Why I love my screwdriver.

[just4747]

So you can just drop some solder connecting the end of the bent prong to the outside of the housing and that will allow a transfer of power to operate? Or do you have to solder something between the two parts other than solder itself? Like another small piece of metal..

 

[Lurker]

I had problems soldering to the metal housing. I'm not sure what the RS switches are made of but it seems kinda plasticy. It took me 3 times to get one right. I ended up solering a piece of thin multistrand wire to the prong. Then I soldered it to the housing, but I left extra wire which I put inbetween the switch and the adapter fitting. I also ran the extra wire back to the prong so I would have two routes if one failed. Yeah, I'm not really that slick with this stuff but it works great so far. It is nice to now you can do it.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention you can file the inside adapter hole to make room for you extra stuff. Ha

 

[just4747]

Here's some more macro shots of the switch. You can see the small bit of solder/metal connecting the two parts...pretty simple. And if you read this Trog, don't get mad that we took apart the switch, in fact I needed to play around with it cause it had gotten loose in the threads somehow, but I tightened it up with some pliers, good as new!

And my newest case I use when I carry one or two devices and a bottle of liquid out somewhere

Lurker, did that little circular plastic piece over the prong that the battery touches come off of your switch too? Don't think it needs to be there but it was stopping the battery from touching anywhere else besides that one prong..

 

[Lurker]

I took the plastic piece off the old switch and put it on my new switch. Also don't think it is needed.

 

[trog100]

he he he.. i am making a rule not to post in this place any more.. u guys are causing me to break it..

the little piece of plastic.. its there to realign the electrons so as to produce a more efficient atomizer burn.. which is why the screwdriver switch is better than the radio shack 1 dollar switch.. he he

its real purpose is to stop the positive prong from touching the negative prong when its bent over and the battery exerts pressure on it..

without it your screwdriver will be permanent switched on... its important the two prongs dont touch each other..

trog

 

[just4747]

Yeah but by the looks of it, aren't the two prongs still always touching each other? And the plastic disc is sorta just on top of the one bent to the housing?

Edit: Ohh I think I see how it is, nvm!

 

[just4747]

Okay Lurker...finally got to check out the switch piece a little more, I don't get it, the housing is definitely more plastic than metal like you said, so what good does soldering a wire from the prong to that housing do? When I tried real quick, it seemed like the solder wouldn't even keep the wire on the housing, as the solder would completely "ignore" the plastic (or whatever) housing and not create a bond between it and the wire.
It seems soooo easy to melt any part of that housing if you took a soldering pen/gun to it..I can just picture it warping quickly.

I actually had to ask Trog if he could send me a real replacement switch or two because the button on mine is becoming harder and harder to make activate the SD...it's very loose in it's housing, definitely not normal.

 

[trog100]

Okay Lurker...finally got to check out the switch piece a little more, I don't get it, the housing is definitely more plastic than metal like you said, so what good does soldering a wire from the prong to that housing do? When I tried real quick, it seemed like the solder wouldn't even keep the wire on the housing, as the solder would completely "ignore" the plastic (or whatever) housing and not create a bond between it and the wire.
It seems soooo easy to melt any part of that housing if you took a soldering pen/gun to it..I can just picture it warping quickly.

I actually had to ask Trog if he could send me a real replacement switch or two because the button on mine is becoming harder and harder to make activate the SD...it's very loose in it's housing, definitely not normal.

it takes skill to make that solder bridge that big gap across the plastic part of the switch housing.. u dont solder to the plastic.. u have to make the solder jump across from metal bit to metal bit.. he he.. it also a bit hit and miss which is why the one u have looks a bit untidy..

having to mod every piece is what takes the time to make a screwdriver.. but to make anything in small quantities its the only way..

it would have been easier to have sent it back to base.. but playing with things can be fun..

we are now giving each switch a more thorough testing.. the odd one isnt quite as good as it should be.. we only use the best ones now..

trog

 

[just4747]

Yeah I see, it definitely looks tedious to make 'em well. The only thing is, the ones from Radio Shack have something closer to plastic in place of that metal part that the prong gets soldered to, so I don't see how Lurker even did it because how can anything transfer through the wire to plastic instead of metal? Definitely waiting on his response..

Trog, will you be able to get that out to me when you get a chance so I don't have to be without my precious powerhouse for a long time?? The button's definitely getting worse every time I use it Luckily I can easily replace it now since I took it out for fun a few times. (And no I didn't cause the button itself to be come loose in the housing, it was like that, hehe).

