=== Assembly advice ===
I have written this section with the inexperienced electronic hobbyist in mind. If you are a hot shot with a soldering iron, please don't be offended!
Assembly is fairly straightforward, you just need to watch the orientation of the connectors (check twice before soldering) and polarised components (LEDs and electrolytic) capacitor. The boards all have silk screen printed component pads with names and values showing, so it is very difficult to get it wrong. Read this section before proceeding, and if in doubt, ask on the forum.
==== Order of assembly ====
The general order of assembly of uIDE boards is as follows.to fit the shortest components first, becasue it makes handling the board easier if you are laying it on a flat surface to solder:-* Solder in the resistors, LEDs(watch the orientation, see below), 100nf capacitors (the tiny ones).
* Fit the pin headers (JP1, JP2, etc, making sure they are upright. I use an IDC plug for this and solder one pin, then adjust, then solder in all the other pins).
* Next fit the IC sockets, matching the orientation of the notch against the outline on the board.
* Fit the Z80 bus and IDE sockets (making sure they are square). Check the orientation of Pin 1 before soldering!and note that, if you use a boxed header, the cutout should align with the cutout on the board outline, or face the same way as Pin 1 of the footprint. Examine the pictures and if in doubt, ask.* The last thing to fit is the 47uF capacitor (C5), because it is the tallest component(watch the orientation, see below).
* Apply any fixes required to the board (see below).
* Fit the jumper plugs according to the board configuration section below.
The adapter boards are board assembly order is not so critical. I usually fit the 50 way edge connector first, then clamp it in my bench vise to place the other components.
==== Diodes LEDs and electrolytic capacitor ====
Be sure that you put the LEDs and electrolytic capacitor in the right way round.
* With LEDs, the shorter leg is the negative end and it goes into the square pad (longer leg into the round pad).
==== Z80 Shims ====
When building a z80 shim, choose a set of header pins for the legs you are plugging into the Z80 socet on the computer's motherboard that are thin (do not use the the standard type) otherwise the Z80 socket will be damaged. Take a look at the pictures of the shims to see what I mean. Solder them these headers in first, because the Z80 socket you solder to the shim probably won't let you get access to the pin header once fitted. Make sure they are straight - I use a pair of IDC connectors plugged into the pins to hold them straight during soldering.
On the shim's bus connector footprint, pin 1 is labelled "A11" and is has a square pad (all the others are round). Use an unboxed 40 way right angled pin header for this, as shown in the photos on this page, or you may find space is too tight inside the computer, and check the orientation of the header and cable is correct before soldering the header in.
=== uIDE-16 fix for 8-bit mode ===