Beginner to modder advice

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
1

Hello friends. I started modding flashlights a few months back and all my family wants in on the fun. I consider myself a beginner for sure, but I can foresee enough flashlight building to bring me to the next level. I’m guessing I have enough requests to put me through the next year. I do not work because of illness, but I have some time each day, two hours or so, that I will be able to work on flashlights. I would like to prepare myself for a deeper commitment to this. To do that Im asking some advise from those of you who have made the transition from beginner to modder. i will start by laying out some questions I have. You don’t have to think hard or write a book on flashlight modding- just some quick tips for someone in my position. (If you would, please reference the question number if you have an answer)

1.) What do you wish someone would have told you when you were in my position?

2.) In general, what characteristics of your lights make most people happy? High amps? EDC’able? Zoomable? Chargeable? …

3.) I have a shopping cart started at mouser’s. What components/parts should I stock up on? Specifics, like… 4.7k resistors? Diodes?

4.) Equipment? I have a 939 soldering station. I’ve watched some videos of you guys soldering and your iron rarely oxidizes. In order to solder well, I have to keep my station turned all the way up or I get messy joints. When soldering multiple things I have to turn the iron back down to ?300, clean it, then turn it back up. If I don’t my iron will not transfer heat. What is the secret here?

Well friends… I know this is quite a bit to ask, but i may have needless troubles if I don’t ask. So any little help could go a long way:)

2

1. You may need more money. And time. And money.
2. Power and zoomie
3. No matter what you stock up on you’ll always need one more part.
4. FLUX

3

just a couple of general things to consider:
many of us here at BLF like good tints. I think historically that’s the most frequent mod of all; you bought a nice flashlight, but can’t stand the horrible tint => switch LED for a nicer tint!
what is considered a nice tint differs from person to person, and also from one type of flashlight to another.
I like mine to be NW (neutral white) which for cree usually is considered 3-5 (my BLF A6 is 3D and 5A, like ’em!)
If you’re going for higher amps testing has shown that you need a your leds on a DTP (Direct Thermal Path) copper star, like noctigons or sinkpads.

many of us really like the UI of the BLF A6, which uses ToyKeepers firmware. you can flash that one on cheap chinese nanjg drivers with the right hardware and software (i’ve bought the hardware, but haven’t messed with the software side of things yet). So you might want to read up on the threads discussing flashing your own firmware, and start offering such services as well.

4

I use a lot of flux but don’t know if I’m using it correctly? I’ve learned that the solder will not melt and flow without it.

5

Thank you. I just ordered two A6 drivers and added a Pomona test clip to my shopping cart. I see I will also need a usb programmer and jumpers wires. I will look those up tomorrow. Couldn’t find them on mouser.

6

“helping hands” magnifying glass is a piece of crap. I use a 40x magnifier from fasttech for most of my inspection.
.
Flux makes a huge difference in how easy it is to melt solder. Get some. Get some thermal paste and thermal epoxy too. (arctic
silver is ok)
.
WRT oxidation of the tip, I have no idea at all. :frowning: I just put on a new, silver tip on the iron and within half hour it was mostly brown. The whole chrome layer came off the first tip and only copper remained. lol

7

On the soldering issue, good solder makes all the difference in the world! I like Kester, I get it from amazon in a one pound roll. It’s kind of expensive, but, that roll will last you forever! Also, I like the chisel style tip for my iron. It seems to work a lot better with the little components for transferring a lot of heat quickly.

I wish someone would have told me to study up on electronics, especially how the individual parts work separately and together.

I can’t say for many others, but a light that has a high kcd rating tends to catch my interests.

As far as components go, have a couple of the BLF A6 drivers, they are the best IMO. Always have some spare LEDs, xm, xp, etc…

One last thing, probably the most important….

Have Patience!

Enjoy!

8

Big numbers are cool. But if you look you will see that the used lights for sale are, often the big throwers.

