Girot's TFA Graflex

**Mrtoad883** · 03-11-2016, 11:48 AM

Sux man. I wonder what happened, hope you figure it out

**girot** · 03-12-2016, 09:56 AM

I'm pretty sure I messed up the pos/neg pads removing bad headers multiple times. For now I'm just gonna finish the TFA and relegate it to the shelf while I get back to repairing my Sakabato. After I've finished these two I am going to take a break for a little while, probably until the MPP 2.0 gets released.

**girot** · 03-15-2016, 06:30 AM

New board is in! Thursday I am going to give this another shot. LOTS of lessons learned with this seemingly simple build so this should go very quickly once the bench test is complete.

**girot** · 03-17-2016, 03:47 PM

Started off a little rough this morning but I finished this build. Honestly, I didn't end up doing anything that hasn't already been done so I'll finish this thread up with some "lessons learned" so others don't make the same mistakes I made, and leave the success stories to those who've gone before me.

**Mrtoad883** · 03-18-2016, 12:16 AM

sounds good Girot, anything helps!

**girot** · 03-20-2016, 06:38 AM

TFA Graflex "Lessons Learned"

#1

After the resounding success of the commission saber (using a NBv2) I assumed I could knock an NBv3 build out of the park. Not only that I got ambitious and tried to do something new without properly testing it first (using machine pin headers instead of wires). Ultimately I wound up ruining the soundboard. By removing and reinstalling components so many times I utterly destroyed the positive and negative power pads on the NB and now must have it repaired.

#2

New and fancy does not mean a thing will function as advertised, or worse, how you?d expect. While I get the appeal of a 3D printed chassis and the potential convenience they offer? the Force was telling me to walk away. I should have listened.

First off, this is not a slam on the product in question. Everybody has had a different experience working with this chassis and my only aim here is to share my own.

In the absence of an equally simple chassis solution for the Graflex 2.0 (and the fact I?d already bought a 7/8th inch blade before the 1? Core was released) I opted to go with the GOTH Knight Chassis from Shapeways (w/ NB Insert). The ?Knight? portion of the chassis has actually been of great help so far. It made for an effective solution for storing the battery securely. The NB Insert on the other hand was a nightmare to work with. The only instructions for installation are the original development forum, which reads like Barons Chat being moderated by Egon Spangler, and was absolutely no help at all.

Quality-wise the print was actually pretty good. However, I paid for black plastic? and got white plastic that was spray painted black.

#3

I got so excited when my Graflex 2.0 showed up that I immediately started buying up parts for it like an excited child in a candy store. This is how I got caught in the tsunami of submarket fads (and ended up using that awful chassis) when I should have headed for the high ground and watched patiently until things settled. If I'd done that I'd have gone with the gorgeous 1" Core alternative at VV and been able to use a proper MHS chassis. Epic amounts of heart ache, and $70 worth of electronics, could have been spared.

In Conclusion...

**darth_chasm** · 03-20-2016, 10:24 AM

That stinks you had so much trouble. But it looks like you've learned a lot from it. The black prints you got are actually dyed not painted. All the strong/flexible prints start out white and then are dyed the color you choose. That's why the colored prints take a few more days to produce than just a straight white print.

**girot** · 03-20-2016, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by darth_chasm

That stinks you had so much trouble. But it looks like you've learned a lot from it. The black prints you got are actually dyed not painted. All the strong/flexible prints start out white and then are dyed the color you choose. That's why the colored prints take a few more days to produce than just a straight white print.

If I'd known that I wouldn't have bothered with the black. No worries though. The damn thing is working and that's what matters.

Oh, I found an alternative to Heirloom that works great. "Graflex V HD" is pretty amazing, if not a little quiet.