HOW-TOs, TIPS-and-TRICKS, DEFINITIONS, EXPERIENCES

[LightChucker]

Larry,

I have the pencil iron as well as the bigger guns. I tried to find some rosin flux at the neighborhood Radio Shack, but of course, they were sold out. I'll try another store tomorrow. Question: How do you clean off the flux? Do you simply wipe it off, or do you wash it in something?



Mednanu,

I'll try to come as close to that percentage as I can.



Thanks for your help, everyone!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Chuck

 

[tvodrd]

Chuck,
RS cat# 64-005 is fine. (.032", 60/40 rosin core) I probably shouldn't have brought up the cleaning issue. The remaining flux will harden when the joint cools, and the hardened flux is kind of like a brittle "paint." You can break it away with a fingernail or dental pick or.... The manufacturers have chemicals for its removal, of which I am ignorant. DON'T bust a lead on an LS worring about a little residual flux!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Larry

 

[dat2zip]

Only buy solder that states "NO CLEAN".

Any other type could leave an acid residue and eat the board away over time.

NO CLEAN is OK to not clean off the board.

Other than that, the size depends on the job.

 

[shankus]

Here is a link to a tip of removing the tab from the NX05 colimator.

Observations of a high dome w/NX05 on a MadMax+

 

[LightChucker]

Off-topic, but this reminds me of my adventures into electronic modding.

Years ago, back when the first Atari video game machines came out, I didn't like to use the little plastic controllers that came with the system. It gave me pains in my wrist and neck. So, I replaced them with commercial grade video game controllers and mounted them in a wood cabinet. This was easy for the Atari controllers. All I had to do was disconnect the cables from the original controller and resolder them to the commercial ones, but the Colecovision controller was a challenge. It had a built in key pad, a joystick, and two fire buttons. Inside, there was a circuit board controlling the logic of all this.

So, I had to "enslave" the original controller in the wood cabinet, and solder directly into the circuit board for the external, commercial controllers. I had worked out exactly where I needed to solder the controller leads, but for some reason it didn't work right. Long-story-short, The flux (or something) was leaving an invisible residue that was shorting the circuit some place. The cleaning method that I used was to rub the circuit board with a soft eraser. It worked for years after that.

Chuck

 

[AilSnail]

How did the glue fare when you removed the emitter from the board? Did it stay on the board, or on the emitter? Would it be clever to lap the emitter for better heatsinking?

 

[LightChucker]

AilSnail,

Now that is an interesting question.

I just checked the LED. If there is any glue on there it is very thin. The LED popped off very easily, so there probably was never very much there.

I understand your concern about whether that would interfere with adhesion or thermal transfer - makes sense that any residue left behind might cause a problem. My inexperienced thoughts on this are that removing the residue might produce other problems.

If you lap the LED, I think you could risk having it not mate up flattly with the McLux heat sink. Then, the beam could be aimed off center.

If you use a solvent, you might harm the LED dome.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
I think we need to hear from those who are more experienced.

Can anyone help us here? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif

Thanks,

Chuck

 

[LightChucker]

As you guys know, I am trying to build my own McLux, but the pictures in the instruction document are from such an angle that I am not confident that I am interpretting them correctly.

Looking at the pictures on page-10 of the instructions, I cannot see where the <font color="red">RED</font> and <font color="black">BLACK</font> wires are connected. The text says, "Attach the red and black wire to the input capacitor from the top side of the board." Unfortunately, there is no picture of the top side of the board in the instructions. There are only pictures of the edge and bottom of the board. From the edge picture, I can see that the red and black wires are attached to the top of the board, but I can't see where.

If I look at the standalone pictures of the BB, the LED+ and LED- are labelled clearly. There is also a VIN+ with the label line ending on the right-hand side of a little silver/metal box.

Is the silver/metal box supposed to be the capacitor?

If so, am I supposed to attach the red wire to the right-hand side and the black wire to left-hand side?

I think I am right about this, but I am not sure enough to risk blowing the board.

Thanks for taking the time to respond,

Chuck

 

[dat2zip]

Some info is
Here

Conveter board wiring info is at:

Converter board wiring info.

 

[LightChucker]

Thanks, Wayne.

I think that Leo is saying what I said, isn't he?

(But I don't understand what Don is saying.)

Chuck

 

[dat2zip]

Here's some pics that might help.

Front side view

Back side view

Note: The red wire is attached to the inductor and not the cap as per the instructions and the wiring diagram. Either location can be used and this one depicts it on the inductor.

Wayne

 

[LightChucker]

That nails the red wire's location. Soldering to that bigger inductor should be safer than the little capacitor.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

It looks like the black wire is soldered into one of the the "J6" holes - the same as the LED cathode (-) bare wire, right? That should be easy too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

Thank you again, Wayne. The pictures really help!

And, thanks to Leo and Don for your help. Sorry that I am a little slow on this.

Chuck

 

[LightChucker]

Can the tape melt?

Wayne,

The McLux instructions call for foam tape to hold the board in place while waiting for the epoxy to cure.

Is there any risk of the tape melting while using the McLux later?

Can it be done without the tape?

If the tape is not used, can the copper disk on the board short against the McLux head?

(I'll bet you will be glad when I finally finish this thing so the questions will stop?)

Thanks for the help,

Chuck

 

[dat2zip]

Chuck,

Sure, I suppose the tape could melt. The main purpose of the tape is only for the initial installation. If the converter board section is filled with RTV or prefered Arctic Alumina then it will be glued in rather permanently and it won't matter much if the double sided tape melts.

Yes, if the copper disc shorts to the housing it will short the battery Plus to the battery minus and the batteries will not be happy at all. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

If you are worried about this, you can squirt some arctic alumina epoxy from the front side into the holes after assembly and this will fill the void or space between the board and housing. You will probably need a tapered syringe which is a nice trick with epoxy if you are going to be doing a lot of this.

Tapered disposable syringes will run you a couple of bucks for a single one, but, in bulk pack will run you less than a dollar each and having a couple is a good thing (IMHO).

You can find them sometimes listed on ebay. That's where I bought my last batch.

If you don't want to use the tape, any non conductive spacer can be used. A small insulator or washer will do, but, might rattle around if not secured somehow.

 

[LightChucker]

CAUTION: ARCTIC ALUMINA THERMAL ADHESIVE!

WOW! This stuff cures in about 60 seconds - way too fast!

This came from SVC, and there were no special instructions included or on the label of the tubes. I was assuming the pot life would be at least 5 minutes or more. So, when it set up in about 60 seconds, I was surprised. I was lucky though; everything was in position when the pot suddenly cured.

Years ago, I used to modify slot-car motors, and we used a 1-minute epoxy. That stuff set up so fast that it was steaming hot for some time after it cured. I haven't seen that on a shelf since those days. This Arctic Alumina seems to be of the same type. I think it should be plaining labelled that it sets this fast.

I am wondering if anyone has lost a project because of this?

Chuck

 

[tvodrd]

For those without a lot of experience with 2-part thermoset materials, (Epoxies, polyesters, urethanes, soem silicone and acrylic systems) they are typically exothermic that is their chemical reactions generate heat. The practical aspect of this is they tend to become mass-sensitive with respect to gel and cure times. In lay terms, the larger the blob you mix, the quicker it will gel. I have noticed that Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive is very sensitive to this- mix more than about a CC, and you better hustle.

Larry