DIY solar garden light project. Surface mount remix.

A custom solar lighting module using salvaged solar panels and lithium cells.
An update to the earlier version that used a simple NPN transistor. This version uses a A2SHB MOSFET commonly used in Chinese products. It's an amazing component so I got some and decided to try one in this project.
It's surface mount, so I made everything else surface mount too.
I should have named the MOSFET pins Gate, Source and DRAIN not emitter. I was thinking in electron movement terms.
The lithium cell should be a protected type and the solar panel should put out around 6V at a maximum of around 250mA to protect the diode from excess current. I've got some schottky diodes on order to upgrade that.
One of the nicest things about this design is that it allows easy choosing of the LED current, so if you want it for an outdoor visual effect all night in winter you can choose a lower current (just one 100 ohm resistor). As the battery voltage drops the light intensity and current drops too, so the lights will usually run all night on a very low amount of charge.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of KZbin's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.

[@theCodyReeder]

Hey! I’m doing almost the same thing! Just on a larger scale.. And with mercury solenoid relays. ;)

[@bigclivedotcom]

Darn, I miss the old mercury stuff. Fortunately you can still get mercury tilt switches from China via eBay.

[@garyhart6028]

cool, i'd like to see that, and you'r progress

[@slaeshjag]

ah yes, the MELF-package. "Mostly End up Lying on the Floor".

[@Peter_S_]

...they're easier to work with than the GCFP packages (gets confused with flea poop).

[@urugulu1656]

melf isnt that resistors? hes talking about diodes. i think they are called sod package (small outline diode)

[@neil2742]

I was just about to post that

[@cardboardboxification]

desks are for storing junk on top, the big floor is where everything gets fixed....

[@FarleyHillBilly]

QuadroMELF (SOD-80) package has square sides.

[@alanangelfire1217]

A nice way of finishing hand-soldered boards with SMT components its to dab a little liquid or jelly flux around the pads and use a hot air gun to reflow all the solder joints, leaving nice shiny, even heels. Most of the components will recenter on the pads too. Use a bit of flux remover to clean the board when it has cooled. Most modern SMT components are designed for reflow operation so they can handle being heated. I find 350DegC air on low flow works well for lead solder, a bit hotter for diet solder, and takes a few seconds of heating to reflow for a tidy-looking board. Excellent job handling those SMT bits, they can get really fiddly sometimes! Keep up the great videos :)

[@billssolarpowerandgardenin1016]

Alan AngelFire not blowing the components off the board like a rookie with the air gun is the trick 😝 shaky hands from the war ruined it for me.

[@Dee_Just_Dee]

16:15 Clive, you can digress all you want. You know we love it.

[@RFC3514]

"Big fingers, tiny transitor." - Ah, that old saying...

[@Gameboygenius]

I think the saying is actually big fingers, long . . . . Beard.

[@SireSquish]

Clive approved verbal smut.

[@theskett]

@@Gameboygenius That's the only time I've found clicking "Read more" to be rewarding. Good work, dude :-)

[@TerryGilsenan]

I love watching you work. Its amazing... the developed dexterity that we have, being able to use ALL our fingers to hold things as se solder, and our ability to ignore the burn :)

[@gaellafond6367]

9:23 "They turn on so hard!" You must admit, this sounds like something else put out of context

[@K-o-R]

You're new to this channel, aren't you? ;)

[@gaellafond6367]

@@K-o-R Hahaha, no, I have seen every videos he uploaded so far. I know he likes to put those kind of puns in his videos. I like your comment though

[@nightshadelenar]

@@gaellafond6367 ah, double entaundres. gotta love them, like that video with the "Limp knob" line.

[@joeo6378]

Don’t forget to “keep pumping the button”

[@practicemakesbetter7132]

Thanks for the video, you are an amazing engineer, technician and teacher, also your dexterity blows me away.

[@gavin9038]

You know when you're a bigclive super fan when you can remember everything he has ever done ;)

[@Peter_S_]

I would not have described myself as a super fan under any ordinary circumstances, but Clive rocks!

[@stridermt2k]

Definitely one of those channels that you can go right back to the oldest video and just start watching forward and/or re-watch episodes as a reference source.

