Full badge assembly instructions will follow by December 25th.

We highly suggest purchasing the components from our online store once it’s back up (targeting December 15th). However, the bill of materials is included here if you want to source components yourself.

Until then, these are the cliff notes:

Bill of Materials:

  • 2 x BC-2003 SMD 20mm Coin Cell Holders.

    • Not available from Amazon or eBay as of the time this was written. Mouser, Digikey or AliExpress have reliable supplies.

    • https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/mpd-memory-protection-devices/BC-2003/4580938

  • 8 x 5mm Red Straw Hat LEDs

    • Any red LED should work, but if you go too big they’ll interfere with each other when assembled.

    • https://www.amazon.com/Transparent-Lighting-Electronics-Components-Emitting/dp/B01BV2OTMK/ref=sr_1_4?crid=ZXRUI0RST61R&th=1

  • 8 x 47 ohm resistors

    • https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/stackpole-electronics-inc/cf18jt47r0/1741715

Assembly Guidelines

  1. De-panel the badge by firmly gripping the center pieces and bending along the axis of the “mouse bites” that attach the two bell pieces to the frame.

    1. Work slowly and firmly. It may be easier to break off parts of the outer frame to get better access to the bell pieces.

    2. So long as you’re careful to apply pressure to the mouse bites and not the bell pieces it will come apart without too much difficulty. It may feel like you’re breaking things, though.

    3. Clean up any residual mouse bite pieces with flush cutters.

  2. Solder on the components. Locations are marked.

  3. Tin the pads along the center line that provide electrical and mechanical connections. In particular, get a lot of solder on the pads at the bottom of the bell pieces since these will be your first mechanical connection.

  4. Slot the two pieces together and hold them upside down so that the bottom of the bell is facing upward. Orientation does not matter.

  5. Holding the bell pieces in one hand, take your iron in the other and carefully bridge two of the pads at the bottom of the bells so that the solder flows and forms a mechanical connection.

    1. Patiently wait for it to solidify.

    2. Reheat and adjust if you need to correct the orientation of the two pieces.

  6. Solder the pads on the center line of the bell.

    1. Work on one pair of pads at a time, orienting your iron tip so that it is in-line with the pair of pads you’re working on and making contact with only those two pads.

    2. Flow a small amount of solder until a bridge is formed and remove the iron. If done correctly just the two pads will be bridged and you can move onto the next pair.

    3. If you added too much solder and more than one pair of pads are bridged, you’ve got a perfect opportunity to actually use the solder sucker that’s gathering dust on your work bench. This is one of the few situations where it’s preferable to braided wick or a desoldering gun.

    4. Work slowly and diligently. Soldering iron tip choice doesn’t matter much. Conical or chisel tips are probably easiest to work with.