design doesn't function properly in its current state, that doesn't make it any less of a valid soldering challenge. Those small packages don't become any easier to solder just because you're not pumping any juice through them afterwards. Of course, determining if you soldered everything properly is a bit harder if you can't actually light up the LEDs when you're done....

    To that end, you can get power to the LEDs fairly easily by soldering a couple of jumpers to the pads in the ATtiny's footprint. A leg snipped off a through-hole component and bent into a "U" shape would work well for this. The idea is to connect pins 2, 3, and 4 on one side to 5, 6, and 7 on the opposite side. Pin 4, which should be providing ground but in this case is connected to the 3.3 V pin on the SAO header, will then power up the LEDs. You won't get the fading and chasing effect you'd get with a properly programmed ATtiny soldered in place, but it's better than nothing.

    Just don't invite pin 8 (over the A) to the party...that one's tied to the ground plane, and connecting it to the other pins will cause a short.

View all instructions

Enjoy this project?

Share

Discussions

Similar Projects

Does this project spark your interest?

Become a member to follow this project and never miss any updates