[@frogz]

i dont need to remember everything clive has done, just the knowledge i've gained from it!

[@darrenpardoe]

when we say "ever done", I guess we're talking youtube? Just makes me wonder what mischief Clive may have been up to offline ;)

[@Beelzebubba1983]

Aye but us old farts cant remember breakfast, but what a usb power bank looks like when shorted out from Big Clive now thats cookin with lithium

[@mickward2775]

Absolutely magnificent I love the improvised soldering iron it is brilliant and that tiny circuit is fantastic

[@jameslynch8466]

Been watching for years and never commented....Thank you very much for all your effort. Great comfort to me in during these dark nights. All the best and thank you.

[@BillyNoMates1974]

Great to see how this has held up over time. I was wondering about bright long days and very cold long nights. Looks like its up to the job

[@benbaselet2026]

Meanwhile someone in Shenzen gets to pack a thousand strips of transistors all of a sudden ;-)

[@Ragnarok540]

Big Clive is the best thing to happen to China. And sometimes the worst.

[@cardboardboxification]

it doesn't matter they are all duds...

[@benbaselet2026]

@@cardboardboxification Does too, I always test a few of the components I get from them and refund/negative rate the complete fails.

[@PaulSteMarie]

Minor quibble: the usual enhancement mode MOSFETs do not have a current path when quiescent. A positive charge on the gate attracts elections to the channel area, which then carry (negative) current from source to the drain . Depletion mode MOSFETs do have a current path when quiescent. A negative charge on the gate repels electrons out of the channel, which then can no longer conduct current. For P-channel MOSFETs, reverse polarities and substitute holes for electrons.

[@anthonywitham2305]

Hi Clive, I bought one of those irons from Banggood. I also found having to keep the button pressed an annoyance. I found the small tip lacking on some larger solder joints. I measured the tip temperature at each voltage setting to see if the temperature changed, it did. Sorry I cant remember what it was, it was in my review which I sent to Banggood. As I only gave the item a four stars "as useful for small jobs only," it was never published. I never intended it to replace my TS100 iron, I only wanted something for a quick solder joint, which it does. Edit: 30/11/19. Bangood did publish my review but never informed me they had. I now have the temperature tests I made. Below is the results of using my soldering iron tester thermometer at different volts. I pressed and held the button until it flashed indicating it hard reached temperature. I did this three times in a row before testing. I did this twice and noted the highest temperature each time: 3.3V = 240C - 260C 3.8V = 270C - 280C 4.3V = 310C - 320C 4.8C = 400C - 417C

[@BRUXXUS]

Four stars not good enough.... gotta love China...

[@anthonywitham2305]

@@BRUXXUS . Yes indeed. No problem with any of my 5 star reviews being published! 😄

[@vinnyc7613]

please, more info on the cordless vape soldering iron

[@theskett]

@@ernestaskazlauskas6511 Tyvm for the link :-) But, max 8W *and* you gotta keep pressing the button? Jeez. I find a TS100 with a 20V power bank frustrating enough (3mins timeout, ~30W), but also small / portable / powerful enough for most jobs :-)

[@ollieb9875]

Got mine yesterday after a bit of search on the eBay. Element measures ~3.4ohm The adjustable voltage battery supplied is accurate and ranges from 3.3V to 4.8V. My guess is the capacity would be somewhere around 1100mAh as it seems to actually be an Evod Twist I paid £12.43 with the "fast and free" delivery. At the highest setting, I soldered some 1206, 0603 and 0402 parts. The solder melts within seconds having warmed it up once already. If you were using a variable wattage MOD, you'd have to solder with it set only around 7W, for the maximum 4.8V which sounds pretty good to me. I really could have done with this in the car a while ago trying to solder on a USB connector for my dashcam.. - had to get an extension lead out and fiddle around with that. I think it's meant only for small jobs though, the tip is very sharp, not my favourite chisel or bevel type. It should work fine for thin wires and little things in a pinch though I don't much see the value in using it at anything but the highest setting, unless maybe if shrinking shrink-wrap or something like that. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223700474945

[@ernestaskazlauskas6511]

@@theskett wen i have 220w wape i will test if 8w is max for soldering tip 🤔🤣

[@jasonhanna2699]

This vape soldering iron sounds like it would be ideal to pair with a mechanical vape mod, it would power the tip for as long as you held the button.

