Any tips for getting the Peggy 2 LEDs soldered? I'm about to start to fully populate my Peggy 2 with 10mm white LEDs and I'd like to get them in as neat as possible. How have folks worked out this?

I was thinking of gluing the LEDs down before soldering. Hot glue is too thick - maybe a dot of superglue? Or, how about a line of double stick tape?

I was also thinking of inserting all the LEDs and then taping a heavy board over the array to the PCB board to sandwich the LEDs and hold them.

Any comments or suggestions?

I've probably made more of these than anyone else.

Do not glue them.

Insert the LEDs, or some number of them, *the correct way*. Place a rigid surface over the top, like a large book, to hold the LEDs down. Flip it upside down, to point the leads up. Wiggle it back and forth a little bit until the leads point straight up, and then solder them.

Alternate method: Insert a bunch of LEDs, and bend the leads back at 45 degrees to hold them in place, flip it upside down, and solder *one pin* of each LED. Once you have this step done, now hold the circuit board vertically and press vertically on one of the LEDs. Use the soldering iron to melt the solder at its single solder joint, so that the LED pushes flush to the circuit board. Repeat for each inserted LED and then go back and solder the unsoldered pin of each LED. This method is a bit slower and requires care, but really ends up with marvelously level LEDs.

I completed soldering the LEDs in 1 evening. The fastest and most consistent way I found was to do 3 rows at a time, tape the tops up with painters tape to hold in place, then flip it over, and solder row by row and repeat. I only had 2 LEDs that had bad solder joints. The hardest part is actually clipping those leads after soldering - but I would recomment clipping each row as you get them soldered.

If you're taping three rows at a time, cutting the leads off the first row would likely jiggle around the other two rows being held by tape alone... I'd say compromise and do the cutting after soldering all three rows, before moving to the next.

Or maybe your diagonal cutters were a bit large for the task at hand? That would also make things more difficult than they need to be.