Q8 modding

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:

You can do some searching around to find other people’s takes on it I’ve seen it discussed here a time or two.

You can always look for a Weller as an okay readily available stand alone iron. I’ve heard decent thoughts on the iron from Adafruit, the XY-258. Have a look around I’m sure others will weigh in.

edit to avoid double post:
I finally made some changes to my approximating shoe box to accommodate larger lights. Testing my MF01 and comparing to some others testings I got it about as dialed in as a phone + ceiling bounce app can be. I’m within 5-10% across all levels and that’s good enough for me :+1: . My Q8 isn’t fully charged and it’s reading about 6,000 lumens at startup and 5,800 at 30 seconds so at least I know the little bit of work I did on it meant something. Will report what I measure on full cells when the time comes to charge them.

ha, darn, luckely the’re only 0.95

I’m about the same as you… never soldered a SMD component, but maybe i’ll try something on the switch board. I ordered some leds, and thinking about getting some resistors. There are kits out there - not sure which one to get though…
https://fr.aliexpress.com/wholesale?site=fra&g=y&SearchText=0603+resistor+kit&page=3&CatId=205006086&initiative_id=AS_20170926010042&needQuery=n

Hope this helps a bit… :slight_smile:

I have harvested resistors from old circuit boards I have laying around, in a pinch.

Thanks for the video on swapping the leds djozz. You have far more skills than I soldering like you did. I may have to buy new speakers as I could only hear heavy breathing throughout and no cursing. :slight_smile: :beer:

In production.

I did pop off 2 outer springs out of 20. They are a pain to re-solder since the coating seemed to have peeled off on the bottom, and without the coating, nothing to solder to.

I shall work on the entertainment value of my video’s in the future :cowboy_hat_face: , perhaps even editing in some faul words :innocent:

Tom, you may be able to solder the steel springs (plating peeled off) quite easily using a strong active flux.

This is what I use, if I can’t get the solder to wet with this stuff, I give up. But having strong acid etc. you must wash it off afterwards, or at least clean thoroughly using e.g. IPA and a bristle brush (always good practice, even leaving “no-clean” flux on PCBs is all very well, but I like everything squeaky clean).

Definitely not to be used on electronic components, just metal parts:

https://www.fasttech.com/products/1260004

Applied using one of these:

https://www.fasttech.com/products/1155702

Usually I junk the steel springs and use these “carobronze” springs instead, provided they fit (they are quite small). They perform very well, and don’t usually benefit much from a bypass:

https://www.fasttech.com/products/1347100

Or you can use Lötöl-ST from Felder. It is spcially made to connect solder with steel. Works perfect! But be sure to clean the joints after you finnished. This stuff will corrode your joints it it stayes on.

PS: For newbie modders, here a couple of essentials for getting started on SMD parts:

Fine solder: https://www.fasttech.com/products/2529000

Rosin flux paste (apply with jewellers screwdriver, unbent paperclip etc.): https://www.fasttech.com/products/1784101

These are just what I have bought myself and found good, but Fasttech are well stocked for many other such stuff and a good supplier. They also do sample packs of SMD resistors etc.

https://www.fasttech.com/category/2257/soldering-supplies

I have also found this solder paste is good (keep it in the fridge, as with any solder paste): https://www.fasttech.com/products/1261003