[@RobertShrimpton]

Lovely video - thanks Clive! For safety, I would probably have connected the battery last, at the battery end, to avoid any shorting drama.

[@stridermt2k]

The discreet component version of this one rocks too! I just built that one and it has me thinking of other applications already! Super cool!

[@garrethtinsley2435]

I'd half like to build one of these...What MOSFET part did you use?

[@stridermt2k]

@@garrethtinsley2435 sorry I meant the discrete version Clive made a while back with a npn transistor

[@Barolax]

I've been meaning to do that project as well, but I'm still lacking a solar panel for it so might use a photoresistor and just charge the battery when needed. 🤔

[@Newokie59]

Another really fun build. Thanks Clive!

[@garyhardman8369]

Great video as always Clive. I used to work in the standby DC systems field, and would have killed for such a neat little soldering iron for use on site.

[@ecospider5]

Fantastic circuit. Thanks for talking about the mosfet I finally under stand the between them and a transistor. Hopefully I still remember that in a week.

[@francoisguyot9770]

I never get bored with your videos. It's so much easier using extra flux though. Cheers mate!

[@Kudos1799]

Thanks to Clive I've now got several solar light projects on the go, and can start one whilst waiting for the components to arrive for the others.

[@steverpcb]

As an additional heat sink I put a suitably sized pad on the under side of the PCB and link it with via's or plated through holes. My go to 1A Schottky diode is the SS14 and for 5A the easily memorable PMEG3050EP marked as A7, both are large enough not to get lost in the carpet :) 20mm X 20mm would be a better size for the PCB as 20mm is the minimum for V grooving when paneled at JLCPCB, for your $2 plus postage you will get you 125 boards :) With 125 boards it is worth looking at their assembly service :) The element died on my 1980 vintage Antex CS18 today so I had to use the bells and whistles iron that came with my soldering station for the first time lol Hot work permits are a pain, a friend was working with blowlamp at the top of a duct with a blowlamp with an unknown gas leak, eventually the gas in the duct built up to the point that it ignited like a rocket exhaust LOL

[@urugulu1656]

twenty meters!

[@steverpcb]

@@urugulu1656 edited :)

[@M1Cr0sOfT]

@@urugulu1656 imagine the postage on them 😂

[@richardboyce4921]

super simple but very effective Clive. Nice project. cheers mate

[@kareno8634]

This is why i watch these videos, to learn what i've been missing. Clive is working out and doesn't sweat, but *'emits,'* using small bits.

[@sumobear1777]

I hope you dont mind my saying but man youve got the smoothest voice of anyone ive ever heard. Its like the vocal equivalency of a "try not to be satisfied" video. So calming... I should have discovered you sooner.

[@andrewcakebread3317]

It is nice isn't it? Bit like a warm bath with your favourite drink.

[@robwigglezz944]

My favorite kind of BCDC videos! Thanks

[@tweed532]

As usual instructive and addictive to watch, as a retired maintenance manager always making projects like this.. Just in passing, I always tend to fit the 'Socket' on the power lead, saves the chance of the pins being shorted out... Now off for a Ralfy Whisky hit...

[@paulabraham2550]

How many lights do you have in your garden? It must be visible from the Moon!

[@elektron2kim666]

I'm quite happy with a NPN transistor, S8050, circuit from your instructions. It's more about recycling and learning for now.

[@MultiMikim]

Why is watching a big bushy bear fumble with tweezers and teeny tiny components to make a DIY fairy light string to make his garden look pretty make for some of the best videos on youtube? You're the best channel on youtube, Clive. You taking on any apprentices?

[@melkiorwiseman5234]

I did something like this. I too used a protected cell and a 6V low-amperage solar panel, but I used a 2-transistor switching circuit to keep the lights off during the day and turn them on at night. I've had a couple of circuits like those running for around a year now without problems.

[@Stoneman06660]

Just built the through-hole version of this with a 2N7000 MOSFET, Kindle battery grabbed from the recycling bin and all other parts on hand. Just need to get it into a weatherproof case and outside for testing before I declare victory, but initial testing indicates success. Many thanks, BC!

