Broke It :( Fixed It :)

1 Still on Board 1 Pin Broken

It was all going so so well.  I was just at the end of testing the electronics prior to commissioning and something bad happened.  This is a lesson learnt.  Try to identify for sure what a component is before you do something to it.  The last part of testing the electronics is to adjust the potentiometers on the controller which reduce the power to the stepper motors.  The instructions tell you to turn them gently anticlockwise fully and then turn clockwise by 45 degrees I think.  Well, me, with a big pair of long nose pliers turned what I thought to be the potentiometer anticlockwise.  At the time I thought it was little stiff, and started wondering if I was doing the right thing.  The component started to come away a little, alarm bells started to ring in my head.  It was becoming loose.  Too late, I'd broken it.  Of course I was simply forcing a capacitor (not sure if it is a capacitor, but looked like something I could turn) of the board and not adjusting the tiny little potentiometer screw to the right of it. 

Spent ages thinking I could solder this thing back on, but the little leg was only a millimetre and a bit big, and was not easy to offer up, wet the solder and keep in place.  Did manage it once, but then couldn't force the component back on again.

Now a delay to my build.  Suppose I could test all the other bits out, but I'm thinking that maybe I will have to get another controller board or RepRapPro may offer some advice.  Perhaps it's possible to source another identical component or equivalent and solder back.  I don't know.  I've emailed them and dropped a post of on their forum, but as yet no reply.  So am in limbo.

After some thought, a workaround, cool!

A few hours later and I've carefully started to master the Pronterface software.  All connects up fine by USB.  Can connect to printer and send commands.  Interface starts become useful and is no longer just an unknown.  So, full steam ahead.