Build Log:  Part 14

This is a mini-post to host a video showing how to assemble and solder various LED types for use in the Secondary Hull (LED tape, normal LEDs, SMDs, some soldering tips).  Watch at your own risk, and bring some coffee :).

Some points to note:

• When soldering, treat your pen/iron like you would a sharp knife.  Anything it touches will melt if it is able to.
• The short leg of an LED is the negative (-) one, and that’s the one that gets the resistor
• Magnet wire is usually insulated, with a laquer that can be burned or sanded off (sanding is usually better)
• Test everything, any time something can change.  Test it when you build it, test it when you connect it, test it when you install it.  It’s much better to discover a problem earlier.
• Buy SMDs with leads attached.  They’re a pain in the ass to solder leads to.
• Small solder is as good as, or better than, big solder

Update: I had several stills that I should share here, so I’m passing them on.

Also, I forgot to mention in the video that the way I’m wiring here is to run everything in a parallel circuit.  I hate series circuits, because if one light burns out the whole chain dies.  Parallel circuits use more resistors (a series would only need one at the negative end), so there’s more soldering, but it’s more fault-tolerant.  For example, my USS Reliant has had a couple of its navigation lights inexplicably stop working, but the rest are still running just fine – I’d have lost the entire set of navs if they’d been on a series circuit.

Always plan out your parts and lay them out before beginning work, so you don’t over- or under-do the parts you need.

Ignore the overlapping magnet wire here – this is an example of what a good solder looks like on LED tape – just little knobs, not big gloppy splotches.

I didn’t have to leave the LED’s legs this long, and probably should have snipped them a little. Note the short leg is always the negative (-) side, and that’s the one that needs a resistor.

A little scale comparison so you can see what some of these mini SMDs look like – this is why you buy them with leads attached.

USS Enterprise – Build Log Part 13  USS Enterprise – Build Log Part 15