1. AEM 1905: Spaceflight with Ballooning University of Minnesota
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