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FrozenGate by Avery

LM3410X based boost converter, SPARK driver! PART 2

Bearded_Galaxy said:
I really want to take electrical engineering classes, and learn about this stuff, so that I could do it on my own someday. So, why do most people talk about LM317 drivers instead of LM1117 if the latter has a lower dropout voltage? Is it noticeably more expensive, is that why?

I'd like to see something like the Groove driver, with a 1V dropout, the size of a rckstr driver. The spec sheet for his regulator says it's only a 1V dropout regulator, but because of other stuff he has on there it's all the way up to 2.25V, which makes it a pain to use on 2 lithium cells and a Blu-Ray diode.
Click to expand...
1117 is relatively new and fresh addition to todays market so it's yet to get it's moment of glory.

Anyhow, the one you see on the pic is used in penstyle bluray with 2x 10440 cells (right after the photo).
Works excellent still! 107mW after acrylic lens. Current just over 100mA.

I don't know what a Groove driver is...

I use AMC7135, 1117 and 3410 for handhelds... Never had a rkcstr or Flex.
LM1117 dropout is just above 1.2 V if I am not mistaking...
 





Bearded_Galaxy said:
This time, I meant about the actual driver, not the current test at 2.4V.
Click to expand...
Ah about those, some more bad news.

I am currently unable to order just about anything, my family's financial situation is going from bad to worse real quick.
It's was too complicated to explain over text, but let's just say that my parents are not recieving their pays regularely.
Also let's say that we first have enormus minuses on bank accounts to cover.

Sorry but no orders will be made any time soon. Next month maybe, but this one.... I think that is very unlikely.

Sorry for the third time now, but really it's out of my power.
 
Eudaimonium said:
I don't know what a Groove driver is...

I use AMC7135, 1117 and 3410 for handhelds... Never had a rkcstr or Flex.
LM1117 dropout is just above 1.2 V if I am not mistaking...
Click to expand...

EDIT: I was wrong about the Groove driver, but I'm pretty sure it was a linear driver based on the LM1117, sold in kit form, which wasn't hugely popular.

I think Flex uses a 190mV reference voltage and a TPS63000 series chip, but don't quote me.

As for your designs, I will have access to hot-air soldering equipment in about 3 weeks, and I have a few 3410 chips around, so if you would like, I could order a few PCBs based on your design (from BatchPCB?), and solder them for you. If it helps, I'd be happy to put a few of the boards together and send them on your behalf, and send you some money in return for the time you took designing the board.
 
charliebruce said:
EDIT: I was wrong about the Groove driver, but I'm pretty sure it was a linear driver based on the LM1117, sold in kit form, which wasn't hugely popular.

I think Flex uses a 190mV reference voltage and a TPS63000 series chip, but don't quote me.

As for your designs, I will have access to hot-air soldering equipment in about 3 weeks, and I have a few 3410 chips around, so if you would like, I could order a few PCBs based on your design (from BatchPCB?), and solder them for you. If it helps, I'd be happy to put a few of the boards together and send them on your behalf, and send you some money in return for the time you took designing the board.
Click to expand...
Your offer is too kind,

Look here, I simply draw my own PCBs with waterproof sharpie and throw it in etchant.
No software involved.

I would be happy to share designs here with everybody, I always say that knowledge should be free.
If I were to charge anything, that would be the entire driver assembled by me.
The design sent to you and designing it does not cost me anything so...

If you want some PCB layouts, you can have them no problem. But I'll draw them on the paper or PCB and take a picture of it.

As for the folks here, wanting a driver real quick, if you can put some together, feel free to sell / trade them here on the forum, you don't need to pay me anything for it, as long as you sell those drivers cheaper tha flexdrive :) (you could not pay me even if you wanted to, since I cannot recieve paypal).
Just mention my name or something :D Let's give people boost converters!

But, why do you need access to hot air? I solder everything up with $4 soldering iron (just some $1 extra fine tip will do).
 
that design is awesome!! ask rkcstr what that stuff he uses it?? he injects it onto the board then puts the parts into it??idk.
later on in life when im not 14 i will design my first mini design like this using surface mount parts. i have already made a pcb design called a tterbo driver which is a linear driver. its 17mm by 20mm :(
cheers.
 
Rkcstr uses Solder Paste to hold and solder his components in
a soldering oven...IIRC
By using Hot Air (in an oven or from a low speed blower) it wil
melt the Solder Paste and solder the parts to the PCB..

Jerry
 
lasersbee said:
Rkcstr uses Solder Paste to hold and solder his components in
a soldering oven...IIRC
By using Hot Air (in an oven or from a low speed blower) it wil
melt the Solder Paste and solder the parts to the PCB..

Jerry
Click to expand...
I solder the SOT23-5 thing the old-fashioned way.
Solder wick and sharp iron tip. Works like a charm, perfect and shiny solder joints, never failed me.
 
lasersbee said:
Rkcstr uses Solder Paste to hold and solder his components in
a soldering oven...IIRC
By using Hot Air (in an oven or from a low speed blower) it wil
melt the Solder Paste and solder the parts to the PCB..

Jerry
Click to expand...

USED to do that :)

Now it's all done with paste stencils, automated placement and industrial reflow ovens by a manufacturer. I don't have even close to as much free time to work on stuff as I used to, otherwise I probably would have designed some newer stuff by now :/

Cool to see some DIY circuit work though. I remember the days of etching PCBs myself and I don't miss it! The process was ridiculously labor intensive. I used to... [size=-3]use photo paper with a laser printer, carefully match up both sides, scoured the copper boards, melted on design with a laminator, then wetted and paper carefully peeled off and remaining paper delicately removed, traces touched up with sharpie, then etched with HCl and H2O2, rinsed, rescoured, then soaked in some electroless tin plating liquid, holes drilled with carbide bits and a Dremel and hand cut apart with special sewing scissors.[/size] Now, I just submit my design, pay some money and they show up at my house :D
 
Last edited:
Eudaimonium said:
I solder the SOT23-5 thing the old-fashioned way.
Solder wick and sharp iron tip. Works like a charm, perfect and shiny solder joints, never failed me.
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with hand soldering SMT devices...
But at one point in your life the eyes don't want to see
closeup and it takes a lot of lenses to see properly...:D

@Ryan... your doing it right... now... It sure saves a
lot of assembly time having a professional manufacturing
facility assemble your PCBs..


Jerry
 
lasersbee said:
There is nothing wrong with hand soldering SMT devices...
But at one point in your life the eyes don't want to see
closeup and it takes a lot of lenses to see properly...:D

@Ryan... your doing it right... now... It sure saves a
lot of assembly time having a professional manufacturing
facility assemble your PCBs..


Jerry
Click to expand...
Ah, you just have to remind me of how short our lives are...
Folks, make love and lasers, there ain't much time to Eff around!
 
hm ok so my tterbo design could easily be transfered into a smd style design????
 
TTerbo, your design is hardly anything special, I doubt it's worth time or effort to convert it into SMT. You'd be much better off buying a Rkcstr driver, since your designs are essentially the same thing.
 
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