@fishwater UK StealthVape in the have just added precut NLS G boxes for £21 NLS G3 DNA200 (BLUE) also in red, I would rather have the Silo myself it's a lot smaller, stronger, better 510 and just nicer.
Mike n Tibs DNA Mods!
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Those look like the Alpinetech boxes we have here on eBay. I much prefer the Silo as well. The Silo looks like an upgrade to everything I've seen so far but I wish there was more information. Such as I assumed there would be an XT30 connection but now it's mentioned that there's no room? So the battery is soldered directly to the board? I'm probably going to place my order anyway but what else should I be aware of?
I've never modded before but have a basic understanding of electronics & circuits from being an auto tech earlier in my career as well as soldering from making my own audio cables for the past 10 years. I don't imagine putting a kit together will be beyond me, or at least I hope but you never know! Fingers crossed of course.....
I will say that a temperature controlled soldering station is the best thing for soldering to the board. The pads are quite small and wire sizes are relatively large, 14ga, so you need a lot of heat in a small area for minimal time to get a good joint and avoid damaging the board. Having an assortment of tips helps, too, and a larger tip works even better (more mass to carry/transfer the heat).
If you use an Evolv 510 connector, you'll need a pair of circlip pliers with a 45 degree angle to make it as easy as possible to assemble the 510 connector after soldering to the center pin.
If you use an Evolv 510 connector, you'll need a pair of circlip pliers with a 45 degree angle to make it as easy as possible to assemble the 510 connector after soldering to the center pin.
Perfect, my soldering station is temp controlled & I have various circlip pliers. I have a small tip as well as a larger but was wondering about solder. I have some pure silver solder that requires flux as well as the typical rosin core. Since most of the Radio Shacks have closed I was going to check Amazon to see if there was any rosin core silver vs the typical cheapie stuff that's out there.
IMO the main challenges with this kit are to tap the board mount holes, you can get a M1.6 tap for £2 on eBay and to grind down the back of the buttons so the board fits against the supports allowing proper operation of the buttons.
Get the board mount holes and buttons first. Then fit the screen to the board, you need some thick double sided tape about 3 mm thick, gently bend the screen cable around a credit card and don't try and bend next to the glass of the screen, it needs to be an s bend to keep it clear of the fire button. Then fit the outer part of the 510 to the box, solder the positive lead to the inner part of the 510 leaving some room for the cable to flex and not forgetting to put the retaining ring and clips on the cable before soldering, you may as well solder the balance connector at this time.
Assemble it with the screen on place and leave for 24 hours for the tape to stick properly. I put some Kapton tape covering the opposite side of the board from the balance connector covering the bottom 10-15 mm of the board and you can also put some around the plastic part of the balance socket to protect it while soldering the battery. Double check the fit of everything and fix anything you are not happy with.
Remove the board to solder the battery, the +ve & - ve leads need to be cut to about 35 mm (ONLY WORK ON ONE AT A TIME), I do the -ve first and make sure the leads are bent before soldering to prevent strain after. That's it you just have to put the board in and tighten down etc, also remove the Kapton tape on the balance socket.
This is my main Dislike about the Silo
Tapping those tiny little holes, is not a job I would look forward to doing. I also have my reservations about a self tapping screw that small.IMO if the board mount screw holes were pre tapped I would feel a lot more comfortable Buying the Silo.
This link shows an installation pack with an included 90 degree JST & an XT30 connector.
Silo billet aluminum DNA-200D mod case
If a 90 degree JST plug was used does this make room for an XT30 to be used in the Silo?
You can use whatever solder you like, but if you use flux, rosin, be sure to use a cleaner that's safe for electronics to remove it when done soldering. I use a multi-core, no-clean, solder I got from Amazon and it works really well, for me anyway.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YFES1TE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00
If you use the Silo kit, tapping the holes shouldn't be all that bad. I've built a few mods, from scratch, and tapped many 0-80 "blind" holes with no problem, and I am a heavy, ham, handed modder. Just get a set of taps that includes a tapered and bottom tap, use a pin vice, work slowly, start with the tapered, then switch to the end tap and be sure to use lots of lubricant.
I just don't think there is enough room even, with a 90 degree JST wouldn't yon need to remove the board to change the battery? Also the length of the XT30 would mean you need the shorted possible battery leads, like 5 mm. Here is a pic of a Silo900 with the NanoTech 950, a XT30 & JST and the battery has to be forced in leaving no room for the positive wire from the 510, Evolv 510 fitted in that case.This is my main Dislike about the Silo
IMO if the board mount screw holes were pre tapped I would feel a lot more comfortable Buying the Silo.
This link shows an installation pack with an included 90 degree JST & an XT30 connector.
Silo billet aluminum DNA-200D mod case
If a 90 degree JST plug was used does this make room for an XT30 to be used in the Silo?
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I have typical automotive taps & dies so I'd need to find the end tap in this case. I was thinking it would difficult without one.
I just don't think there is enough room even, with a 90 degree JST wouldn't yon need to remove the board to change the battery? Also the length of the XT30 would mean you need the shorted possible battery leads, like 5 mm. Here is a pic of a Silo900 with the NoaoTech 950, a XT30 & JST and the battery has to be forced in leaving no room for the positive wire from the 510, Evolv fitted 510 in that case.
That what I thought, there is no room
Just wonder why they (Protovapor) are selling this installation Pack?
I have 3 ERM's 3D printed Not aluminum, All with direct to the battery connections.
I have had no problems
BTW I really like the 3D printed versions
I had a chance to replace my enclosures with aluminum one's for a good price when they were on sale at Modcrate for 26 bucks.I chose not to mostly because of the self tapping board mount screws
Maybe I'm making a big deal about it But I don't like the self tapping screw thing, IMO this should be tapped like the ERM+'s we got from the Co-Op.
You don't need an end tap I did mine with an M1.6 plug tap the holes are deep enough to still use a 6 mm screw and much better than the short self tappers supplied. Here is a cheap HSS plug tap eBay itm num 391396546205 £2 in the UK.
To be honest, I used the tapered, then a plug, then the end tap. I wanted to have as much thread as possible for mechanical strength. I bought the set off of Amazon, again, for under ten bucks.
While far from complete, and far from perfect, the 1500mah VTR is dry fit and finally breathing.
Body is 3x Aluminum Project Box Aluminum Enclosure Case Electronic DIY - 24*70*110mm.
Printed Top Plate and Board Mount Swanky Jaban by tpat591 at Shapeways for about $17.60 + tax & S&H
Original design had screen in normal DNA Position. Manually modified top plate for screen after it was printed. It was an experiment to see of possible. Was able to use a ribbon cable & zif connector from Alexander Mundy's post on Early Adopters Forum to extend it & did it without soldering by shoving Screen & ribbon cable into the Zif socket face to face & clamped it down like an 8 pin pigtail connector.
http://www.mouser.com/Search/Produc...tualkey64910000virtualkey649-59453081110EDHLF
http://www.mouser.com/Search/Produc...3virtualkey98266-0083virtualkey538-98266-0083
Battery is Turnigy 1500mAh 3S 30C Lipo (E-flite Compatible EFLB15003S & Losi Mini 8ight)
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Nothing compared to your creations but hey, at least now I have a proper backup.
Left: original reference unit
Right: modcrate case
Enviado do meu GT-I9195 através de Tapatalk
Left: original reference unit
Right: modcrate case
Enviado do meu GT-I9195 através de Tapatalk
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