Building a mini hana style box

[tchavei]

Popped the stock 510 connector and removed all electronics.

The connector was dead easy but the electronics... Never seen such a mess with hot glue... They filled the chamber almost completely and the top plastic cover was completely glued to the bottom. Even with alcohol it didn't want to bulge.

I started to mill the other chamber to get a 18650 in there. Honestly I thought it would be easier... The 115 dremel bit is the right size but it's a tedious task. I stopped for now as it's too late here but will resume tomorrow.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

 

[tchavei]

Update: fim finished milling the pocket for the battery. I have now 3mm play with the 18650 vtc4 battery. I hope it will be enough for what I have in mind.

Unfortunately the machine shop I went to didn't have a 9mm x 0.75 tap so went to another (which is run by an old retired machinist). He didn't have that tap either but he said he would make one from a 10mm steel rod and use it to make the thread on the mod. I can pick up the mod Monday afternoon

Now I don't have the enclosure for the weekend but at least I will have the hole tapped.



Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

 

[tchavei]

Update (probably final) : picked up the mod today and it's ruined. The threading came out perfectly centered and smooth but the man clamped the mod directly in a vice so although I gave him the mod all wrapped up in masking tape, it wasn't enough to prevent four or five large dents on the top / side of the enclosure.

Not sure I should be mad at him or at myself but I almost cried when I saw the mod.

Anyway, I lost all desire to proceed with the transformation. It always will be a dented / scratched mod no matter how perfect I make it inside. Bah what a waste of time.

Not sure what to do now... Call it a loss, order a new mod and start all over or finish this piece of crap.

I'm depressed


Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

 

[KTMRider]

Update (probably final) : picked up the mod today and it's ruined. The threading came out perfectly centered and smooth but the man clamped the mod directly in a vice so although I gave him the mod all wrapped up in masking tape, it wasn't enough to prevent four or five large dents on the top / side of the enclosure.

Not sure I should be mad at him or at myself but I almost cried when I saw the mod.

Anyway, I lost all desire to proceed with the transformation. It always will be a dented / scratched mod no matter how perfect I make it inside. Bah what a waste of time.

Not sure what to do now... Call it a loss, order a new mod and start all over or finish this piece of crap.

I'm depressed


Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

Damn, that sucks. Got any pics?

 

[tchavei]

Yeah sure but it sucks. I tried a black marker on it but it's still visible

What a disaster.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

 

[nelsonm64]

that sucks man! so, you sent it to someone to mod and it came back like that?

 

[tchavei]

that sucks man! so, you sent it to someone to mod and it came back like that?

No, I gave it to someone to tap the top hole for a 9mm x 0.75 thread and I got it back like that.

If I knew how hard it would be to get a hand on a 9x0.75 tap, I would have gotten a fat daddy or a varitube one. The main advantage in using a OCD connector (besides the great floating pin system) was that I could tap the hole tight away without the need to enlarge the hole first which could come out crooked.

The basic idea was great but the tap was impossible to find locally. The machine guy I know is really an artist when it comes to machining parts and such. He is one of the few I know that can make basically anything on a lathe. He has always made great jobs rectifying rc engines and alike. I guess I never had a problem before because I never gave him a aesthetic or anodized part to work on.

Stuff like this can happen I suppose. Probably an accident but when you add all the history I've had with this mod (especially the shipping part) plus my almost lost dna 40 chip... It was last drop that made the cup spill.

I'm just so ...... with the whole thing

Can't write longer, going to cry a bit more.

Bummer.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

 

[tchavei]

Hi again.

I decided to continue the mod. There are some problems I would like solve before starting all over with a new case so this enclosure will be a "test run" for different solutions I have in mind. Besides... This way I can check out what temp control is all about

I installed the spring today and I'm trying to figure out the best way for the positive pole.

I wasn't happy with the previous four attempts of building copper tabs (sliding and fixed). A spring is always much better. I will use both negative wire and also the mod itself to provide ground to the chip and 510 connector.

The positive is still work in progress but quick replacement of the 18650 battery is almost assured.

Fingers crossed


Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

 

[Hammy75]

Good to see you are sticking with it Tony! I can't wait to see what you come up with for the battery. I have a Hana 20 clone I am thinking about switching to a 18650 just have no idea where to start. Can't wait to see your finished up!

