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Docs Build & Assembly Assembly Sequence

Assembly Sequence

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The recommended order of assembly that catches wiring errors before they are buried under other modules.

Assembly Sequence

The order you assemble matters. Solder the power path first, test it, then add peripherals one at a time.

Phase 1: Power

  1. Solder the TP4056 module and the 18650 holder.
  2. Solder the battery divider (100k/100k to GPIO 36).
  3. Connect the ESP32 DevKit 5V pin to the TP4056 BAT+.
  4. Test: insert the cell, measure 3.3 V on the ESP32 rail and half of BAT+ at GPIO 36.

Phase 2: Display

  1. Wire the OLED (SCK=15, SDA=13, RES=4, DC=16, CS=17, VCC, GND).
  2. Test: the boot screen appears and the battery icon shows a sensible value.

Phase 3: Radio

  1. Wire the E22 (VSPI: SCK=18, MISO=19, MOSI=23, CS=5, RST=14, BUSY=21, DIO1=2, VCC, GND).
  2. Test: the beacon boots into BEACON and transmits; current rises during TX. If it hangs, check BUSY first.

Phase 4: Controls and status

  1. Wire the four buttons (MODE=33, SEL=32, UP=35, DN=34 with external pull-ups on 34/35).
  2. Wire the LEDs (red=27, blue=26 via 330 Ω).
  3. Test: MODE cycles modes, LEDs match the mode.

Phase 5: Audio and GPS

  1. Wire the audio jack (GPIO 25 → 100 Ω → 10 µF → tip).
  2. Wire the GPS (module TX to GPIO 22, module RX unconnected, VCC, GND).
  3. Test: headphone clicks during TX; GPS fix screen resolves outdoors.

Phase 6: Enclosure

  1. Mount the board, OLED, buttons, and antenna in the case.
  2. Do the full bench test suite, then the outdoor range test.

Why this order

Every phase is testable on its own. If phase 4 fails, the problem is in the buttons - not hidden under the radio wiring. Skipping the per-phase tests is how “it was working yesterday” mysteries begin.