 

[trog100]

Yeah I see, it definitely looks tedious to make 'em well. The only thing is, the ones from Radio Shack have something closer to plastic in place of that metal part that the prong gets soldered to, so I don't see how Lurker even did it because how can anything transfer through the wire to plastic instead of metal? Definitely waiting on his response..

Trog, will you be able to get that out to me when you get a chance so I don't have to be without my precious powerhouse for a long time?? The button's definitely getting worse every time I use it Luckily I can easily replace it now since I took it out for fun a few times. (And no I didn't cause the button itself to be come loose in the housing, it was like that, hehe).

i will ship u one out today.. we are a bit short of stock.. so it will be just the one..

the tandy ones need a small piece of wire to bridge that gap between the bent prong and the metal part of the switch.. they can be made to work..

the other thing that might wear out or bust in time with the screwdriver is the brass threads where the atomizer screws in.. that one is definitely a return to base to be fixed option..

trog

 

[Lurker]

...The only thing is, the ones from Radio Shack have something closer to plastic in place of that metal part that the prong gets soldered to, so I don't see how Lurker even did it because how can anything transfer through the wire to plastic instead of metal? Definitely waiting on his response..

I had problems soldering to the metal housing. I'm not sure what the RS switches are made of but it seems kinda plasticy. It took me 3 times to get one right. I ended up solering a piece of thin multistrand wire to the prong. Then I soldered it to the housing, but I left extra wire which I put inbetween the switch and the adapter fitting. I also ran the extra wire back to the prong so I would have two routes if one failed. Yeah, I'm not really that slick with this stuff but it works great so far. It is nice to now you can do it.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention you can file the inside adapter hole to make room for you extra stuff. Ha

Still works great BTW.

 

[just4747]

i will ship u one out today.. we are a bit short of stock.. so it will be just the one..

Thanks Trog! Will be on the lookout for it soon, awesome!

It took me 3 times to get one right. I ended up solering a piece of thin multistrand wire to the prong. Then I soldered it to the housing, but I left extra wire which I put inbetween the switch and the adapter fitting. I also ran the extra wire back to the prong so I would have two routes if one failed.

Yeah I saw that but I'm wondering, do you have to solder the wire to the housing or are you just doing that to keep it still? Is the point of it all just having the wire touching the prong? Or having the wire touching the prong AND touching the housing?
And I just don't see how you can solder to the plastic housing at all..

 

[ApOsTle51]

you need to create a circuit from the 'prong' to the metal part of the switch housing, this way when the switch is installed the circuit route goes from the prong along the wire into the metal housing on the switch and then into the screwdriver body via the switch threads. this creates the circuit.

 

[just4747]

I knew that as well but I just didn't think the circuit can be completed when part of it is a plastic housing...am I wrong? I thought it all had to be metal...

 

[ApOsTle51]

the plastic on the switch is just to insulate the positve and negative prongs. Thats why one of them needs to be bent over and bridge soldered to the metal part of the switch housing .

 

[just4747]

Lol ur all missing what I'm talking about. When you buy the ****tier Radio Shack switches, the part that is normally metal on the switch housing on the real SD switch, is what I think is metal-looking plastic. So when you go to solder wire from the prong to this housing, you're soldering it to a NON-metal housing that just looks like metal (at least I think it's silver plastic).
So, how would it work on these RS switches if the hosuing is not metal?
Hopefully that clears up what my question is..

 

[ApOsTle51]

ahhh right gotach , Phew !!

Well that prong needs to make contact with the screwdriver housing somehow, how u do it is entirely up to you.
Probably not possible if the switch housing is completly plastic.

joining the prong to the spring washer may work.

 

[just4747]

Unless I am wrong and this part really is metal (on this Radio Shack switch); is it Lurker?? That's the part I have been thinking is really a plastic and not a metal because it feels so cheap:

 

[Lurker]

Sorry, been out all day. I'm not sure if that piece is metal or plastic or what. I had trouble soldering to it. Was not sure if that would even complete the circuit. So I decided to better my odds by having the wire not only touching the housing but also sitting in between the switch and the "adapter" The "adapter" is metal. When I say adapter I'm talking about the piece of the screwdriver that the switch goes into. In your photos that piece was still inside your screwdriver. It unscrews from the S/D. Hope that helps.

 

[just4747]

I see...it looks hard to get the wire to stay touching that adapter but I could try. How bout the little washer that threads onto the switch housing first? Is that metal?