Been there. If you can solder, and I am assuming that you can, PATIENCE is what you need. I usually do not have the patience but if you can master that you will figure out the most comfortable way to get to it.
Which host is it?
Been there. If you can solder, and I am assuming that you can, PATIENCE is what you need. I usually do not have the patience but if you can master that you will figure out the most comfortable way to get to it.
Which host is it?
If you have fat fingers like me its hard lol. Make sure you have enough wire you can always twist the wire between the driver and the LED so it wraps up smaller.
The last one I did, I soldered the wires to the star 1st, and then soldered them to the driver from below. I think I will be doing them this way from now on.
I use a cheap 25-year-old 40w Radio Shack soldering iron. No on-off switch. Didn’t even come with a stand (I added one separately).
Here’s what I do:
Jake, I’ve had better luck using a chisel tip vs the hoof tip you’re referring to.
I always (always) solder the wires at the emitter first, then trim my wires to length, then solder to the driver. I have yet to see flashlight where it was easier to do driver first.
I like the hoof tip myself for the higher mass at the tip but each to his own. Tin the wires and the pads before assembly leaving just a bit of extra length and screw in the driver retainer which will help hold the mcpcb off the shelf and slip a piece of pop stick underneath. Flux on the pad, hold the wire down with a notched bamboo skewer(longer than a toothpick and stronger than a used long match), iron on high and press flat. Slide the iron aside so the solder doesn’t form a peak and repeat. A short piece of paper straw keeps flux spatter off the die. Pull the shim, unscrew the retainer, press into place, and rescues the retainer. Rinse with alcohol and soft bristle toothbrush.
Thanks for the toothpick tip, I’m going to try that next time :student:
Assuming a good solder, your approach sounds good. Like keltex78, I try to keep the base off the pill/shelf, but sometimes the base is alredy reflowed to a massive head.
Since most/all the flux is quickly boiled off the base blob, wire lead, and solder iron tip, I like to put some flux on the the wire lead and/or base solder blob. Really helps the solder to liquefy.
I kinda do the opposite with good results. I solder the wires onto the driver with a little extra length. Then I mock up the assembly with driver and star in place then trim the wires to get the shortest length possible.
Tin the wire ends and pads on the star. Put it all back together - don’t forget thermal paste- and I hold the wire ends down with a small flathead screwdriver.
I put a good size blob onto the iron tip. Crank up the soldering iron to max and attach the wires holding the wire in place with the screwdriver.
That’s my method - works for me.
Then have a beer admiring your awesome solder joint.
+1 absolutely.
When you put the blob on the star contacts, do you see the blob flow out to the edges & become more of a “fillet” than a “blob”? It will look more like something flowing out of the circuit board, rather than something being squashed onto it. If you can see the bonding of the solder you put on, to the pad, that part should be fine.
When you “mend the two”, does that mean the blob on the tip flows over the wire and bonds to it smoothly and at time same time it merges with the blob on the star’s pad? As with the pcb, that smooth flow of the solder to the wire shows it’s getting a good grip. If so, that part is likely to work perfectly too. You can save some time by “tinning” the wire by melting solder onto it; and I have a really hard time soldering if I do not tin the parts first. Then your iron only has to melt solder at the joint, not heat up leads, wires or pads.
This is really one of those cases where if it looks good it probably is good; and we can’t see it. Just keep thinking “Hot, Quick, and Minimal”. Hot enough to get the joint hot enough to melt the solder, as Quickly as possible to keep the heat isolated to the joint, and use Just Enough solder to hold.
As always, the best way to be sure is to finish the project and turn it on!
And be sure to let us know how it comes out!
You guys are good! Thank you. I was building an m1 for my brother, and I wanted to be sure I was doing alright. You ALL helped me out to get a bit better with the iron. I tried the chisel point with great success, it was much easier than the horse hoof for me. I did the drag so I don’t get the peak of solder, I used some tweezers to hold lead down but I want to try the wooden stick method next. I have to be up for a 13 hour shift in about 5 hours. But I will try to post s pic of the work tomorrow The light did turn on measures to a peak of 3 amps on my craftsman DMM. Long thin original leads. So it must be a bit higher. Mtn fet driver with driver bypass wire. Xml2 high cri
Thanks again for all of the great tips. I hope others find this thread, it will definitely make things easier on us newer members that have only modded a handful of lights.
Well done JD. A light which switches on after being modded is a good mod.
I just put together 2 Convoy M1’s and a BLF X6 and I used a chisel head soldering tip too. I pushed the wires back into the shelf until only the portion that was to be soldered onto the board showed and bent them as much as possible so that they laid more of less over the pads. I then pushed the wires down with a popsicle stick and hit them with the soldering iron. Came out pretty well with only a tiny solder blob on the pads and wires.
I also tinned the wires first and put flux on it before soldering them. They all sit low enough so that they don’t touch the reflectors but I put kapton tape over them just because I’m paranoid.
For me slow and careful was the way to go.
I think it’s amazing (and even inspiring) to note how many perfect solutions there are to this one problem.
I use 23 or 24 AWG solid wire salvaged from Cat6 or Cat5 LAN wire, which is just fat enough to get an entry-level mod flowing full current, but way too fat and stiff to do the twisting thing mentioned above. Not that there’s anything wrong with the other method, I just can’t do it with these wires. 23AWG soft copper + solder will rip that wee LED+ pad right off the driver! Using Stranded wire, derating (30% for the wire in Patch Cables) pushes the gauge into the 20 - 22 AWG neighborhood, which is both hard to find and hard to work, and probably puts as much strain on the joint as the solid wire does.
I learned on HF radios etc. to keep every length of every trace, wire or lead As Short As Possible, as Solar suggests. This is the only way I can find to do that.
This. A #0 Flat (especially hollow ground) does an excellent job of sinking the heat away from the insulation, which on Cat6 is frail and easily destroyed. I do like the suggestion of a “fork” notch in the tip, so I may carve one in one of mine.
I see my friend & neighbor ImA4Wheeler has already dropped a link to this thread in my “Buried Treasure” thread, so apparently we’re all doing more Good than we thought here!
Once again we make ‘BLF’ into the BEST Light Forum! Thanks!!
I prefer 22 AWG Silicone wire for LED leadwires. Silicone won’t melt like PVC and is much more flexible than Teflon. I find it the optimum size for driver wires. I tried 18 AWG Silicone wire but found it awkward to work with. More heat is needed with iron to melt it, it gets stiff, and it won’t fit through the center hole in a triple Noctigon driver. 22 AWG gets the job done and is much easier to work with.
Since with Silicone there is no risk of melting the insulation, a screwdriver to sink heat away from the insulation isn’t needed. I use a notched toothpick instead.
The notched toothpick has the following advantages:
Thanks for the toothpick idea. I’ll have to try that next time.
Well done JD. A light which switches on after being modded is a good mod.
OH yes. It is. It didn’t even smoke or glow red
Thanks