[@raymondmucklow3793]

Awesome project dig that solder iron. Funny you did this today, I finally scavenged an couple diodes off my thermostat (that went bad from leaky batteries) for my solar light. Once I solder the diode on, I'll have a solar "pack" with 2 18650 (white Westinghouse) recycled from a solar yard lamp. So I did add a 4056 charge board to it. Charging 2 18650's you would have to live in the desert relying on the solar, but now I can charge it USB. I also put a adjustable boost converter. Up 2 12 volts I think.

[@avejst]

Great design Have now ordered som MGSF1N03L from Aliexpress Thanks for sharing :-)

[@pete3897]

For high-side driving applications (eg loads in an automotive environment with common negative ground) I've been using the VN751PT for switching (with a Wemos). It's reasonably priced, will switch on as low a 3V gate input and has many protection features built in. A great solution where you want to switch a single 12V lead to the load (and then it is grounded to chassis).

[@GreatJoe]

Ah yes, the Erain, that classic pole on the IGFET.

[@1973retrorabbit]

Nice project and a handy looking soldering iron... I'd forget to charge the battery obviously but handy looking none the less... I suppose I could plumb it up to my vape battery if I did forget. 👍

[@richfiles]

I did a similar board, but using the more common BJT transistor based circuit, that fits into the end of a 3x AAA switched battery case. It reuses the switch included with the battery case. Works well, and very compact!

[@Mark1024MAK]

Every time Clive says, “I’ll just tame this down a bit”, I find myself reaching for the brightest control....

[@michaelc9855]

I am not sure if this has already been mentioned, but Wahl has been making a soldering iron called the "Iso Tip" since at least the early 80's that is functionally quite like this iron. You get used to the "tappy, tap-tap" of keeping the iron temp moderated quickly. I still have mine and it is working like a champ after all these years. Have had to replace the cells, but you can run it full bore until the battery is exhausted if you like and it is the king of automotive electrical soldering work. That being said, I'll be picking up one of these tips too.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I featured the Iso Tip in a video. (A teardown.)

[@michaelc9855]

I really need to retrofit it with an LED for a brighter light, but the tungsten bulb also acts as good indicator of the charge state.

[@MarkDurbin]

Nice Surface Mount work :)

[@irishjames]

i love your content!! it’s stuff is never make but it’s very interesting to watch :)

[@spazcat69]

you're not being cynical, Were allowed to think like that because we know how these things work, Love your videos Clive and the Open SCad files :) 5 degrees C here in NewZealand

[@Miata822]

Perfect. I'm going to build one.

[@michaellitscher9456]

Many years ago I purchased a Wahl Iso-tip rechargeable soldering iron at a ham radio store. It was small, worked well, didn't require any cords while using it, and heated up and cooled down quick. It got way more use than my Weller because most of my soldering was not done anywhere near a bench or table. And it had an integrated light, which made it ideal for working under the dashboard of a car while, say, installing a stereo.

[@bigclivedotcom]

The Iso-tip irons are still available. I have one here.

[@Adikimenakis]

I just ordered the battery soldering iron that you showed. Seems better than the gas powered one for home usage in rare occasions of soldering. If only we could increase supplied voltage by one or two volts...it would perform better.

[@aurthorthing7403]

I just purchased a PX-988U 10 watt USB iron with removable tips. It's a cheaper alternative to the TS-80. I love it so far.

[@CanizaM]

That vape-iron is pretty damn clever! Besides the button-pushing and low power it seems very convenient. A few more random product ideas I can think of for an "18650 multitool" that uses the same base with different heads: LED torch, electric screwdriver/drill/dremel, electric toothbrush, shaver, vibrator(!), ...

[@Badazzle007]

Love the videos, thank you!

[@halbvoll1]

Great project and good work, I enjoyed it. If you have to solder larger SMD Projects than glue the components at first down and put all in a soldering bath, you can make it easy with an flipped iron.

[@hyperion8008]

I've been using your original NPN based circuit all summer and it's been totally reliable. I've got it wired to several LED 'rice wire' strings around the garden and the battery and solar panel are in the shed, kind of a poor mans Tesla power wall :). But I'm now going to modify it to use one of those 6 hours on/18 hours off timers that you get in a lot of commercial USB lights these days. The reason being, in summer the lights are on all night and I don't really want them on all night. You'd have to reset the timer as the seasons change of course to manually set the on time but it would mean the battery maintaining a higher charge state in summer.

