Crazy35111
New member
Pulled the trigger and ordered the framing members and all hardware...hopefully next month I can get the 164 crees.
210 Upgrade Build with LED Build
- Thread starter nuclearheli
- Start date
nuclearheli
Member
I am busy wiring LED's. Seems like a never ending task. Will have some pictures later this evening. Hopefully almost done by then.
nuclearheli
Member
Ok despite some really nice weather and the strong desire to put on a pair of shorts and go outside I managed to get quite a bit done in the past several days.
I started wiring my LED's. First lesson learned. You can wire the LED's after they are attached to the heat sink, easily. I learned that the hard way. First I wired one strip....
- Pre soldered the + and - contacts
- Using an electronics pin holder I held up the star and soldered the leads.
- After the bar was done I used the adhesive to mount the stars.
Very difficult and took hours to do one bar.
That was Saturday. Today I changed up things just a bit. Last night before I called it a night I pre-soldered two LED stars and mounted them to the next rail with the adhesive. Today I attempted to wire the LED's already soldered. The pin tip I had in my soldering iron was no match for the heat sink. Discouraged I looked in my tool box and found a brand new "screwdriver" tip (basically a flat tip) and mounted that on my iron. Much to my delight soldering the leads on the LED's pre-mounted was a breeze. Held the wire over the pre-solder terminal and just touched the iron to the joint. Done.
I then proceeded to glue down all the remaining LED's after pre-soldering the connections and testing them with my DVM in Diode Test Mode.
These came in very handy. Able to strip 2mm off of each end no sweat.
Soldered each on in place. Went very fast.
BIG PLUS and must do!!!. I tested every single star after soldering them. I used my DVM Diode test mode. When contacting the + and - on the star the LED lights up with a very faint glow. Good sign. Next I established a connection with the heat sink and tested each terminal for a short.
FOUND 1 short, must have been getting tired yesterday on the first bar. Fixed it no problem.
Once I got into the rhythm the rest went smooth and in short order. Took about 3 hours to finish the whole job.
I don't have the lenses yet for the white, they are on back order.
Anyone notice the new brackets between the middle strips. Had another brain storm. Neptune's Apex has a moonlight module with LED's in small mounting blocks. Their system simulates the moon cycles based on the location of your reef. Pretty cool. You can use from 2 to 5 led modules and it's all automatic. So I am adding 4 of these LED's to the build for simulated moon cycles and ordering the Apex module. Those brackets are mounted to the underside of one of the LED strips and the LED's from Neptune systems will mount on them.
I started wiring my LED's. First lesson learned. You can wire the LED's after they are attached to the heat sink, easily. I learned that the hard way. First I wired one strip....
- Pre soldered the + and - contacts
- Using an electronics pin holder I held up the star and soldered the leads.
- After the bar was done I used the adhesive to mount the stars.
Very difficult and took hours to do one bar.
That was Saturday. Today I changed up things just a bit. Last night before I called it a night I pre-soldered two LED stars and mounted them to the next rail with the adhesive. Today I attempted to wire the LED's already soldered. The pin tip I had in my soldering iron was no match for the heat sink. Discouraged I looked in my tool box and found a brand new "screwdriver" tip (basically a flat tip) and mounted that on my iron. Much to my delight soldering the leads on the LED's pre-mounted was a breeze. Held the wire over the pre-solder terminal and just touched the iron to the joint. Done.
I then proceeded to glue down all the remaining LED's after pre-soldering the connections and testing them with my DVM in Diode Test Mode.
These came in very handy. Able to strip 2mm off of each end no sweat.
Soldered each on in place. Went very fast.
BIG PLUS and must do!!!. I tested every single star after soldering them. I used my DVM Diode test mode. When contacting the + and - on the star the LED lights up with a very faint glow. Good sign. Next I established a connection with the heat sink and tested each terminal for a short.
FOUND 1 short, must have been getting tired yesterday on the first bar. Fixed it no problem.
Once I got into the rhythm the rest went smooth and in short order. Took about 3 hours to finish the whole job.
I don't have the lenses yet for the white, they are on back order.
Anyone notice the new brackets between the middle strips. Had another brain storm. Neptune's Apex has a moonlight module with LED's in small mounting blocks. Their system simulates the moon cycles based on the location of your reef. Pretty cool. You can use from 2 to 5 led modules and it's all automatic. So I am adding 4 of these LED's to the build for simulated moon cycles and ordering the Apex module. Those brackets are mounted to the underside of one of the LED strips and the LED's from Neptune systems will mount on them.
nuclearheli
Member
What's next, I am potting the LED's with the thermal potting epoxy I purchased. I can only do the the blue LED's because I don't have the lenses for the white yet.
Before adding the epoxy I also purchased a tube of thermal grease. I am going to brush this grease along the cavity of the G11 and the bottom of the heat sink. This will act as a mold release.
