Can you use heat shrink splice connectors to connect the driver to the diode?

[joeyjenkins211]

I am not very good at soldering, so I was wondering if there would be any negative side affects to using heat shrink splice connectors instead?

 

[jeffreythe00]

It would not make a good connection and you would most likely end up killing the diode doing so. Grab some wire and solder and practice soldering with the wire and some scrap components.

 

[Zeebit]

The key to good soldering are using the proper iron and temperature, good quality solder - 60/40 works best IMO and practice. Also, always tin your iron.

 

[sinner]

Just pre-tin your wires, then with a clean soldering iron running at ~350C touch the iron to the wire while placing it on the desired diode pin.. It will take about half a second for solder to melt and adhere itself to the diode pin..

Hope it helps..

 

[daawood123]

The best way to solder diode pins IMO is to use 60/40 solder, pre-tin your soldering tip, wrap the wire around the diode pin (the wire around the pin, not pin around wire), making sure no stray strands of wire stick up, as this could cause a short, then just melt a blob of solder onto your iron and touch it quickly to the pin/wire. The solder will flow through and bond the two, giving a good connection. Thats it. Not too complicated. Also its easier if you have diodes that have not been pulled from sleds, as they have nice long pins, instead of short pre-cut pins.

 

[hakzaw1]

I agree- solderless splices are not very good- you DO want to use shrink over your soldering job for sure -- get a set of JUMBO helpinghands-they have a LED lit magnifying glass that makes seeing and holding all this stuff a breeze- they are on ebay for around 15$ or go to harbor freight for less$$
be sure to wear your esd wrist band at all times.. you wont see it happen but static kills alot of diodes-- & that will turn your laser into a dim LED.

also your iron needs to be grounded too, or you can get a static charge from it as well.

 

[Bionic-Badger]

Use 63/37 (eutectic) solder instead of 60/40. It's a better blend because of its eutectic property.

 

[hakzaw1]

I am not very good at soldering, so I was wondering if there would be any negative side affects to using heat shrink splice connectors instead?

You could use something called a laserbug- its a socket for laser diode pins and often is used with Lasorbs- which can be a good idea when protecting expensive diodes- a laserbug allows a solderless connection IIRC- never actually used one but plan to- I have Lasorbs FS btw and so does AixiZLaser.com in Houston TX