[@noelj62]

Vaping and soldering with the same battery. Hope no mix ups.

[@bigclivedotcom]

It would be easy to absent mindedly stick the soldering tip in your mouth if used with your standard vaping battery.

[@lostjohnny9000]

Irish gas soldering iron company Oglesby & Butler made Portasol gas irons. They also made a butane vaping device years before I ever saw a portable electric vaping device. They were originally called "i-Inhale" and now branded "Iolite". My I-inhale was bought in 2008 and still works. It looks like Darth Vader's asthma inhaler and makes a similar breathing sound!

[@mahlapropyzm9180]

Very impressed with the e-cig soldering iron. Just the thing to carry around with a bit of solder for those occasional soldering jobs. The circuitry in those little tube batteries isn't that robust for frequent heavy duty use though - better to put it onto a small variable wattage device which will have more oomph and longer battery and circuit life.

[@Peter_S_]

Excellent build! Clive, I'd love to talk you into adding a small needle tip dispenser bottle filled with rosin flux in alcohol to your kit. I use RA type flux from M.G.Chemicals, Ltd. and absolutely swear by it as it makes building little boards like that so much easier and also helps greatly when making off-board connections. I even use a bit of rosin flux for joining pieces of stranded wire rather than relying on the flux in the solder. For people just getting started with soldering, rosin flux can be the difference between easy and impossible and you're so well poised to be a teacher. The needle tip allows for applying a dot no larger than the pad and if you hit all the pads at once and let the flux dry for a few minutes, the result is rather compelling. I hope to see you make more builds like this.

[@khronscave]

I'm a bit partial to the Kingbo flux paste (fake as it may be). I've got an old small filed-down flat-blade screwdriver i use as an applicator, and it's great for wires or SMD work (or rework). And due to its viscous nature, it won't run off either.

[@Peter_S_]

@@khronscave I like pastes too. I've gone through many syringes of ChipQuick SMD291 which is great stuff and compatible with both leaded and lead free solder. Just make sure your flux is a no-clean flux unless you're giving everything an ultrasonic or solvent bath. I've had some poor experiences with flux residue causing corrosion after a few years which is why I like the old-school activated pine rosin for random rework and prototyping. The residue absorbs a tiny bit of atmospheric moisture but cleans off easily with isopropyl alcohol and you only really need to clean it from high impedance nodes. I would worry about the chemistry of any potential fakes.

[@khronscave]

@@Peter_S_ I had to dig through my eBay emails, and it looks like i got the flux a bit over six years ago, back in 2013. I've used it both in personal projects, as well as repairs for clients, and i've yet to encounter any issues with it. Not to mention, i might have maaaaybe used half of the 100g "tub".

[@Peter_S_]

@@khronscave Excellent 😎👍 I wish I could remember the stuff I used that blew up on me. It was pretty brutal what it did to any exposed copper.

[@khronscave]

@@Peter_S_ That half-reminds me of having to deal with really crappy solder-braid. The non-fluxed kind. Doesn't work for s**t...

[@steverpcb]

The ebay Ynel Polish full fat leaded solder is very good so I have stocked up on it :)

[@simonhopkins3867]

Thanks Clive.

[@aaronwilliams1249]

Surface mount is fun. I got into surface mount a couple of years ago, though I need small, compact boards. I found a local source of boards that's fairly cheap and another source for stencils. I use Kicad (free) to do the designs, send them to the board house and stencil company and 5 days later I have everything. At first, I used a cheap soldering station with a reflow hot air gun but have moved on to modifying a cheap reflow oven (T-962 on Amazon). If you ever get this oven, don't turn it on until you modify it by first removing the masking tape and installing the open-source firmware for it. I also have an open-source board for this that makes the temperature much more accurate. I have also found it's somewhat easier to work with the low-temperature bismuth solder paste, especially when dealing with LEDs like the WS2812 and similar devices. Now, most of my designs are surface mount. I have big paws too (and mine tremble a little) but I can still work down to 0603s. github.com/aaronw2/T-962-Temp-Fan

[@HeimoVN]

Always love it when Clive does a project...

