DP Free PCB: Bus Pirate v3.8

A few times a week Dangerous Prototypes hosts a free PCB giveaway on various social networks. They also give away coupon codes to those who submit completed PCBs (from the giveaway) to use on another free PCB. It's really an awesome way to practice soldering. I was able to do this with the XT IDE Disk Controller. Some time ago (days, weeks, months?), I finally redeemed my coupon for a Bus Pirate v3.8 PCB. I already have an older version from Sparkfun but I thought this would be a fun project and a way to get a newer DP version with microUSB. Plus, it follows their SOB standard PCB sizes. Also, I haven't had any experience with a PIC.

Unlike my previous free PCB builds, I decided to get a stencil so to have the cleanest possible build. I was already ordering stencils for some other items, so it didn't really add much to the cost. I had a lot of parts already but the ones I didn't have I included in my last Digi-Key order. Here are the pictures of the build and the final outcome.

Bus pirate stencil

DP FreePCB Build: XT IDE Disk Controller Part One

A few times a week Dangerous Prototypes does a give away for a free PCB. They have extra PCBs from prototyping that they offer up for grabs so you can try your hand at it. If you complete the build, then you can get another coupon. A few months ago I redeemed my free PCB coupon for the XT IDE Controller. It took some time to get the PCB and to order all of the needed parts, but finally everything was ready for assembly. I have to say this project was anything but cooperative but I finally finished the build. I decided to use a syringe of solder paste and re-flow it, which can be tricky without a stencil. Hence the uncooperative part.

The board with solder paste, awaiting parts.