How to: Build the Puck

[Alžběta Madragana]

Hey 'ThePuck' thank you for your quick reply, and you explained it well.
Thank you again!
I posted a pic of my 3 Pucks on another of your threads, can't remember which one now, LOL..

 

[Aloysius]

Just ordered the parts to do this. I'm going to try it with AA instead of AAA batteries since I have a couple dozen of them laying around...

 

[dragon_ch]

Is it possible to make a puck with this? 4*AAA Powered Emergency Backup Battery Pack for NDS Lite - Free Shipping - DealExtreme
It might reduce the form factor

 

[Stosh]

Is it possible to make a puck with this? 4*AAA Powered Emergency Backup Battery Pack for NDS Lite - Free Shipping - DealExtreme
It might reduce the form factor

I might be possible, the trick would be finding room to fit a puch button switch and the atty connection. Also the reviews on the website were less than confidence inspiring...

- The batteries just keep jumping out of the case, bad industrial design.
- Almost fried my Nintendo DS =(
- Not designed to work securely with high mAH batteries (the real ones...high stamina sony)
- With one week of usage the diode fried.
- Doesn´t have a current regulator, which is very dangerous to connect to a console of at least US$ 120,00
- Plastic is a little fragile

I've used the 3 and 4 AAA standard black battery holder cases with good results, reasonably sturdy.

 

[TomCatt]

Is it possible to make a puck with this? 4*AAA Powered Emergency Backup Battery Pack for NDS Lite - Free Shipping - DealExtreme
It might reduce the form factor

It might be possible. Height is 3.15", so there is maybe 0.5 to 0.75" space, most likely above the batt slots. So a small button, or possibly even a touch switch with a mosfet, could fit in there with room for the atty connector.
Anyway, interesting find. Something to keep in mind for the future, busy with RW and other mods at the moment . Gotta feed the Fever

 

[Aloysius]

Got the parts to make two AA size pucks tonight. Four battery boxes, two coaxial connectors, two switches, and an assortment of LEDs, resistors, and LED holders. I am waiting on a soldering iron (a friend of mine is loaning to me in return for one of the finished products) so that I can actually build these. However, I couldn't wait to see what they would vape like, so I loaded up one of the battery boxes and attached the wires to one of the coaxial connectors. Meter showed 4.9 volts coming through, so I screwed on a cartomizer (808) and flipped the switch ... nothing. However, after a bit of fiddling, I got it to work by attaching a 901-808 adaptor and sticking a piece of metal in the 'switch' electrode on the coax. It looks totally ghetto but it WORKS! Can't wait to put it together the right way... Thanks, ThePuck!

 

[Alžběta Madragana]

I have just completed work on my 4th 'OG Puck' - I use a dead 510 Carto for my connector to put my cartos on it. Right now, I have a 3,6 Volt, a 4,8 Volt, and a 6 Volt Puck. The other one is a 4,8 Volt Puck I made for a fellow Texan who asked me to make him one.
The 4,8 Volt Puck I use does have AAA batts; however, the other 2 I use have AA batts. Sure, the 6 Volt Puck is a bit heavy in the hand, but it vapes like a monster! LOL I have everything I'll ever need to vape whatever voltage I might need and again, a huge SHOUT-OUT to "ThePuck" for sharing his information with the rest of us here on how to build one.
The $$ savings from this special BoxMod are incredible. No more trying out every new mod that Vendors/Suppliers hype up for us vapers to see if it's the perfect vape for us. No more worrying if I can get replacement rechargeable batts for it quick. I've found that the AA batts last me between 1 and 3 days, depending on how heavily I vape with it. The AAA batts generally last 1 to 1 1/2 days..
Nope, I found my "perfect vaping machine" right here.

 

[Aloysius]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am still waiting for the friend with the soldering iron to come over. It's unbearable! Maybe I should just get one of my own?

 

[Alžběta Madragana]

Hi Aloysius!
Geez that sucks. No soldering iron. What I've found out when I did my first Puck was just put everything together without soldering it. Used some electrical tape (pretty cheap these days) and then tried it out. After seeing it worked, then I did my soldering on it. In your case, if you 'really really really' want to start using your Puck (and really tired of waiting on your friend), I'd just take the tape route till they show up to solder it.
Just a thought.

 

[Stosh]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am still waiting for the friend with the soldering iron to come over. It's unbearable! Maybe I should just get one of my own?

A soldering iron is cheap, and you'll have it forever, for your first Puck, your second Puck, your ........

 

[ancient puffer]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am still waiting for the friend with the soldering iron to come over. It's unbearable! Maybe I should just get one of my own?

A soldering iron is an worthwhile investment, you'll wind up using it for a lot of stuff, trust me There's also various types of "liquid" solder you can get at most home improvement stores, just dab a bit on and let it dry. (I haven't used it, I'm "old school" and solder all electrical connections, but I've heard it works well). In any case, I have no doubt you'll love your puck(s)

 

[ThePuck]

I have just completed work on my 4th 'OG Puck' - I use a dead 510 Carto for my connector to put my cartos on it. Right now, I have a 3,6 Volt, a 4,8 Volt, and a 6 Volt Puck. The other one is a 4,8 Volt Puck I made for a fellow Texan who asked me to make him one.
The 4,8 Volt Puck I use does have AAA batts; however, the other 2 I use have AA batts. Sure, the 6 Volt Puck is a bit heavy in the hand, but it vapes like a monster! LOL I have everything I'll ever need to vape whatever voltage I might need and again, a huge SHOUT-OUT to "ThePuck" for sharing his information with the rest of us here on how to build one.
The $$ savings from this special BoxMod are incredible. No more trying out every new mod that Vendors/Suppliers hype up for us vapers to see if it's the perfect vape for us. No more worrying if I can get replacement rechargeable batts for it quick. I've found that the AA batts last me between 1 and 3 days, depending on how heavily I vape with it. The AAA batts generally last 1 to 1 1/2 days..
Nope, I found my "perfect vaping machine" right here.