[@Tryin2FlyII]

GREAT little project bigclive!! I really enjoy these kind of circuits - BTW -I took your advice (on under cabinet kitchen lighting) - I found and bought a 12' length of water proof LED tape with RGB & W LEDs it came w/ a remote, power supply and many pre-set color combinations as well as user select it also came with 3 straight connectors and 2 90 degree connectors it can be cut every 3" like most LED tape- which gives it many lay-out options. Seems very well made PERFECT for what I needed and the best part it was only $22!! (Harbor Freight) So As Always-TWO THUMBS UP Sir!!!!

[@Tryin2FlyII]

WTH ??? Anyone have any idea why YT does this to some of my posts? has it happened to anyone else ?

[@urugulu1656]

your are using dashes without spaces to the next/previous character it then interprets that as strike through (some sort of lowend markup..)

[@Tryin2FlyII]

@@urugulu1656 Thank you for the reply. I am not real sure what "Strike through" or " Mark up" is in this context but I think I understand. (I do not pay much attention to punctuation but maybe I should start LOL) Thanks again for the info

[@urugulu1656]

@@Tryin2FlyII well then you know what words to google... and for your comment on punctuation; neighter do i but digression is the first step to self-enhancement (atleast thats what they say). glad that i could atleast point you in the right direction. try and edit your post accordingly and see if it fixes stuff

[@djordjeblaga7815]

Now you just have to make it IP67 rated for outside use :D Great Project! Love it!

[@frogz]

ip68, not worth going less than full immersion!!

[@khronscave]

#hotsnot :P

[@gedtoon6451]

I also find the A2SHB Mosfet's amazing. You can drive them with 3.3v or 5v microcontroller's and switch load's over 1 Amp. I soldered some on sot23 adaptor pcb's to make them more breadboard friendly.

[@caseysmith2445]

Might I recommend the Bakon 950D soldering iron. It is perfect for surface mount components and has an interchangeable tip as well as 5 power settings. It uses the same idea as the vape pen attachments but in a constant power state.

[@SeanBZA]

Pressing the button to turn the soldering iron on is common for me, as I often use a cheap soldering gun, and keeping the power button pressed in a rhythm is needed to keep the soldering tip in the range of usable, not too cold, making a dry joint, or too hot, making the flux burn off rapidly and charring the board.

[@alexloktionoff6833]

Personally like AO3400 SOT23, cheap 100/1$ start to open for 1V at gate, and very low Rds can pass few amperes.

[@evensgrey]

This is the first soldering iron I've ever seen which can be accidentally soldered to the work if you aren't careful.

[@Furiends]

YES! Surface mount project!

[@pileofstuff]

That's gone a lot better than most of my SMD soldering attempts.

[@Peter_S_]

Get some activated rosin flux in paste or liquid and it becomes easier than through hole most of the time. It's the difference between joints that are impossible and ones that practically make themselves.

[@pileofstuff]

@@Peter_S_ I damn near "Rossmaned" it with flux...

[@Peter_S_]

@@pileofstuff Ahhh, then you already know there's such thing as too much of a good thing.

[@nickush7512]

Nice one Clive :)

[@BillySugger1965]

Excellent Clive, your journey into modern electronics continues. But I too hate those bloody MELF packages. You can get ones that don’t roll, like SOD-323, which are rather small, or SMA (aka DO-214AC, not to be confused with the larger DO-214AA and DO-214AB which are much larger). One advantage with producing PCB designs for manufacture by professional PCB houses is that they come with solder resist between the pads, which means you can assemble higher density circuits with less risk of short circuits. The other thing I would now not be without for such work is a binocular microscope. I have an old one which I got second hand for about £40 (one of the best £40 I’ve ever spent), but you can get better ones than I have. And some have three tubes, two for you and one for a camera, ideal for YT work. The SMT world is now your oyster, with all the fabulous components available only in SMT packages. Have fun!

[@khronscave]

Well, there's also the SOD-123, that's in-between the SOD-323 and SMA in size.

[@richbooth8948]

Big fingers. LOL! You know what they say, “Big fingers, big gloves.”

