Hello.

I ordered the 8 panel kit, and at first I thought it was really easy putting together, but when we plugged our first completed panel in, it did nothing! It is our first time soldering and we are worried we have wasted our first panel! However, our soldering didn't seem bad at all, so we don't really know what to do.

How exactly can we test that we are soldering these panels correctly with a meter? Ive been looking at videos online of testing with a meter, but they are confusing.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Can you please clarify what kid of "it did nothing" you've got? Was there drama (sparks and so forth) or just a big dull nothing? Some LED action, or really just plain nothing?

First thing to do is double-check: All components are installed, and in the correct locations. Power switch is installed on the same panel as the power jack, and is turned on. Power supply is plugged in, and in the jack. Power jack is on the BOTTOM side of the board and is square to the edges.

the "nothing" we experienced was just a boring nothing. We have placed everything in the right places and the power jack is on the bottom. We plugged it in and everything was powered, but nothing happened, nothing lit up. So what we are thinking is that some of the solder connections may not be proper? What else could it possibly be?

should we go over each soldering point with a meter?

>the "nothing" we experienced was just a boring nothing.

Well, that's good news. It does mean that there's probably just a bad solder joint somewhere. Do you have a multimeter with resistance and voltage functions? I might be able to suggest some places to look.