Setting up a new room 7`x14`

So did you get your controller fired up?

Renfro said:

So did you get your controller fired up?

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Nah man, never even got to it, been fkn with this light ever since it shorted.

I got it down now and on the table. Gonna smoke a few bats and call it a night. 1 step forward, 2 steps back some days, tomorrows another new one tho lol

Ill do the controller in the morning too, when im fresh, not so irritated and far less high lol

right on man. get some relaxation time and come at it all fresh.

hot nail gets scraped in steel wool before putting solder on the tip. drop the hot tip on both contacts to heat them up, 2 seconds later drop solder on the hot tip that is connected to both connections, OLNLY 2-5 SECONDS AT A TIME OR YOU WILL MELT THE DIODE! best use SMALL GAUGE SOLDER. if you need to remove solder put liquid flux on the connection and place braided copper on it then the hot tip and it will suck up the excess solder. hmu in the dms if you want im an EE major.

Well if the connector came off he has the option of getting it replaced or attempt a repair, I would want to see pics before giving any advice on that but as @Purpsmagurps said you can remove solder with the desoldering braid and definitely be careful not to get the diodes too hot as their internals have a heat limit and the heat takes the same path the electricity does and conducts into the component being worked on.

yes the connector released from the soldering pad on the strip

i have 2 options, solder connector back on as it is, or remove wire from connector and just solder wire directly to soldering pad on strip

i think getting rid of the connector seem to be the best decision, decrease the chances of it happening again.

diggs99 said:

i think getting rid of the connector seem to be the best decision, decrease the chances of it happening again.

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Definitely.

Borrowed a soldering gun from a buddy, it looks different than what I've seen on YouTube vids

Here's a pic, is this gonna be fine for what I need to do?

Kinda overkill, you just have to be super fast and not let that be on there too long or you may cause damage and lift the trace off the board. I assume you aren't right by a diode. Just be quick, a one 1000 count is all you will need, get the gun hot first, don't wait for it to heat up while it's on the board. Tinning the wire end first makes it solder faster.

You got a pic of the damaged spot?

Also, get a wet paper towel or sponge, use it to clean the tip of the gun while it's hot. You should see a nice shiny spot where you intend to use the tip. Melt a tiny bit of flux core solder on that spot. This will conduct heat to the junction effectively. To solder you heat the junction then touch the solder to the heated joint not the gun tip and it should flow into the joint, remove heat and keep joint stable for a few seconds.

If you don't get it the first stab, let the board cool off before trying again.

This was the only soldering gun any of my buddies had, other option is going to town and buying one.

Will this thing work?


Here's a pic of the damaged strip

It will work just be quick. You may wanna grab a little piece of wire scrap and get a some practice with the heating time required to get the wire hot and a nice solder flow when you touch the solder to the heated joint.

Renfro said:

It will work just be quick. You may wanna grab a little piece of wire scrap and get a some practice with the heating time required to get the wire hot and a nice solder flow when you touch the solder to the heated joint.

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Purps mentioned earlier about using small gauge solder, im assuming the small stuff in that pic i posted will be fine?

Ya im gonna run it a few times to get the knack of it before i attempt the strip lol

If the wire gets hot and the pad doesn't get hot enough then you will get a cold joint and have to redo it. So it's a tricky blend of getting it hot enough and not too hot. lol once youve done it a lot you just go at it with confidence and not even think about it. Clean joints will solder, just like copper pipe so use the fine steel wool to gently clean the pad.

Yeah definitely use the smaller gauge solder.

Well that was a sucess, thanks so much guys, you made the soldering easy.


Now to the bad news, 3 more connectors fell off between my table and the light being hung, natuarally they werent noticed until i had the light hung again.

Back to the table it goes, im seriously considering ripping off all those fkn shitty connectors and soldering all of them once and for all.

I would definitely ditch the connectors, they are just gonna fail mid run. Lot harder to deal with then.

i went with the easiest remedy right now

i removed the 4 that popped off and soldered wire directly to strips. Then i wiggled the rest to see if any appeared loose, there were 2 more that were barely hanging on, so i also removed those and soldered the wire to strip

i left the others alone, hopefully they hold up for the next 2 months, ill pull them down after this run and remove connectors and solder all of them

lights out in 15 mins, which sucks, i had plans of getting both controllers setup and running. Ill have to wait until 6 hours from now i guess lol

Just wanted to let you guys know, i got my light controller hooked up and working and im still alive, im pretty happy about it lol

Only thing left to do is finish building the new secret door( thanks renfro lol) and install the intake fan.

Now that im an expert solderer lol , ill prob get to work on that last fixture soon too, soldering everything on that one. taking no chances.