Start by plugging the 2x20 header into a Raspberry Pi, this will keep the header stable while you solder. Make sure the Pi is powered down!

Place the HAT on top so that the short pins of the 2x20 header line up with the pads on the HAT

And Solder!

Heat up your iron and solder in one header connection on the right.

Once it is soldered, put down the solder and reheat the solder point with your iron while straightening the HAT so it isn't leaning down

(For tips on soldering, be sure to check out our Guide to Excellent Soldering).

Solder one point on the opposite side of the connector

Solder each of the connections for the top row

Flip the board around and solder all the connections for the other half of the 2x20 header

Check over your work so far, make sure each solder point is shiny, and isn't bridged or dull or cracked

Now grab the 3.5mm-spaced terminal blocks. These will let you quickly connect up your motor and power supply using only a screw driver

You will have 3 x 2-pin terminal blocks and 2 x 3-pin terminal blocks

Slide each of the 3-pin terminal blocks into a 2-pin to create two 5-pin blocks

Slide the terminal blocks along the edge of the HAT, so that the 'mouth' of each block is facing out.

You can use scotch or other plain tape to keep the terminal blocks flat against the PCB while you solder

Flip over the board and solder in all of the terminal block pins

Check over your work so far, make sure each solder point is shiny, and isn't bridged or dull or cracked

You're done! You can now move onto the software side