I've been busy making a dna 20 mod the past few weeks. Finally got the board in the mail a couple days ago, so I went to work with installation. Everything looked great at first, until I had to open the mod back up and take a look at the up contact. All I did was touch the chip, it moved slightly, and BAM the screen separated from the ribbon wire. I don't exaggerate with it being the slightest movement. Has anyone else run into this? Did I really just dump $50 for something more fragile than an egg shell? Not too happy at this point.
DNA 20 Board bit the dust
- Thread starter Dezz
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
In my frustration and busy life, I forgot to get a picture. Evolv is replacing the screen for $10, so the board is sent in. While I wait, I am modifying the box a little. I need to order some new switches, cause I realized one of my tactile switches was not making a solid connection on the NO side. I also need some better 20 gauge wire. The wire I was using had too thin of insulation and would melt when I soldered, you could just watch the insulation "crawl" away from the soldering point. Hopefully this project can get done this week.
How are people getting the onboard fire button to come off? When I tried I couldn't get it to remove no matter where I applied heat to melt the connection. Also, are people gluing the display to the back of the dna board? After this mishap, I'm going to apply a few touches of super glue to the connection from the ribbon to the board to prevent another issue, also approaching in a different order on set up. I'm also wondering if soldering to the pads of the board would be better instead of trying to go through the holes to prevent less bending of the wires when it is placed. This has been a big learning process and have appreciated it once I cooled off.
How are people getting the onboard fire button to come off? When I tried I couldn't get it to remove no matter where I applied heat to melt the connection. Also, are people gluing the display to the back of the dna board? After this mishap, I'm going to apply a few touches of super glue to the connection from the ribbon to the board to prevent another issue, also approaching in a different order on set up. I'm also wondering if soldering to the pads of the board would be better instead of trying to go through the holes to prevent less bending of the wires when it is placed. This has been a big learning process and have appreciated it once I cooled off.
Taking off the onboard fire switch may void the warranty, but with that said, I use a small set of pointed wire nippers to cut the connections of the fire switch. Some cut the 2 connections that are easy to get to and then wiggle the switch till the other 2 connection break. Bending the robbon cable too sharply can also break the runs inside the cable. Gentle sweeping bends should not include sharp, short bends which tend to damage the ribbon. Bends close to the display can also break the ribbon cable off where it connects to the display.
I also have glued the display to the back of the board and others have used thin double sided tape.
A dab of super glue under the ribbon cable at the board works great to help protect the ribbon solder points from breaking. The ribbon and display should be treated always as fragile and easily destroyed.
Soldering to the pads to keep from bends in the wire is OK and many modders do it that way. Good idea to fill the hole in the pad with solder before soldering the wire to the pad. Also "tinning the wire" is helpful. Also using flux on all pads before soldering makes it easier.
On the wire, 20 gauge stranded is better as opposed to non-stranded and copper wire is better also. Tinning the wires ahead of soldering will also make soldering with less heat thus melting of the insulation will be much less.
Final comment is that most modders that build a DNA mod have damaged a ribbon cable/display. Note that very slight pressure applied to the display will crack the glass of the display and the display will die where it will no longer display anything. So the ribbon and display should always be treated very, very gently throughout the mod building process. The DNA will still function with a dead display but you loose the ability to see the settings.
Good luck....
I also have glued the display to the back of the board and others have used thin double sided tape.
A dab of super glue under the ribbon cable at the board works great to help protect the ribbon solder points from breaking. The ribbon and display should be treated always as fragile and easily destroyed.
Soldering to the pads to keep from bends in the wire is OK and many modders do it that way. Good idea to fill the hole in the pad with solder before soldering the wire to the pad. Also "tinning the wire" is helpful. Also using flux on all pads before soldering makes it easier.
On the wire, 20 gauge stranded is better as opposed to non-stranded and copper wire is better also. Tinning the wires ahead of soldering will also make soldering with less heat thus melting of the insulation will be much less.
Final comment is that most modders that build a DNA mod have damaged a ribbon cable/display. Note that very slight pressure applied to the display will crack the glass of the display and the display will die where it will no longer display anything. So the ribbon and display should always be treated very, very gently throughout the mod building process. The DNA will still function with a dead display but you loose the ability to see the settings.
Good luck....
Last edited:
- Status
Similar threads