 

[tchavei]

Well, I'm not sure either lol.

I used a cone shaped spring on the ground so when fully compressed, it only uses up the width of the thickness of the wire but right now, the positive pole is still giving me trouble. I'm under 1mm thickness and the battery will only slide in place forcefully. Not sure how I will pull this off without shaving off a mm from the bottom of the battery compartment. I'm already at the limit on top and without poles I have 3mm play with a 18650 which should be great but after inserting the spring, it's not that great anymore... If they only had made the mod 75mm tall it would be perfect.

Sure I could just charge the battery through the USB port and only replace the battery once per week (to rotate batteries) but I rather have something swappable on the go.

Kinda feels like mission impossible right now.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

 

[KTMRider]

Maybe use something like this:

I'll probably use one battery in the mini and use it until it dies in about a year or so. Much easier than rotating the battery and they're cheap.

 

[tchavei]

Yeah, that could work but there is so little space there to make something neat.

My gripe with built-in batteries is more about running out of power during my wife's shopping spree than actually killing the battery over time.

I'm not fond of carrying around two or three mods and atties.

The stock mini clone was holding up actually quite well. Full day vaping and only needed recharge during the night. If I can achieve the same with a vtc4 2100, I'll be a happy man. Carrying around a mini mod and a bottle of e juice is good enough for me.

Next time, I'll probably go full size hana style though. Much easier to work with. Just the size pisses me off a little.

About the current project, buttons are in place, screen is lined up. Tomorrow I need to solder the positive batt tab, hot glue the screen and chip, solder the buttons and glue in the USB circuit and it should be done.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

 

[KTMRider]

Well, you have a USB port. Charge it in the car if you need to.

I took out the flaky display board from my black Cloupor Hana and put it in my FC Hana with the VT 510 and 12mm fire button. I was much more patient and used a liberal amount of isopropyl alcohol and was able to get it out w/o any damage. I'm getting better with the install each time I do it.

 

[tchavei]

The initial plan was to epoxy everything but after the cosmetic disaster stroke, I decided to use hot glue so that I could transfer the components on a later time if I want.

I personally don't like hot glue but I'll open an exception for this case

Wish me luck.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

 

[Hammy75]

I did not want to use hot glue at all but I wanted to be able to remove stuff incase it needed to be replaced down the road. I can say I am more then happy with the result. I used outdoor mounting tape to secure the screen and board. Good luck and have fun with it!

 

[tchavei]

Finished the conversion today.

Never again! What a mess. The spring broke even before finishing the mod, the dna 40, although slim enough to be put strait in the compartment had to be put on an angle to clear from the buttons, the USB charging circuit had to be held in place with tweezers while hot glue was being poured around... Bah, what a mess.

On the bright side, all connections seem to be working flawlessly, lcd perfectly centered (how did I pull that off?) and the OCD connector is wonderful.

All in all I'm happy to have a working dna 40 (for now) but I won't do it again anytime soon and I'm a bit worried with the battery consumption of this sucker.


Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

 

[Hammy75]

Congrats on finishing up the mod! Post some pics if you get a chance. I think you will be ok with the battery consumption with an 18650 if you stay below 20 watts. I do and it lasts a good while with a Samsung 25R. Enjoy the fruits of your labour while you forget about all the headaches that got you there

 

[tchavei]

I will post some pics tomorrow but don't expect anything fancy. I just wanted to finish and the dents my machinist made in the enclosure just ruined all the perfection I wanted so I didn't bother that much making it neat.

I'm going to order a couple of samsung 25R... 2500mah are better than 2100

Regards
Tony

Sent from my GT-I9195 through Tapatalk

"Je suis Charlie" - R. I. P.

 

[tchavei]

Here are the pics. Like I said, it's a mess but it's working.
Next time I know what I'll do and it involves fixed 1mm thick copper tabs.

Regards
Tony

Sent from my phone through a keyboard (or something like that)

 

[Hammy75]

Looks good to me Tony! Love that 18650 in there! Too bad about the scratches but it is tiny and I know the DNA40 performs great so you are good there. Enjoy it!