Looks like you are setup with everything anyone would ever need in a PV as far as voltage. Great job. As you have mentioned, I myself, ever since I came up with the Puck, have never had to try any other PV out there. There's really no need for variable voltage, regulators and other things but it's okay if you want to toss them in there. I'm not dis'n that It's just we don't have to.

Also don't forget that in a pinch, you can throw some alkalines in there and they will last you a few hours until your rechargables charge up. I do it all the time. I wouldn't try it with the 6 volt one though since the volts may be a little high on that one but the others will handle the alkalines fine.

 

[ThePuck]

Got the parts to make two AA size pucks tonight. Four battery boxes, two coaxial connectors, two switches, and an assortment of LEDs, resistors, and LED holders. I am waiting on a soldering iron (a friend of mine is loaning to me in return for one of the finished products) so that I can actually build these. However, I couldn't wait to see what they would vape like, so I loaded up one of the battery boxes and attached the wires to one of the coaxial connectors. Meter showed 4.9 volts coming through, so I screwed on a cartomizer (808) and flipped the switch ... nothing. However, after a bit of fiddling, I got it to work by attaching a 901-808 adaptor and sticking a piece of metal in the 'switch' electrode on the coax. It looks totally ghetto but it WORKS! Can't wait to put it together the right way... Thanks, ThePuck!

You're welcome If I were you, I'd go out and just buy a cheap soldering iron. You don't need some expensive temperature regulated fancy soldering station. You are only soldering wires and connectors with a couple of electronic components. A cheap soldering iron would do the trick. You may want to just make sure it is 30 watts or more for soldering to the connector. Anything less may not heat the connector enough for the solder to stick to. But even a 30 watt iron can be bought pretty cheaply.

To keep a cheap soldering iron in good condition (even though someone said not to do this) fold up a papaer towel, wet it and sit it next to your iron. Everytime you solder a connection, wipe your tip on the wet paper towel. This will keep the solder cleaned off the tip and make it last longer. I know someone said that is bad but... I've been doing it fo 30 years and it has worked for me and also Weller supplied sponges with their solder stations so they recommended it also. So you can use a wet sponge also if you have one. Keep the tip clean

 

[Aloysius]

Thanks for the tips. I haven't soldered anything since 6th grade electronics class which was how long ago? This should be fun, or at least hilarious. Hope I don't make too much of a mess of things.

 

[Alžběta Madragana]

Hey 'ThePuck' - thank you for your kind remarks. You're THE MAN with that Puck Mod!
And Aloysius, be sure you get an iron with a small tip - at least, in my experience that works well. I've also found that wiping my hot iron with an old rag or t-shirt rag works good to keep the tip clean as well. Just my experience. And watch the fingers, LOL...

 

[JewelzBagz]

I got to the point where I'm ready to put it together, but I have a black wire running from the atomizer cup through to the battery box-but... the end that goes into the batter box is not connected to anything. I must have missed a step somewhere but I can't seem to find it. Where do I connect this wire inside the battery box? Sorry for being a noob , but I'd appreciate any help you can offer me.

 

[ThePuck]

I got to the point where I'm ready to put it together, but I have a black wire running from the atomizer cup through to the battery box-but... the end that goes into the batter box is not connected to anything. I must have missed a step somewhere but I can't seem to find it. Where do I connect this wire inside the battery box? Sorry for being a noob , but I'd appreciate any help you can offer me.

You have the wrong black wire coming through the cases it looks like.

Look at the photos on my website on this page... The PUCK e-Cig ModHow to Build the Puck e-Cig Battery Mod Part 3 - The PUCK eCig Mod

 

[TomCatt]

Great website ThePuck! It just gets better and better

 

[ThePuck]

Great website ThePuck! It just gets better and better

Thanks. I created that because I can go in and add addtions to the directions where ever I need to. I can't go back and edit the posts here to insert extra helpful notes but it's a breeze with the website.

 

[JewelzBagz]

You have the wrong black wire coming through the cases it looks like.

Look at the photos on my website on this page... The PUCK e-Cig ModHow to Build the Puck e-Cig Battery Mod Part 3 - The PUCK eCig Mod

Thanks for sending me to the site. The wire was actually the right one, but this step:

Solder the black wire you removed in the last step to the spring contact you just inserted.

was the one I was missing. It didn't say to do that on the ecf instructions (or I missed it). So that wire was just loose inside the battery box but was soldered to the atomizer lug in the control box. I made the connection as shown on your website. Put it all together all excited Popped in my batteries and nothing happened. Went back through all the instructions and it's all wired right. Only thing I can figure is the solder bridge on the jack. It was my first solder attempt and it wasn't pretty. Perhaps that's the issue

So back to RS tomorrow for more battery boxes and starting all over again. One more question if you don't mind. The resistors I got there were the 470 ohm. But they had 1/4 watt and 1/2 watt. I bought both since I wasn't sure. Which ones would you recommend using?

I'm really bummed it looks so cute sitting there. But on the bright side, I tried something I've never done before. Oh well, this old lady will get it right eventually.