Q8 modding

Thanks for posting this. I just did the same with 22AWG. I didn’t go as far as soldering the traces, but I got a significant bump.

Lexel, what is the thickness of these boards? Oshpark does not tell me.

The stock board is 1mm thick, but if they are the same thickness as the drivers that I’m used to (1.5mm?) they stick out of their gap in the Q8-head a little, which could cause the silicon cap not fully touch the rim and this could theoretically make it less waterproof, plus that the retaining ring does not screw in fully.

The board supports a 5mm switch and the original is 5mm

you have to order the 2 OZ boards as they are thinner
1OZ are 1.6mm thick and
2OZ are 0.9mm thick

:+1: thanks, did not know that option.

Any suggestions on a starting point for the resistor value for the Lexel designed switch boards?

Ordered 3x 4led-version for 83 eurocents shipped. Oshpark is loosing money with these small boards we make on BLF :frowning: .

@tekwyzrd
At Banggood you get 50 switches for about 2$. I have them and use them. Working like they should and are cheaper than on ebay.
And because each led has its own resistor i would start with something about 30K. Depends on the led voltage and desired led brightness.
Thanks Tom. So with 21,8A i am near that result.

Thanks djozz! I could not remember for sure. But i thought the board was thinner. Thats why i asked. Happy that i waited with the order.

it depends how bright you want them

some colors are dimmer than others with same resistor value

basically everything from 2.2k to 100k should work well

What would it take to add a ‘dragon breath’ effect to the switch leds?

absolutely fascinated by this. Thank you djozz. It surely helped me, hopefully others as well. I can’t believe those lil specks were LEDs. Was wondering why on the first one u removed u kept holding the tip of the iron to the left side of the LED to remove it? And WHERE is the resistor in this video??? Someone said that was all that was needed to replace the resistor and it was fine after that.

looked like regular needle nose pliers with a protective sleeve on it?

thanks again!

Well, the MCU would have to be kept running, or periodically woken up to implemented that. I'm pretty sure I can PWM the LED, so can adjust it's brightness. If the MCU had to kept on full, parasitic drain would be quite high, so have to look into optimizing that - maybe turn down the clock rate from 8 Mhz to 1 or 2, consumes less power, then see if the MCU could be put into deep sleep, but run a timer interrupt at maybe 4 Hz or so, so for example, if it runs 4X/sec, takes 25 msecs to execute, power consumption could be cut to 10% (100 msecs running out of 1000 msecs). Dunno - this is all theoretical til I or someone looks into it - I'm think'n TK .

Anyway, that would be the mechanism periodically every 250 msecs, change the brightness of the LED's in a slow "breath" pattern. Didn't check parasitic drain of the MF-01 with the switch LED dragon breath on - not sure if anyone has yet.

saypat - I can answer some/most:

- iron is held on the side to get both top and bottom of soldered ends heated up at the same time

- resistor is on the bottom (go full screen, easier to see)

- if you want to fix unbalanced ones because the variation in voltage is a bit too high, then swap them out. Also if you want to change the color, then need to swap them

- think those are needlenose or could be snap ring tool like this, not exactly though.

So, modding question about screws here. I gather the electrical path from the springs to the body goes through the four steel springs screws
Is there a source of springs screws made of beryllium copper? I’m leery of copper or brass screws because they’re soft, but I find this about that alloy
https://www.google.com/search?q=beryllium+copper+hardness

“Its strength and hardness is similar to that of steel”

Seems like the ideal material for screws that serve as current path here.

I note there’s good reason to avoid alloys with beryllium because of concerns for worker safety.

springs you want: http://intl-outdoor.com/gold-plated-beryllium-copper-spring-5-pcs-p-831.html

http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=25_81&product_id=385

Been around long time, odd dimensions though. Richard notes they collapse somewhat, non-recoverable. Not much range.

Steel springs are coated with conductive metal like gold and silver, etc. How thick the coating, how thick the spring, all big factors.

These also tend to collapse: https://www.fasttech.com/products/1616/10001712/1347100-batterydriver-contact-support-spring-for-flashligh

djozz has other sources, did extensive testing: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/29825

Dagnabbit, I think I got autocorrected, or had a brain fade just above there.

Meant to inquire about screws made of beryllium copper — not springs. Corrected above.

(Good info Tom E posted about springs, though, worth keeping for reference)

Found a pleasant surprise from oshpark in my inbox.

this was quickly followed by another message informing me the order had been sent to fab.

[quote=Tom E]

saypat - I can answer some/most:

  • iron is held on the side to get both top and bottom of soldered ends heated up at the same time

  • resistor is on the bottom (go full screen, easier to see)

  • if you want to fix unbalanced ones because the variation in voltage is a bit too high, then swap them out. Also if you want to change the color, then need to swap them

thank you Tom. Perhaps I could get fortunate and get that switch ring unscrewed. Then the board could come out far enuf. And someone could show where that resistor is, and could it be desoldered and another put it its place, or even solder another over the top off it. That other user, Antificus, said that the resistor was the problem. Perhaps this is something a modding noob could do? Don’t know where I would get a resistor though. I think he mentioned something like 15K? There is an electronics shop down the street but I don’t think u could buy 1 resistor?

just thinking for now.

thanks Tom. It’s rather amazing how u have kept up on your replies. I;m sure it’s much appreciated by all.

patrick

Monkey see, monkey do not so great :smiley: I poorly copied what Tom E did.

First time modding. Spring bypass seemed easy enough, not with cheap solder iron though :innocent: Also drilled out the driver screw holes. Still need to clean driver ring and maybe sand smooth where the PCB contacts the “clover/body” This Q8 gets hot quick compared to my other Q8. Not sure if that’s good or bad. :person_facepalming: :frowning:

The PCB lays flat after some smoothing out.

Alright folks, Whats a good cheap solder iron? Was bored and wanted to tinker, Used a cheap one I had from autozone or harbor freight, yeah I know :blush: :weary:

Amazon preferred, but banggood or other site is fine. Also good solder to get? What/anything else needed to have a ok set up?

I use a soldering iron I got from Harbor Freight for no more than $3 + a pack of 4 to 5 replacement tips from China. The stock one wore through the outer plating and started eroding away, but I’ve been using one of the replacement tips for 15+ uses already and it’s going strong. The most popular budget but decent quality iron I see recommended is a hakko fx-888d. As for solder I switched to some 63/37 solder and it works great.

Other random tools that are useful are copper desoldering braid, a desoldering tool, some flux, solder paste, soldering tweezers, a helping hand, and brass scouring pad to clean the tip are all things that can help make your life easier.

I’ve been using the same tip for years, I’m sure that’s causing issues as well. It’s all eroded/oxidized, When I scrape the tip with my knife I can get solder melting easy.

Was looking for something a bit cheaper :smiley: But the rest of your list looks good. The only soldering I ever done was wires together. Never learned how to solder, like using flux, etc….

Thank you.

Edit: Just watched a couple youtube videos. Yup had no idea about tinning and flux. :blush: