orangeziggy84 said:
Don't worry, I have another one. But how can I make sure the other one doesn't break this time?
- Treat the board like your wife.
- Visually double check all connections before powering on, especially power lines.
- Also double check all connections with a multimeter, doing a continuity test to make sure everything is connected that should, and nothing is connected that shouldn't.
- Never work or solder with anything powered on or plugged in.
- Insulate everything as much as you can.
- Make sure your workspace is clean and free of anything that could short out your board, like bits of solder, wire strippings, de-soldered pins, screws, or basically anything metal.
- Be aware of static electricity. Use some type of anti-static material to work on top of, like an anti-static bag or mat, and discharge yourself often by touching something grounded.
- In general, don't be rough with the board, particularly while removing ports. Take your time and be careful and patient. If you rush things and have to start over, that just takes longer.
- Make sure your power source is outputting correct voltages before connecting it. This has happened often to me, where for some reason my regulator is outputting higher voltages than it should, and I fry my project.
- Don't do something stupid like reverse the polarity.
- Believe in yourself.