OMG... I did it. Not since my 20's have I used a soldering iron and projects like LOR Kits haven't always been very successful. So I am so happy to have built my first one! Last Saturday sale purchase, Friday arrival, and today Saturday one of 3 are assembled.
Had a little trouble with channel 2 was just steady burn, I traced down the channel. Saw some suspect solder joints that could have been the problem and it's all good now.
Somehow I have gained some skill over the last... ahem... 10 years. =D
Good job.I put all 12 of mine together that i got on the sale.Only thing was no soldering for me.Just hook up cords.Even had my marty fan hooked up tonight and watched it spin around.
wallleyes wrote: Good job.I put all 12 of mine together that i got on the sale.Only thing was no soldering for me.Just hook up cords.Even had my marty fan hooked up tonight and watched it spin around.
Have you ever done a solder kit? I did it cuz I was 70% sure I could and I wanted to understand a little more about how they work.
For example, I understand why there has to be so many neutral connectors on the board in this design (for each plug) but I wonder if it really matters where I grab neutral from for any 1 channel or if each channel needs to be independent to distribute the neutral load.
I discovered the hot jumper, by site not by touch. =D hahahah
Oh! It was interesting to see where the data from the computer enters the system chip.
Yeah... rewarding... I wanna work at LOR and assemble now.
Sounds like your going to have some free time this year jim. lol Hey there's not too much on your plate how about you fly to Michigan and help me with all the same you are doing. As it will all be fresh in your memory we could probably knock mine list out in a weekend.... Have Fun..
YA Me! Have any good pointers??? I know a good soldering tool is one key..............
pikadroo wrote: OMG... I did it. Not since my 20's have I used a soldering iron and projects like LOR Kits haven't always been very successful. So I am so happy to have built my first one! Last Saturday sale purchase, Friday arrival, and today Saturday one of 3 are assembled.
Had a little trouble with channel 2 was just steady burn, I traced down the channel. Saw some suspect solder joints that could have been the problem and it's all good now.
Somehow I have gained some skill over the last... ahem... 10 years. =D
YA Me! Have any good pointers??? I know a good soldering tool is one key..............
pikadroo wrote: OMG... I did it. Not since my 20's have I used a soldering iron and projects like LOR Kits haven't always been very successful. So I am so happy to have built my first one! Last Saturday sale purchase, Friday arrival, and today Saturday one of 3 are assembled.
Had a little trouble with channel 2 was just steady burn, I traced down the channel. Saw some suspect solder joints that could have been the problem and it's all good now.
Somehow I have gained some skill over the last... ahem... 10 years. =D
darrel schweissinger wrote: YA Me! Have any good pointers??? I know a good soldering tool is one key.............
Radio Shack has a soldering iron with dual settings 20 Watt & 40 Watt for $22.00. That is what I used and I dunno how I feel about it. I prob needed a new tip on the iron before working on the 2nd unit I put together. I need to get a new one before I work on the 3rd for sure. I think the variable wattage tens to burn the tip up faster. There is a point where you do some 40 watt work and then have to do a little 20 watt work. So you have to kick the heat down and a touch on the sponge a little to cool it down. I was tempted to skip over some 40 watt parts and finish all 20 watt parts first but I didn't. I am glad I didn't cuz it would have made it all harder in the end.
So I dunno if two separate irons would have been better or not. Radio Shack only had separate 15, 25, 40 watt irons. 20 watts seemed better all around to use and I can't imagine you would need more then 40 to get the big stuff on.
Thanks Drew, I had been at the shack and viewed all they had. I particulairly like the station type with 3 pre-sets but I still haven't made my mind up yet. I'l use your experiance and sum that up with some of the other blogs/responces and go out and buy one.
Thanks Drew and have fun on the others as you get to them.
Darrel
pikadroo wrote: darrel schweissinger wrote: YA Me! Have any good pointers??? I know a good soldering tool is one key.............
Radio Shack has a soldering iron with dual settings 20 Watt & 40 Watt for $22.00. That is what I used and I dunno how I feel about it. I prob needed a new tip on the iron before working on the 2nd unit I put together. I need to get a new one before I work on the 3rd for sure. I think the variable wattage tens to burn the tip up faster. There is a point where you do some 40 watt work and then have to do a little 20 watt work. So you have to kick the heat down and a touch on the sponge a little to cool it down. I was tempted to skip over some 40 watt parts and finish all 20 watt parts first but I didn't. I am glad I didn't cuz it would have made it all harder in the end.
So I dunno if two separate irons would have been better or not. Radio Shack only had separate 15, 25, 40 watt irons. 20 watts seemed better all around to use and I can't imagine you would need more then 40 to get the big stuff on.
Have Fun..
plus x-10 channels