Weaver
12-27-2011, 06:27 PM
Hi, all.
I am finally in a position where I can begin practicing my wiring/soldering on some of the cheaper components (if I fry these, I'm not out so much money) and I thought I'd post the results of my first attempt. Before I continue, let me say that I have read and understand (I believe) the wiring diagrams and tutorials provided by the forum's stickies. I will also say that, just as I'm no electrician, I'm also no photographer. The picture supplied may not do you any good in critiquing my application.
I began by selecting the recharge port for my initial experiment. I have a volt meter, so measuring whether I have successfully made contact without bridging anything should have been pretty easy. I looked up the diagram provided Corbin Das (Thank you, Corbin. Thank you forever.) and did the best I could.
It was my understanding that the port's positive (+) receives both the battery pack and the soundboard's positives (+), so I soldered the two positive wires together, then to the contact pin. I then soldered the battery pack's negative (-) wire to the central pin -the port's negative (-)- and the soundboard's negative (-) to the port's second negative (-), which is the last pin on the left. If the port is oriented with the center pin at the bottom, the right pin holds two red wires(+), the bottom pin holds one negative wire (-), and the left pin holds one negative wire (-).
If I read things right, the switches are wired directly to the board, in the corresponding holes. I believe the main and Aux share a common negative, but I'll have to reread the PCU manual. I'm not ready for switches yet, anyway.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii81/BlessedWrath/LightsaberRechargePort001.jpg
When it was all wired up, the board input wires measured voltage without the plug, no voltage with it. I had voltage at the battery output side with the charger plugged into the port, no voltage at the battery without it. I just have to remember to either order a new charger, or ask Tim for a replacement connector, since I did a stupid and forgot that Tim orders custom chargers from Tenergy, not the stock model. I've got a recharge port plug with a plastic white connector and a battery charger with alligator clips. ~facepalm~
I chose to wire everything with the JSTs, simply because they're easy to connect and disconnect. My wiring scheme is consistent: Anything which outputs to a device is wired as a male JST. Anything which receives input from a device is wired as female. If every wiring connection is done in the same way, I can tell at a glance whether something is an input or output.
But...it works. I know it's an extremely simple procedure and just routine for all the experts, but I'm a total novice at this. I'm proud of it. I just can't believe I got it on the first try.
More as I get it.
I am finally in a position where I can begin practicing my wiring/soldering on some of the cheaper components (if I fry these, I'm not out so much money) and I thought I'd post the results of my first attempt. Before I continue, let me say that I have read and understand (I believe) the wiring diagrams and tutorials provided by the forum's stickies. I will also say that, just as I'm no electrician, I'm also no photographer. The picture supplied may not do you any good in critiquing my application.
I began by selecting the recharge port for my initial experiment. I have a volt meter, so measuring whether I have successfully made contact without bridging anything should have been pretty easy. I looked up the diagram provided Corbin Das (Thank you, Corbin. Thank you forever.) and did the best I could.
It was my understanding that the port's positive (+) receives both the battery pack and the soundboard's positives (+), so I soldered the two positive wires together, then to the contact pin. I then soldered the battery pack's negative (-) wire to the central pin -the port's negative (-)- and the soundboard's negative (-) to the port's second negative (-), which is the last pin on the left. If the port is oriented with the center pin at the bottom, the right pin holds two red wires(+), the bottom pin holds one negative wire (-), and the left pin holds one negative wire (-).
If I read things right, the switches are wired directly to the board, in the corresponding holes. I believe the main and Aux share a common negative, but I'll have to reread the PCU manual. I'm not ready for switches yet, anyway.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii81/BlessedWrath/LightsaberRechargePort001.jpg
When it was all wired up, the board input wires measured voltage without the plug, no voltage with it. I had voltage at the battery output side with the charger plugged into the port, no voltage at the battery without it. I just have to remember to either order a new charger, or ask Tim for a replacement connector, since I did a stupid and forgot that Tim orders custom chargers from Tenergy, not the stock model. I've got a recharge port plug with a plastic white connector and a battery charger with alligator clips. ~facepalm~
I chose to wire everything with the JSTs, simply because they're easy to connect and disconnect. My wiring scheme is consistent: Anything which outputs to a device is wired as a male JST. Anything which receives input from a device is wired as female. If every wiring connection is done in the same way, I can tell at a glance whether something is an input or output.
But...it works. I know it's an extremely simple procedure and just routine for all the experts, but I'm a total novice at this. I'm proud of it. I just can't believe I got it on the first try.
More as I get it.