[@databanks]

not to mention big feet, big boots

[@jacquesb5248]

very nice little project I want to try sometime. you should sell those as kits

[@fricy81]

Thanks for the previous solar light video, I used it as an inspiration to build a DIY solar Juole thief light. And the wtf part: I used a breadboard to measure the components test the power, and find the best inductor for the job. Then I soldered it together, measure again, and it drew three times the current. Damn those unreliable boards. :-/

[@nickbolhuis7467]

Yes! Talk about Mosfetts, please!

[@shaunsautorepairs5410]

Soldering made to look easy... I had trouble the other day soldering new micro switches on my car key fob and they are quite big in comparison....i guess practice makes perfect.

[@bigclivedotcom]

It is all down to experience. Building random kits will hone your soldering skills.

[@koz]

I saw the thumbnail and thought it was some Super Mario or Lemmings level I'd never seen before ;)

[@markburton3306]

Great video

[@prolifilm7423]

Полезная штука! Спасибо за демонстрацию.

[@urugulu1656]

я не верю что клайв помил по-русский i dont think clive understands russian but it really is a useful piece. (i know my russian sucks btw)

[@StuReedy]

Wow! I envy your eyesight!

[@bigclivedotcom]

It's not that great. I had reading glasses on to do it.

[@khronscave]

Google seems to indicate "A2SHB" as being the markings of the Vishay Siliconix Si2302DS - "A2" being the part number code, and "SHB" likely some date / fab code. Datasheet says 20V and 2.4-2.8A (depending on applied gate voltage).

[@jayc2469]

I got myself a 30 Watt Soldering Tip like this with 510 threads off ebay and I use a 2 x 18650 Mod to power it

[@whitehoose]

Clive, If you mean the ts100 and 80 irons, while they do have problems (mainly the Git Hubs Ralim's firmware hack) playing up. The stock firmwares pretty much do what they say on the tin, Plug into a wall wart or attach a beefy battery (USB type c for the TS80 (stock firmware won't work with USB2 - has to be QC3 compatible) or for the TS100 - a massive Lipo or a dewalt drill type of battery pack. Whatever else they do do - they don't seem to melt down or crash. The only report I've seen on Git this year was from a guy who I wouldn't give anything sharp or hot to play with!!! With stock firmware the main problem seems to be QC3 compatibility of power bricks with the TS80 and for the 100s finding (and funding) Big enough batteries for the TS100 (everyone wants 60 watts that hits temp in > one second - those who can wait a couple of seconds seem to get minimal grief of any kind.

[@pulesjet]

Well Dang, I'm liking that little soldering iron. Found one for $15.00 ... Much handier then the little cheapo Weller 3xAA iron I used for light outside stuff. That one needs button depress continously as well. Wish my Manual Manipulators ( Hands ) worked as well as yours do.

[@rimmersbryggeri]

Sounds expensive for the US. can get them for 12 here in sweden. Ususally everything is cheaper in the US. Id look for it in walmart or target type shops.

[@pulesjet]

@@rimmersbryggeri Yea I'll look around. Our Walmart somewhat SUCKS. Nothing like this would ever be had there.

[@rimmersbryggeri]

@@pulesjet Harbor freight?

[@pulesjet]

@@rimmersbryggeri Closest one of those is 60 miles. Live on the Mexican dotted line of New Mexico. Limited options. Best to just E-Commerce.

[@jstro-hobbytech]

Big C. I got a simple 7 inch cheapie digital microscope that's perfect for the smallest smd. I paid 80cad on amazon which I probably around 35 pounds haha it is 1920x1080 screen and takes pictures. It's a no brand Chinese but the worksurface is about 100mm by 150mm.

[@rodgerdodger280]

enjoy your presentations, as a request - you drew a depletion mode mosfet - it would be beneficial if you said "depletion mode" and explained to the general population the difference

[@Nono-hk3is]

I love my ts100. I just got a cable adapter to connect it to the t60 connector of common RC vehicle battery packs. There's an idea: how about a video on creating RC battery packs out of phone batteries? Including his to add the balance charge connector.