I had one bad LED in the bunch, good thing I ordered two extra. I used that bad LED to test my potting epoxy. I mounted the LED on a piece of scrap bar with a piece of scrap G11 drilled exactly as the others were. I then attached the star to the Al bar with the adhesive and wired two leads to the LED. Just like the real one. I then added the thermal grease and the epoxy and let it dry.
After it was all dry I attempted to remove the star. It wasn't that hard. I put a small screwdriver between the G11 and the epoxy and pried it out just like a coin. I figure if I ever need to change an LED it's likely I can do it without much effort.
Potting is next and a go.
Before adding the epoxy I also purchased a tube of thermal grease. I am going to brush this grease along the cavity of the G11 and the bottom of the heat sink. This will act as a mold release.
I had one bad LED in the bunch, good thing I ordered two extra. I used that bad LED to test my potting epoxy. I mounted the LED on a piece of scrap bar with a piece of scrap G11 drilled exactly as the others were. I then attached the star to the Al bar with the adhesive and wired two leads to the LED. Just like the real one. I then added the thermal grease and the epoxy and let it dry.
After it was all dry I attempted to remove the star. It wasn't that hard. I put a small screwdriver between the G11 and the epoxy and pried it out just like a coin. I figure if I ever need to change an LED it's likely I can do it without much effort.
Potting is next and a go.
canesfan44
New member
That looks pretty nice.
nuclearheli
Member
Nuc,
Amazing workmanship and attention to detail. Incredibly well done. And I LIKE the Heli in the background. I LOVE my T-REX 600E
Thanks LOL, Two of the most expensive hobbies and I have my foot in both of them.
1 FREYA EX SSZ-5 90
1 EVO 90
1 Trex 700N
1 Trex 600N
1 Trex 450
nuclearheli
Member
hehe i feel you...
700 FBL
logo 600SE
and looking for a third..
i call my tank my winter hobby
This winter hobby has been keeping me busy all year long. My 600 is FBL. All my birds are up for sale. 15 years of flying and I am getting out. PM if you know of anyone interested where you fly.
nuclearheli
Member
Potting of the LED's is going very well, better than expected. The result is exactly what I am looking for. Electrical isolation and thermal conductivity.
The LED's were tested for shorts three times before potting. Once when the LED contacts were soldered, second time after wiring, and third time just before potting.
Now there will never be shorts to the heat sink, no creepage and no clearance issues.
Yes I did add stand-off's to the build today. I added 8 of them to hold the splash shield I intend to install.
The white LED lenses are due in this week.
Potting continues tonight.
The LED's were tested for shorts three times before potting. Once when the LED contacts were soldered, second time after wiring, and third time just before potting.
Now there will never be shorts to the heat sink, no creepage and no clearance issues.
Yes I did add stand-off's to the build today. I added 8 of them to hold the splash shield I intend to install.
The white LED lenses are due in this week.
Potting continues tonight.
nuclearheli
Member
Finished all the potting for the royal blues. Went back and refilled all holes to account for some shrinkage. Sitting drying now waiting for the white optics. Time to move on. I am going to start the upper rack now that has the control systems and the two drivers.
21093r53
New member
nuclearheli
Member
I purchased the 10V power supply and pot's from rapidled (lazy). I plan to start off using manual control 0 and work my way up. I'm really not at all concerned about shorts or creepage. That potting expoxy I used sealed everything. Came our really nice, I am happy with my choice.
Crazy35111
New member
Where did you get the g11 and what type of epoxy are you using?
nuclearheli
Member
The G11 Link:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#grade-g-11-garolite/=b5fb18
The Epoxy Link:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#electrical-component-epoxies/=b5fben
I purchased the ES1001.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#grade-g-11-garolite/=b5fb18
The Epoxy Link:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#electrical-component-epoxies/=b5fben
I purchased the ES1001.
nuclearheli
Member
Ok some progress today while I am waiting for parts to come. I cut and mounted the 1/4" Lucite splash shield, probably hard to see from this picture. The fixture is not recessed in the canopy yet, I still have to drill and cut out the center.
The wiring harness. I left the end long for fitting into the canopy.
Originally I left room for two extra light spans. I figure if at all I will only need one. So I put an extra connector on the harness and put a jumper connector on it.
Now I will start the canopy top and mounting for the electronics. Hopefully I will get my other lenses this week and I can mount and pot them. If I can that means I will be powering this thing up this weekend.
The wiring harness. I left the end long for fitting into the canopy.
Originally I left room for two extra light spans. I figure if at all I will only need one. So I put an extra connector on the harness and put a jumper connector on it.
Now I will start the canopy top and mounting for the electronics. Hopefully I will get my other lenses this week and I can mount and pot them. If I can that means I will be powering this thing up this weekend.
canesfan44
New member
That's going to be nice. I can't wait to see it running.
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