For bang for the buck (a universal concept) floody pocketable lights are hard to beat. TIR triples are something that a lot of folks find makes sense to build as opposed to buy.

and +5 for tints I don’t use a magnifying glass (and thus I don’t even try to work on building boards) but I can swap emitters and run solid wires with my simple $14 one speed iron, once the flux eats too much tip I just take a file to it and sharped it back up. when I run out of tip, I put a new one on.

9

Very good advice. When ordering parts, ALWAYS order spares if you can afford it. Nothing puts the brakes on a fun night of modding like having to put aside your mod for 4 weeks while you wait for replacement parts to arrive.

10

Oh… I hate waiting 4 weeks!!! That’s why I’m trying to build a list for mouser so that I can get some little pieces and parts all at once and not have to pay shipping on each.

I need to venture to different emitters. I know about most of them, but not how to utilize and implement them. I’ve only been using xml2 for everything

11

I do use a chisel tip but all I have ever used for solder is a roll of the cheepest stuf on eBay. Took four weeks :wink: I am running out so I will have to find something good and pay for it.

12

Couldn’t agree more! The first solder I bought was cheap and I had so many issues with flowing and even getting it to do so evenly. Coupled with my equally cheap first soldering iron, my first mods were a disaster. Don’t cheap out on the soldering iron and solder. That’d be my advice. After getting a quality iron (Japanese) and solder, my mods took a fraction of the time and even less frustration.

13

If you plan on modding and asking for help or showing your work get an image hosting account so you can add links to your pics. Lots of helpful people here but we need to SEE it. And as far as mod descriptions go, “beam shots or it didn’t happen” :wink: You might need a new tip for your iron. I’d get a selection of sizes and shapes. I use some more than others but I’ve used them all. Mountain electronics and illum for as much as possible.

14

I bought a cheap headband magnifier, quite a few look identical with the small led light on the front. The light isn’t that good but the magnifier is.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Headband-Headset-Jeweler-Magnifier-Magnifying/dp/B009O5T3FU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1450517786&sr=8-3&keywords=Head+magnifier

A flux syringe makes flux it much easier to apply.

Flux paste, the one with particles of solder mixed in with flux is used to heat flow an emitter onto a ‘star’, that’s the small copper or aluminium board that they’re soldered onto, they’re also called noctigon, mcpcb.

‘Lodestar silver paste’ is one, also ‘Mechanic solder paste’ is another, when you’re buying solder paste make sure it’s the one that contains solder and isn’t just flux as they as they’re both sold as ‘solder paste’.

Leaded solder is the preferred choice, your iron bit’s will last longer. Just don’t breathe too much in. Either 60/40 or 63/37, get a decent brand!

Don’t have the iron temp too high especially when you’re soldering small components, solder begins to melt at around 188 °C (370 °F) but you need to have the temp set higher for soldering. Maybe 340 °C (740 °F).

22awg silicone wire used for connecting the driver board to the led appears to be a good size, too thick and it’s difficult to work with.

15

I’ve been debating on what to get for magnifying. I’ve seen these devices but they look quite awkward. Can you sit at your bench while working and reaching around for parts with this on your head?

I’ve wondered about that. It’s quite confusing. I ended up getting a surringe of paste from a decent brand. Kester or MG? I’m not sure. It’s in the fridge and I don’t want to get up;)

Now, I have played around with this a great deal. I have done some research and watched videos. I still can’t get it. In order to solder I have to have my iron all the way up to 480c! I can’t leave it on the parts more than a few seconds, but if I don’t do this I cannot get my solder to flow.
I think may be one of two things: It might be that my iron does not have enough heat transfer to maintain the lower temps. When I keep the temp high there is enough heat stored up in the tip to keep the solder melted until I finish the joint. Otherwise the tip cools down and will not keep the solder melted even with heavy flux use. Soldering has been much easier since I’ve lowered my worry of over heating.
Or, from the advice given by some, I think it might be my cheep solder. Most likely it is the latter? I’m excited to buy some new solder soon. I need to find a source with a good price.

