Making a rotating beacon... Help!

[Guest Sune Nielsen]

Hi all fellow ship builders...

 

I'm trying to make a rotating beacon...

 

I must say, that I am a novice in soldering... At best...

 

I've mounted 5 SMD 0805s on a common plus wire. They will get there own ground wire...

 

This was very hard to do... Maby my sodering iron is a bit to big... I could use a smaller tip... Anyway... Is this the way to do it, or do some of you have a better and more easy way ?

[bjorn060895]

I think it's the only way to do this kind of work, since each LED needs his own + or - wire! The only thing to watch is the right LED polarity, and it should work fine. Easier won't be possible, cause the small size of model-lights!

 

Have you already tested the light? I'm planning to build two of it for my "Weser" for a very long time, but never started working.... Maybe this will spark me!

[Guest Sune Nielsen]

Yes I have tested it with a light controller.

I fixed the SMDs with a little glue before soldering. Beware of that. Hot glue is not good for your health I think

[bjorn060895]

Yes I have tested it with a light controller.

I fixed the SMDs with a little glue before soldering. Beware of that. Hot glue is not good for your health I think

 

No, not really I guess.

Yet I have one small question:

What's the diameter of the light? Would it be possible to mount it into a hollow 3mm., standard LED ? :nixweiss:

[Guest Sune Nielsen]

I think the dia is about 5-6 mm...

For a hollow 3 mm... You would need 0603...

[Guest Jo_S]

The easiest way to solve the problem:

http://cleverled.de/index.php?cPath=5_10

[bjorn060895]

The easiest way to solve the problem:

http://cleverled.de/index.php?cPath=5_10

 

Also the most expensive :Beule:.

 

I think the dia is about 5-6 mm...

For a hollow 3 mm... You would need 0603...

 

Then everything gets a bit more complicated, but that makes it more fun too...

[U-Jäger D185]

Hallo,

 

32.90 EUR ??

 

thats not even the cheapest way to have (but completed with controller and without any hurts while mounting the fine wires on that SMDs !!)

 

Anyway: i look for some lights with 10 led´s, because my next construction will be an lighthouse ship.

It looks better if there is a led every 36°.....

 

the diameter should be not more than 10mm.

is there anyone who can help

 

y.s

[Guest Sune Nielsen]

Also the most expensive :Beule:.

 

 

 

Then everything gets a bit more complicated, but that makes it more fun too...

A nice site though...

 

Regarding 0603... I would need a smaller solder tip then...

But yes... It is possible to do it, in a regular small led...

[bjorn060895]

I would need a smaller solder tip then...

 

 

That won't be the problem. I have a very small soldering iron from Ersa (Minitip, 12W.)

 

 

Hallo,

 

32.90 EUR ??

 

thats not even the cheapest way to have (but completed with controller and without any hurts while mounting the fine wires on that SMDs !!)

 

Anyway: i look for some lights with 10 led´s, because my next construction will be an lighthouse ship.

It looks better if there is a led every 36°.....

 

the diameter should be not more than 10mm.

is there anyone who can help

 

y.s

 

Not more than 10mm? That would be possible. 10mm is big enough to house 10 SMD Leds. I don't don't know if you can buy those lights already assembled, but you could make them yourself...

[Guest Sune Nielsen]

Here's a little film of it...

Real bad quality... Recorded by build in webcam... Sorry...

 

 

[Hellmut Kohlsdorf]

For soldering small stuff it makes sense to use soldering paste. But be aware of, that it need to be fresh to melt in the oven. Just apply a bit of soldering paste on a test surface made of copper and place it into your oven at home. If you happen to have a ultimeter with temperature measurement you can pobserve the temperature behaviour.

 

I have successfully soldered LEd this way. Solering paste for reflow soldering melts at aprox 240 degrees centigrades. I have placed the LED in the oven and followed the recomended temperature profil as shown in the datasheet of the LED. 2 things to care about:

 

1. Preheat it to a temperature of about 80 to 150 degrees over a the time specified in the datasheet, temperature started to be counted as soon as the temperature passes the 80 degree mark and the preheat time over the temperature is in the 150 degrees magnitud. This preheating is important to prevent humidity in the LEd to make the package of the LED crack!

 

2. The temperature should not be over something like 230 degrees, exact values have to be taken from the datasheet, for longer then 10 seconds. What I do is that I keep watching the soldering paste until it melts. At this point in time I starrt counting backwards from 5 to 1 and then I open the oven, switch the heating off and wave with my hands to get fresh air into the oven. This way I am sure the temperature drops below the critical mark before teh 10 seconds are over.

 

The method, as amateurish as it might sound, has proven now for quite some time to lead to good soldering results for our hobby aplications.