My first box mod

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Brassett

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Sep 3, 2010
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Colorado
I just made my first box mod. I used the 3.7 volt box mod kit from madvapes, because I assumed it would be the best best for my first try. I wasn't prepared in the soldering department, as I had never done it before. I fixed the negative line to the battery several times, and when it finally worked (as it is now) it is really just a big glob on the atty connector. This process also made me lose the LED connection somehow, but I don't want to trouble shoot it at the moment because I now have everything working. I epoxied everything in place, starting with the switch because its resting position made the two connections touch. I think it looks pretty good for the skills I had to put into it, and I am in love with the increased battery power and life. Here are some pics, let me know what you think and if you have any advice.

photo.jpg

and another

photo (1).jpg

One thing I gave up on, and would appreciate advice with, is getting part of the wire insulation onto the LED. I tried and tried, and couldn't get the dang piece of rubber onto it. I even tried widening it with a needle, but that proved fruitless (and painful).
 

Calypso

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Dec 23, 2010
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One thing I gave up on, and would appreciate advice with, is getting part of the wire insulation onto the LED. I tried and tried, and couldn't get the dang piece of rubber onto it. I even tried widening it with a needle, but that proved fruitless (and painful).

Try some heat shrink tubing. Available at Lowes, Menards and such places also at ratshack.
 

CraigHB

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Jul 31, 2010
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Congrats on your first mod.

Nobody has addressed your soldering difficulties so I'll offer some tips.

Soldering can be difficult at first, but the trick is to make sure everything is hot enough for the solder to flow. Good heat transfer from the soldering tip is key. You can maximize heat transfer by keeping the tip freshly cleaned and "tinned". Tinning is done by simply applying solder to the tip, then cleaning can be done by wiping the tip with a damp sponge. Do that one or more times until the tip is shiny silver and free of any black looking stuff. When the tip tip starts looking dull and dirty, tin and clean again.

25W soldering pencils are the best for electronics work and they're inexpensive. The very best for electronics work is a variable temp pencil with a digital readout, but they're rather pricey.

The best solder for electronics is 63/37 rosin core (63% tin, 37% lead), but 60/40 rosin core also works fine. The 63/37 melts at a slightly lower temperature, but it's not usually stocked in stores. I have to order the stuff online.

The core of the solder contains a "flux" which helps the solder flow onto whatever it is you're soldering. You can also buy rosin flux by itself to apply to parts beforehand. That makes them easier to solder.

When you use the more common type of rosin flux, you need to clean the flux off when you're done soldering. The rosin is actually somewhat corrosive. Standard rosin cleans easily with rubbing alcohol, but there are also rosin pastes and cores available that clean with water or don't require cleaning because they are non-corrosive.

Well, hope that helps and best of luck soldering up your next mod.
 

bstedh

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I would add that you need to take care not to over heat some components also. This is where the most skill comes into play is applying just enough heat to get the solder flowing without over heating what you are soldering. This is where practice is the only way to learn.

Just an FYI.. A lot of people seem to solder the center conductor of their connectors without removing them. This can work out but for reliability I would recommend removing the center contact and insulator. Then solder your wire onto the contact and push it back into the connector. This helps prevent melting the insulator. Especially when soldering the outer body as it requires more heat to get the solder flowing as it acts as a big heat sink.

Also a good tip is to make a good mechanical contact first i.e. wrap the wire around the terminal when possible, and then solder.

Another thing to remember is that you want to tin the two surfaces that you are connecting. This means you flow solder onto the wire and contact separately and then join them together and re-heat with the iron until the solder flows between the two adding just a little more solder. Another big mistake a lot of people make "including myself =] " is to use too much solder. Generally you want just enough to make a smooth flow where you can still make out the shape of the items being joined.

Good luck on your mods...
 
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Stosh

Vaping Master
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Oct 2, 2010
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Easy way to practice soldering, get some solid insulated wire, and cut some short lengths.
Solder them back together, you can try lap joint (wire just next to each other), pigtail joint,
T-joint or even a western union joint. Then try pulling the wires apart, if you can it points
to a cold solder joint, if the insulation is melted - burnt hot solder joint.
 

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dkonrai

Senior Member
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Feb 13, 2011
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norcal
I just made my first box mod. I used the 3.7 volt box mod kit from madvapes, because I assumed it would be the best best for my first try. I wasn't prepared in the soldering department, as I had never done it before. I fixed the negative line to the battery several times, and when it finally worked (as it is now) it is really just a big glob on the atty connector. This process also made me lose the LED connection somehow, but I don't want to trouble shoot it at the moment because I now have everything working. I epoxied everything in place, starting with the switch because its resting position made the two connections touch. I think it looks pretty good for the skills I had to put into it, and I am in love with the increased battery power and life. Here are some pics, let me know what you think and if you have any advice.

View attachment 43892

and another

View attachment 43893

One thing I gave up on, and would appreciate advice with, is getting part of the wire insulation onto the LED. I tried and tried, and couldn't get the dang piece of rubber onto it. I even tried widening it with a needle, but that proved fruitless (and painful).

what insulation? the led has two bare wires. one that is soldiered on the atty conn, the other end is soldiered to the resistor. those are then soldiered to the switch. ???
 
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