Build with Perma-Protoboard

Assembly

Note: the pictures may include a breadboard, but the steps are the same for everyone.

Install the Control Button

• Find the control button.
  
• Find the cutout on the side of the housing for the control button. Notice that the button has two flat sides and the cutout has two flat sides. Insert the control button wires through the cutout, then firmly, but gently, press the button into the housing.
  

Install the Power Switch

• Find the power switch.
  
• Find the power switch cutout. Notice that the cutout has a notch in it and that the power switch has a tab that will go in the notch.
  
• Insert the power switch wires through the cutout, then firmly, but gently, press the button into the housing.
  

Wire up the screw terminals

For reference, the diagram for the screw terminals is shown below:

For the screw terminals, cut off the connector and strip the wire about 1/4". Twist the end of the wire. You can put multiple wires in one screw terminal, just twist the ends together before inserting into the terminal.

Get a small (less than 2mm) screwdriver from the supplies table. For each screw terminal, prepare the wire(s) that are going into it, unscrew the screw at the top to open the opening. When it is fully open you will not be able to turn the screw anymore. Insert the wire, then screw tight.

• Twist the GND wires from the pushbutton and the battery clip together and put into the left spot (facing the openings) of the screw terminal.
• Strip and twist the end of the positive wire from the pushbutton and put into the right spot of the screw terminal.
• Put the black wire from the power switch in the left opening of the 3-pin screw terminal.
• Put the red wire from the power switch in the middle opening of the 3-pin screw terminal.
• Connect the middle wire from the power switch to the positive wire of the battery clip using the existing connectors. If, for some reason they do not connect, the connectors may be cut off and these can be twisted together and put into the right opening of the 3-pin screw terminal.

Install the protoboard

Put double-sided sticky tape on the back of the protoboard. Place the protoboard in the housing with the USB connector facing the battery.


Install the temperature sensor

• Place the temperature sensor so that the holes in the breakout board go over the pegs in the housing.
  
• Connect the wires to the temperature sensor. Find the wires from the diagram below. Use the longer of the two Vin wires. The wires of the temperature sensor from left to right are Vin, GND, SCL, and SDA.
  
  This is what it looks like when completed.
  
• Find the temperature sensor restraint, which will help to hold the temperature sensor up against the back of the housing. Place it over the back of the temperature sensor as shown below.
  
  To make space for the display, bend the wires of the temperature sensor down into the case at the header.

Install the display

• Connect the wires to the display by referring to the circuit diagram below.
  
• First connect the Vin, GND and SCK wires. These are the loose wires that you installed on the protoboard.
• Then install the 6-wire ribbon cable.
• Finally, place the display in place. The holes on the board fit over the pegs. For some displays, they may not stay on.
  

Testing and Troubleshooting

Now that the entire circuit has been rebuilt, it's time to test all the wiring! Place a 9V battery in the battery clip.

Flip the power switch. The LED should light up. If it doesn't, there is something wrong with your power circuit wiring.

Take a look at your Nano, the light should be on on the microcontroller. If there isn't, then something is wrong with your power circuit wiring.

Take a look at your display, it should load up the logo and then your welcome message. If it doesn't, check for the following:

• Did you load the program with the line "while (!Serial);" commented out onto your microcontroller?
• Is there a SD card in the display module?
• There is a problem with the display wiring. Check that everything is pushed into the breadboard and that the display wiring connections are all there and in the right places.

Display working? Now try the control button. If there is no reaction to the button press (meaning nothing displayed at all on the display), check the control button wiring.

If the message is "Take Temp" that means that a long button press was detected but no temperature reading has been stored yet. You need to press the button more quickly to trigger a short button press in order to take a temperature reading or adjust the code to allow for a longer time for short button presses. Default is 1/2 second or more is a long button press.

If you can't figure out the issue, run the program from the computer with the "while (!Serial);" line not commented out so that you can see all messages in the Serial Monitor. You can pry up the edge of the breadboard with something stiff, like a screwdriver or scissor blade, just enough to put in the USB cable.

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