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Hello everyone. I am writing this review for jayrob's MXDL 3405 host. You may find & purchase this host by clicking here.
The cost of this host was $38 + $6 shipping. Upon receipt of the host, I instantly fell in love with it. The host is constructed entirely out of aluminum, and felt very nice to hold in my hand. So, I proceeded to take it all apart to look at the insides. Here is the layout of the host in order of assembly.
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0277.JPG
The only modification that needs to be done to this host is in the pill. Please refer to this closeup for more detail.
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0275.JPG
That's the top part of the pill. All of that has to go as it's useless for the laser anyway. I simply un-soldered the two wires there, then chucked it in the trash. Now, you have the bottom of the pill. Please refer to the closeup.
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0274.JPG
That solder bubble there is the positive contact point for your battery holder. If you flip the pill over, you'll also see that a red wire is soldered in there. Continuing to look at that picture, you'll also see a lead on the left side just shy of the 9 O'clock position. This is your negative lead (for now anyway). Notice how it's pinched between the board and the pill.
Well, let's get to the assembly. From here I do not have pics, but it's all self explanatory anyway.
1) Remove the LED board from the top of the pill.
2) (Optional; depending on the driver and batteries you use. I used a Rkcstr driver, so I needed (3) 10440 batteries providing me with more than 12V, so I needed a diode to drop it back under 12V) Pop the bottom board of the pill out (makes working with it much easier). Soften up that solder blob as pictured above and pull the red wire out. I then took a 1N4001 diode. I bent one of the leads a full 90° so that the diode would rest right on top of the board when placed in that hole with the solder blob. I then softened the solder, and pushed the diode through. I then reconnected the red wire to the other lead of the diode after trimming it. You must trim the other lead or else the bottom board of the pill won't fit back on.
3) I replaced that thin, negative lead as pictured above with a thin piece of black wire. Note in the picture above that the lead is pinched. I have bad luck so I decided to solder it there just to make sure it don't go anywhere.
4) I now have my completed pill. I then soldered those two wires to my Rkcstr driver inside of my module. Note you're going to need some slack in the wires to solder everything, so make sure you use soft wire.
5) Place the heatsink on the module and tighten set screw.
6) Put everything back together.
7) Results:
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0282.JPG
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0278.JPG
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0280.JPG
Overall Ratings:. (On a scale of 1~10)
Look and feel:. 10/10 - This thing weighs a few ounces, and feels very nice in the hand.
Heatsinking:. 10/10 - I'm driving an LPC @ 400mA and I run it for a minute at a time and it don't even get warm. Without the heatsink the module gets hot.
Assembly & Functionality:. 10/10. The host was easy to put together, and it does what it's supposed to do. It keeps my diode cool, has a nice clicky switch at the end and just looks like a beast!
I highly recommend this host to anyone who's going to be using a diode that requires adequate heatsinking.
Well, there you have it. Any thoughts/comments please reply to this thread. Hope you liked my review!
The cost of this host was $38 + $6 shipping. Upon receipt of the host, I instantly fell in love with it. The host is constructed entirely out of aluminum, and felt very nice to hold in my hand. So, I proceeded to take it all apart to look at the insides. Here is the layout of the host in order of assembly.
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0277.JPG
The only modification that needs to be done to this host is in the pill. Please refer to this closeup for more detail.
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0275.JPG
That's the top part of the pill. All of that has to go as it's useless for the laser anyway. I simply un-soldered the two wires there, then chucked it in the trash. Now, you have the bottom of the pill. Please refer to the closeup.
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0274.JPG
That solder bubble there is the positive contact point for your battery holder. If you flip the pill over, you'll also see that a red wire is soldered in there. Continuing to look at that picture, you'll also see a lead on the left side just shy of the 9 O'clock position. This is your negative lead (for now anyway). Notice how it's pinched between the board and the pill.
Well, let's get to the assembly. From here I do not have pics, but it's all self explanatory anyway.
1) Remove the LED board from the top of the pill.
2) (Optional; depending on the driver and batteries you use. I used a Rkcstr driver, so I needed (3) 10440 batteries providing me with more than 12V, so I needed a diode to drop it back under 12V) Pop the bottom board of the pill out (makes working with it much easier). Soften up that solder blob as pictured above and pull the red wire out. I then took a 1N4001 diode. I bent one of the leads a full 90° so that the diode would rest right on top of the board when placed in that hole with the solder blob. I then softened the solder, and pushed the diode through. I then reconnected the red wire to the other lead of the diode after trimming it. You must trim the other lead or else the bottom board of the pill won't fit back on.
3) I replaced that thin, negative lead as pictured above with a thin piece of black wire. Note in the picture above that the lead is pinched. I have bad luck so I decided to solder it there just to make sure it don't go anywhere.
4) I now have my completed pill. I then soldered those two wires to my Rkcstr driver inside of my module. Note you're going to need some slack in the wires to solder everything, so make sure you use soft wire.
5) Place the heatsink on the module and tighten set screw.
6) Put everything back together.
7) Results:
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0282.JPG
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0278.JPG
http://chrishug.com/DSCF0280.JPG
Overall Ratings:. (On a scale of 1~10)
Look and feel:. 10/10 - This thing weighs a few ounces, and feels very nice in the hand.
Heatsinking:. 10/10 - I'm driving an LPC @ 400mA and I run it for a minute at a time and it don't even get warm. Without the heatsink the module gets hot.
Assembly & Functionality:. 10/10. The host was easy to put together, and it does what it's supposed to do. It keeps my diode cool, has a nice clicky switch at the end and just looks like a beast!
I highly recommend this host to anyone who's going to be using a diode that requires adequate heatsinking.Well, there you have it. Any thoughts/comments please reply to this thread. Hope you liked my review!
