I admit it: I'm a total geek. I love electronics, programming, 3D printing, 3D art, and vintage Apple hardware. I'm always juggling half a dozen projects. I also enjoy documenting it all: my successes, my failures, my experiences... and everything geeky along the way.

GPS Clock Rework - Ditching the Joystick, Part III | Kevin Rye.net - Main

Kevin Rye

Geek Extraordinaire. Yeh, I said it.

GPS Clock Rework - Ditching the Joystick, Part III

My new GPS button boards arrived in the mail. I can't wait to hack these into the clock. If I can finally get this clock working and into a case, I might finally be motivated to finish the code.

gps_clock_button_board_rework_0001

The hard part is going to be wiring it up. I have to unsolder the tiny 5-way switch and solder these buttons directly to the pads on the PCB. It's going to take some really thin wire, and a steady hand.

Since the 5-way switch has 8 solder points, I had to use my hot air rework station to remove it. Things got a little toasty and I browned the board a little bit, but nothing was damaged. I then took some 30 gage rework wire and soldered them directly to the pads of the 5-way switch. I used some hot glue to secure the wires in place.

gps_clock_button_board_rework_0003

It looks like hell, but it works. I then secured the two boards together with some spacers and more hot glue.

gps_clock_button_board_rework_0004

Finally, I screwed the whole assembly into my 3D-printed enclosure.

gps_clock_button_board_rework_0005

The case is looking pretty good, but the button holes need to be tightened up just a hair. Also, the LCD isn't perfectly centered within the cutout. So I think one last tweak and one final print is required. Not to mention, I printed this case with a layer resolution of .2mm. The diagonal lines are pretty evident. I think I'll print it at .1mm to improve the quality.

gps_clock_button_board_rework_0002

I also need to print the back of the case too. I got to work on redesigning the back to incorporate some little notches that'll allow the two pieces to snap together.

Screen Shot 2015-08-09 at 1.50.02 PM

After a few hours, I had a pretty good looking print.

GPS_clock_3D_printed_case_0401

It's a pretty tight fit, but the two parts snap together perfectly.

GPS_clock_3D_printed_case_0402

It's almost seamless. There's no way the back is coming off without applying some serious effort.

GPS_clock_3D_printed_case_0404

All that's left is to firm up the code and this one's a wrap.

See this project from start to finish:
GPS Clock Prototyping, Part I
GPS Clock Prototyping, Part II
Arduino Mega 2560
GPS Clock Prototyping, Part III
GPS Clock Prototyping, Part IV
GPS Clock Prototyping, Part V
GPS Clock Assembly, Part I
GPS Clock Assembly, Part II
GPS Clock Assembly, Part III
GPS Clock Assembly, Part IV
GPS Clock Rework - Ditching the Joystick, Part I
GPS Clock Rework - Ditching the Joystick, Part II
GPS Clock Rework - Ditching the Joystick, Part III