Here's a look at the board in it's off-the-shelf mode of operation:

Magnet Ring

Using some magnet viewing film you can see the magnet that moves under the lid. 

Access the Innards

The screws that hold the lid on are hidden under the laminated graphic on the lid.

Unscrew these to open the board.

Base Electronics

In the base you'll see the controller board, a piezo-electric pickup (used for knock detection), speaker, molded battery box, and the side switch.

Lid Parts

The lid contains a DC motor, linkage arm for moving the magnet ring, and four LEDs.

Linkage

Here you can see the very clever linkage that converts the rotation of the motor into the figure eight pattern of the circular magnet.

Prep the Motor

Carefully flip the lid over. The motor is connected to the driver board with two wires. You can snip these with some edge cutters and then trim away a bit of insulation so they can be connected to the motor FeatherWing later.

Remove LEDs

Pull out the old LEDs - you'll be replacing them with NeoPixels! You can use a bit of isopropyl alcohol to assist in releasing the hot glue bond.

Now you're ready to begin adding in the new electronics.

This guide was first published on Nov 09, 2022. It was last updated on Mar 28, 2024.

This page (Board Teardown) was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

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