Adjustable voltage box mod

[mamu]

Thanks for the links bigblue. My local RS didn't have the heat sink so I went ahead and ordered it and also ordered a heat sink clip tool. What with the way I solder I should have gotten that tool a loooong time ago lol.

I appreciate your help!!

@WillyB: BTW I re-did the TI booster to how I actually put it together in my mod. When I get it done I triple tape it and it makes a nice neat little package that snugs into the mod.

http://www.howder.com/boost.jpg

 

[bigblue30]

mamu,

You are very welcome. What program do you use to draw your circuits?

 

[Caddyman]

FINALLY got all my parts in, the volt adjuster gizmo TI sent me has a super tiny screw in it for adjustment, that thing is small....idk about that

 

[mamu]

mamu,

You are very welcome. What program do you use to draw your circuits?

I use Micrografx Designer. It helps me wrap my brain around the actual wiring of the circuit since I'm a bit of a visual type.

I've been working on your circuit while waiting for parts. If you or Willy have a moment, maybe you can look it over and let me know if I converted your schematic to the veroboard layout correctly. Did you use a diode or resistor between the center pin of the atty connector and Vout? When I look closely at your pic it looks like something is there under the shrink tube at Vout.

EDIT: corrected connections for the fire switch (thanks bigblue)

I'm also thinking of isolating the switch with a mosfet and here's the layout of it:

Where did you get your 3 AMP switch? I'm having trouble finding a 3 AMP switch that is small and one that doesn't have the threads showing on the outside. I like yours, but am looking for a smaller one similar to it.

 

[bigblue30]

If you or Willy have a moment, maybe you can look it over and let me know if I converted your schematic to the veroboard layout correctly.

That looks correct to me, but you are not using pin "2". That is your choice and it will work fine.

Did you use a diode or resistor between the center pin of the atty connector and Vout? When I look closely at your pic it looks like something is there under the shrink tube at Vout.

That is a LED (fire light). It goes from pin "5-out" to ground.

Where did you get your 3 AMP switch? I'm having trouble finding a 3 AMP switch that is small and one that doesn't have the threads showing on the outside. I like yours, but am looking for a smaller one similar to it.

I am not sure what picture you are looking at, I showed a RED one and a Blue one. If you are talking about the Blue one:

It is a P9-111322 from here:
Otto Engineering

This would be the Round dome-threaded Case, solder pin, 2 circuit,snap action,black base, with black button.
http://www.ottoexcellence.com/controls/pdfs/P9.pdf

This switch replaces both the "safety" switch and the "fire" switch.

But looking at your drawing it looks like you will not be using pin "2". In that case you would use a P9-111122..Round dome-threaded Case, solder pin, N/O,snap action,black base, with black button. This one:
OTTO Controls - Search Results

I get them from a local supplier. Spemco Switches, (586)771-2700. Don at Spemco would be happy to ship them to you. These are military grade switches and are the very best switch I could find. The one I use is used in the BlackHawk helicopter as part of the flight control system.

 

[mamu]

Thanks so much for the info bigblue. I called Semco and they're totally out of the P9 in that spec that has the 2 circuit function and said it was a 5 week lead time to get more in. She did give me a company to call that has the grey color and another company that has the white color 2 circuit ones, but no one has any other color than those right now.

I did find some 3 AMP switches on digikey that might do the job, but they're not the 2 circuit type. I may go with a separate switch and hook it up to pin 2 of the LDO.

Just waiting on parts now.

 

[Caddyman]

ok so i have everything now, or i should, my POT should be at my house today. that means i need a good wiring diagram or how to. i am electrically impaired but am good at soldering. anyone have a super clear diagram or how-to or put this wire here type picture i can follow?

TIA!

 

[mamu]

Bigblue posted the schematic in his OP. Here's the veroboard layout of it, but without the LEDs.

In his 2nd mod, he combined the safety and fire switches with one switch that did both functions, so that wiring would be a bit different with all switch connections going to the terminals of the one switch.

See corrected drawing below.

 

[Caddyman]

That looks good, more the cap in the middle, is that 2 of the blue headed things soldered on each side and the middlelegs share a solder point

 

[Rocketman]

bad picture is gone.

 

[bigblue30]

Is it just me (could be ) or would pressing the fire switch maybe start a fire? Is it going to short out the battery?

Rocket

It is fixed now. see below.

 

[bigblue30]

WillyB and mamu have the correct picture now. see below

 

[WillyB]

Seems wrong to me also.

The reg's CT pin in this case shuts down the reg when grounded. So the NC switch in this case, when opened/pressed un-grounds it (a technical term ) turning it on firing the atty. It seems you need a master/kill switch to prevent any power on either the + or - from the batts.

edit: Oops biggie beat me to it.

 

[bigblue30]

Seems wrong to me also.

The reg's CT pin in this case shuts down the reg when grounded. So the NC switch in this case, when opened/pressed un-grounds it (a technical term ) turning it on firing the atty. It seems you need a master/kill switch to prevent any power on either the + or - from the batts.

edit: Oops biggie beat me to it.

No problem Willy. Thanks for fixing the picture.

 

[mamu]

My bad. I did get the switches mixed up. Thanks for correcting it bigblue and Willy. I'll get a notice on the original pic so no one will use that drawing.

EDIT: I deleted it.

 

[mamu]

From Willy's modifications, is this correct now?

 

[bigblue30]

Thanks Willyb and mamu....This is correct now

From Willy's modifications, is this correct now?

 

[Bubo]

Jees I love this forum... I was just wondering how to use a TI chip to give me between 3.7 and 4.5 V, and here you guys (girls) are doing all the work for me - thanks!

As sooon as I figure out what you are talking about (FETs? CAPs?) I plan on using these!

Thanks again!

 

[DenniZ]

As sooon as I figure out what you are talking about (FETs? CAPs?) I plan on using these!

Hey Blue, sorry, I've been MIA for a while.

To answer your question Bubo, a FET is a field effect transistor. In simple terms, a FET is a electronically controlled switch. When the proper conditions for a particular FET is is met, a conductive channel is opened/closed. This is useful in our ecigs because it allows you to apply a small amount of current to a micro switch to control a much larger current. Applying the larger current directly to the micro switch would rapidly cause it to wear down at the contact points.

Caps are capacitors, you can think of them as energy depots. What they do is charge up to a predetermined limit and discharge. The best way for me to explain what they do is for me to show their role in disposable cameras. If you were to take a disposable camera battery and apply its charge directly to the flash, it wouldn't be very impressive, the battery simply can't deliver the juice fast enough. You take that same battery and place a capacitor in the circuit, and you probably won't want to look directly at the flash when you connect it. The capacitor will pull current from the battery as fast as it can be delivered,and then dump it all at once. We are using caps in these mods to smooth out the current on either side of the regulator.

Hope this helps,
-Dee

 

[Rocketman]

Actually I look at the capacitor used on the input and output of a regulator at a filter, to absorb reflections or echos of rapid changes in load impedance and keep them from being reflected back to the input, and vice versus. Sort of like clinching when you fart to produce a smooth note

And the cap in the flash is more like temporary storage for the 300 volts the battery doesn't have in the first place so you can trigger a known size burst. Again there is a clinching analogy for this also.
Hope this only served to confuse
(joking)