luxeon kit

[Theyrenotdolls (Den Dragonson)]

anyone here put together a luxeon kit? specifically a graflex kit. I could use some advice on mine. It's from TGS and communication with them has been great, but i think that i bit off a little more than i can chew. the soldering is a bit more difficult than i imagined.
any advice at all would be appreciated.

[Olos Nay]

If you got it from TheGraflexShop, then you got the "corbin" driver and have problems with it, right?
both the graflex shop and the custom saber shop (the 2 places where I know you can get a graflex-to-luxeon conversion) offers the driver from Corbin's components... Unless you have it without the driver, in which case wiring will vary on what is it you're trying to do.

if you have the luxeon driver, you might want to look at this schematics:

That is what you're trying to do.


if your problem is purely about soldering, then I'd need to be with you to help out. In any case, I would be happy to assist you as much as I can.

[Theyrenotdolls (Den Dragonson)]

next time i'm in Montreal, i'll look you up. just kidding. i knew about the wiring guide. i was looking for help with soldering, actually. thanks anyways.

[Olos Nay]

too bad you aren't closer, I'd be glad to do it for you. Takes only about half an hour.

[Theyrenotdolls (Den Dragonson)]

did you by chance use a graflex? or one of the red graflex buttons with the momentary switch function? that's the big problem i'm having. it has these "pins" to which a wire must be soldered. I'm having trouble rigging this part up.
any advice?

[Olos Nay]

I do have a vintage graflex, but I haven't wired it yet. I am uncertain I actually want to duel with it

so the main problem is to wire to the small tabs on the micro switch...

I must admit it is kind of tricky...
Remember, there is no "good way" to do this, those are intended to be placed on a punched board before soldering together, but have been made into a graflex red button.

To be able to do this, I'd say you'll need a "third hand" - something with 2 aligator clips to hold the switch and wire in place before soldering.

Then, you need to understand how to properly solder 2 things together... To achieve a clean soldering, the 2 parts must be heated before the pewter is spread on 'em.
So, what I'd do to be able to solder the 2 togerher is to place the switch and wire together by the holding help of some aligator clips on stands, then heat the iron to appropriate temperature (if the pewter melts when in contact, you're OK) and stick the iron on the juction of the tab and wire. Wait a little without pressuring.
Then put the pewter on the junction (not the iron) and it should melt, spreading *between* the tab and wire. Not a lot of pewter is needed, remove iron and blow gently to cool down.

Should work efficiently...

I hope my explanations are pretty straight forward and helpfull...

[Jeffrek]

Soldering a joint is an aquired skill bt not one that takes long to learn. What Olos is reffering to as Pewter is actually called Solder (hence the term soldering). Its usually a mix of copper, silver and tin now as lead is on the decrease due to regulations with various rosin based fluxes all in a thin wire. The flux helps the solder to melt and flow properly.

First step to a good join is to 'tin' both parts to be joined. Tinning is simply coating each part with a thin layer of solder first. Using the tip of a suitable soldering iron you heat the part and touch it with the solder wire until it flows and coats it.
For stranded wire its best to twist the wire cores first into a spiral as this makes it act like a wick and draw in the solder. It also helps stop stray wires.

Once both parts are tinned you essentially follow Olos's instructions, secure one part down, in this case the switch using the helping hands (or if you dont have any use blutac). Then hold the wire to the pin on the switch so that they have some decent surface area touching. Then heat the join area with the iron for a few seconds. The pre-tinned areas will flow together and the join will be made. Quite often you wont need to apply more solder wire if the areas have been tinned correctly.

For soldering wires to a pcb then the EPE guide at www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/solderfaq.htm is useful as the technique is slightly different to soldering wires to a component itself.

[Theyrenotdolls (Den Dragonson)]

thanks guys...both of these posts will be very helpful.

[2saberjedi]

(bow)

i cant make head or tails out of that schematic ...thats probly why i haveint built a saber yet to me reading a schematic is like speking spanish .....oh ya im mexican lol...but i still cant speek spanish or read a schematic

May The Force Be With You

[Olos Nay]

it isn't a schematic, it simply show what wires are connected from where to where.