1. Building a NearSys BalloonSat Easy Flight Computer for a Near-Space Payload AEM 1905: Spaceflight with Ballooning University of Minnesota

2. BalloonSat Easy kit and instructions

3. Parts in BalloonSat Easy kit

4. Printed Circuit Board (PCB)

5. Resistors, to be numbered R1 – R8

6. Diode – polarity indicated by the stripe

7. 9-volt battery snap for main power

8. AAA battery pack for servo power

9. Wires for switches, camera, etc.

10. Toggle switches for main power and servo

11. Heat-shrink tubing (AKA shrink-wrap)

12. IC (only one shown) and two IC sockets

13. Capacitor – polarized; longer lead is positive

14. 5-volt voltage regulator

15. Main power indicator LED; flat edge is the negative lead

16. Reed relay to fire hot-wired camera (in any)

17. 3- and 6-pin headers, including the Programming Header, the Commit Header, and the (female) receptacle

18. Shorting plug (AKA pull-before-flight pin) which goes over Commit Header

19. Identify which resistors are which then solder in R1 through R8 in exact locations. R8 = 330 ohms (missing from instructions).

20. Solder in diode – use strip for polarity

21. Use Helping Hands to hold Commit Header in place for soldering

22. Commit Header now soldered in place (sticks off edge of the PCB)

23. Solder in 9-volt battery snap using the strain relief holes in the PCB

24. Do the same with the servo battery pack

25. Cut long wire into 6 equal pieces then strip one end of each to ¼ inch length

26. Leave other end of two unstripped (for camera – unimplemented) but strip the others ¾ inch and twist to avoid fraying

27. Solder in camera wires, using strain relief

28. Solder in 4 switch wires, using strain relief

29. Slide on shrink-wrap before proceeding

30. Hook one pair of switch wires through the center and one side post of each switch

31. Solder wires to pins, minimizing diameter

32. Slide shrink-wrap over solder joints once both wires have been soldered

33. Shrink with heat gun – complete 2 switches

34. Insert IC sockets in PCB – watch notches

35. Solder in the capacitor – watch polarity

36. Insert voltage regulator – watch polarity

37. Avoid solder bridges on closely-spaced pins of the voltage regulator

38. Insert power indicator LED; positive lead (non-flat edge) goes next to the letter “A”

39. Insert REED relay – only goes in one way

40. Insert 3-pin male Programming Header and 3-pin male Servo Header (short ends through the PCB) without soldering yet. Insert the 6-pin female receptacle (it may be too tight for all the pieces to fit flush).

41. Shave or sand off receptacle if need be so it fits next to Servo Header. Once all fit flush to the PCB, solder pieces in place.

42. BalloonSat Easy Flight computer, without chips, ready for testing