Thanks everyone, for your input thus far! There is a saying that goes like this:
There are two types of people in the world: Stupid and Smart.
The Stupid make mistakes and make them over and over again.
The Smart make mistakes once and learn not to make them again.
But wait! There is a third… The Wise
The Wise avoid mistakes by learning from the mistakes of others. H)

16

Don’t use wet sponges to clean your soldering iron. Thermal shock isn’t good for the tip. Use stainless steel wire sponges or a piece of wood.

Don’t try to ‘not breathe in too much’ when it comes to leaded solder. Rig up a strong 120 mm PC fan (~$10) to an activated charcoal sponge ($0.50 a piece) and a wall plug of the right voltage. Or buy a commercial fume extractor for $34.

If you ever need to attach bare wire to a piece of copper but your soldering iron just doesn’t put out enough heat, use one of these mini jet lighters for cigars.

17

Sounds to me like you’re using lead free solder. The temperature you’re talking about is the ballpark I use for lead free solders. Kester (leaded) solder will melt onto your tip at 300°C, you just shouldn’t solder with it that low.

18

Yes. When I keep the iron around 300c the solder stays nice and shiny on the tip. But even with my iron turned up to say 375, as soon as I touch the iron to my work, the solder hardens. Maybe my solder is mislabled or more likely is full of impurities with an unfavorable alloy mixed in to cut cost? Anyway, I have learned to make it work, but it would be nice to set the temp, melt the solder and know that it will stay there as when I touch my work.

19

Stainless, not brass? Wood… Humm, I’ll try that.

I was afraid of that. I’ve been putting it off, but now that I’m doing more, you are right. Thanks for reminding me!

Good tip! I have one, but have not thought to use it.

20

1.) What do you wish someone would have told you when you were in my position?
A lot of the hype is just not true. The batteries are ~better, but they’re still not “all that”; and they require special, knowledgeable care and handling — and if you screw up it may cost more than you can afford. The LEDs are NOT WHITE and NOT COOL-RUNNING and NOT LOW-CURRENT!!! The prices vendors ask will probably drop before your order gets here, so postpone parts purchases as long as you can, for a decent cost-benefit evaluation. The LED or driver or host or switch you really-really want is NOT going to be available. Often they (e.g. Cree) just don’t make the full line of products they advertise, such as Neutral White LEDs…

2.) In general, what characteristics of your lights make most people happy?
Bright. Period. Dim flashlights don’t impress anyone. If they don’t blink (strobe, SOS or changing modes), people won’t hate on you for showing them off.

3.) I have a shopping cart started at mouser’s. What components/parts should I stock up on?
See #1. The latest “hot set-up” changes so much, so often, that your “stock” will quickly become “overstock” and then “trash”’; and you’re going to have a hard time throwing it away to make room for the next “hot set-up”. You’ve picked a Good Vendor (congratulations) from the start, but they’re very fond of their inventory so expect to see more of the bottom-end of your bank account.

4.) Equipment?
a: If you’re serious, pay Good Money for TOOLS. “It’s a poor craftsman who blames his tools”, but good tools in skilled hands make the job much more pleasant. Needle-nose Pliers (curved and straight), Flush Cutters, Dikes for the big stuff (protect your Flush Cutters!), 3rd Hand(s), Soldering Irons, Solder-sucker, a really good Work Area Light, magnification (glasses or those hood things), more as your skill-set evolves…

b: I have to keep my station turned all the way up or I get messy joints.
That’s how it works. If your soldering station won’t keep up, see #4a. Tip: You want it hot enough to get the joints correctly-done quickly before the heat has a chance to spread & damage something.

c: When soldering multiple things I have to turn the iron back down to ?300, clean it, then turn it back up.
This makes no sense. The easiest way I’ve found to clean a soldering iron is to have a sponge or small towel nearby which is soaked with cold water. Get the tip as hot as it will get & wipe it quickly on the cold-water-soaked sponge. The net effect is to steam-clean your tip, which works pretty well for me. Replace the sponge when it starts falling apart. When it’s room-temperature cold, you can use sandpaper to get the gunk off, if you must.

IMNERHO, The Very Best place to invest your money is on EDUCATION. I see you’ve started that quest already. Then you can answer your own questions without relying on the opinions of strangers like me.

HTH…