[@khronscave]

Not 100% sure that's worth the effort. Aren't RC batteries usually optimized for high discharge (and charge) currents? Phone batteries don't really need to stand up to such abuse, so i'd be surprised if they managed to provide more than 1-1.5C, maaaaaaybe 2C tops, without some form of meltdown. And then there's all the fiddly work of all the wiring and whatnot...

[@theskett]

@@khronscave Ditto what you said, phone batteries are too small. But AliExpress have a $15 20V power bank that takes 18650s, works fine with scavenged laptop batteries and the TS100. Only hard part is finding the right size barrel jacks :)

[@darrenpardoe]

Another great project Clive, many thanks. Makes me want to run downstairs & get my soldering iron out of the garage. Or do I keep drinking this cider, decisions, decisions?

[@tomtenberge]

cider now, solder tomorow? don't solder while entoxicated, weird contraptions come out of that, i know from experience! :P

[@jaycee1980]

The trick with SMD parts is flux, flux and more flux. Gel flux preferably.

[@mattakudesu]

Lots of flux indeed. Whenever I'm at work and have to remove and resolder or just remove bridges from a huge qfp with like 80 leads, I basically drown the thing in flux. All you gotta do then is carefully heat up and drag off the solder and you will have almost perfect solder fillets every time.

[@alexandru5989]

Hey! instead of 100k resistor you better put a variable resistor of 200k or 1M, this give the circuit more variety and it's look more professional. Ps: I like your content, keep going on!!

[@garyhart6028]

Love this video Clive, I'd like to have a go at doing this myself. You've spoken many a time about your working doing fairground lights, could you show us/me how to do something similar using L.E.D's and maybe using the 4017 chip or equivalent, much appreciated. keep up the good and interesting work.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Check out the department of villainy videos.

[@garyhart6028]

@@bigclivedotcom thank you Clive

[@Polite_Cat]

hey cool, i was excited to see you got that soldering iron i linked you a while back! looks like its not too bad. certainly no replacement for a real iron, but for quick projects on the go, not too bad. i've tried the cordless AA powered irons and they were sort of terrible. they could melt leaded solder OK, but lead-free solder was a problem, and the batteries drain so quick. i wonder if you use a better 18650 that can put out lots of amps if it would improve performance. i do wonder about the safety regarding overloading the circuitry inside the vape battery since it's not really using it normally. im sure there are some vape devices where you wouldnt have to click a button, though i guess one bonus is that it's an automatic safety when you put it down. would be funny to attach the tip to one of those box vapes like you have. i wonder if they just sell the tips for those things for those of us who have vape batteries already.

[@retro80s22]

I love it its great

[@amedsoprano]

This whole having to press the button gave me an unexpected amount of anxiety

[@nelsondog100]

I’d like to see a video on that mechanics light. I have where the battery level indicator lights continuously illuminates and drains the battery when not in use... I hope you have the time to operate on one🙂

[@tinygriffy]

very nice ! :)

[@mobzi2644]

I strongly advise you to try the TS100 soldering iron. Its REALLY powerful, has quite a lot lf tips, an is really portable (fits in pocket). A smaller version, powered by 20V usb C is also veey good, the TS80. Also having some type of magnification devise is a must for SMD (I use some cheap binocular microscope, 20x zoom)

[@mobzi2644]

also GET SOME FLUX :)

[@licensetodrive9930]

Uncanny, I was just watching that solar light video yesterday since I got a bunch of those Amazon Echo Dot battery packs from Poundland and have been wondering what I can do with them - I only bought them because they were a bargain, but didn't have any plans for them yet :) I also have 20 little 100x60mm 5.5v solar panels I've been thinking about turning into a foldable portable solar panel.

[@TheSpotify95]

That reminds me, when I get paid next I'm going into my Poundland to grab a couple of Echo Dot rechargers. I don't have an Echo, I just want a 7.4V 5000mAh (or 3.7V 10,000mAh) battery pack.

[@licensetodrive9930]

@spotify96 My local Poundland only had 8000mAh Echo Dot power packs, but still worth it for £5 each. The closest priced high capacity cells I've managed to find are the 5000mAh 1S 20C cells from Hobbyking, presently £6.44 each, I used 14 of those to re-cell my ebike battery, cost less than 1/3 a whole new battery.

[@peut]

Hi, I bought a battery for my vaping device, which included the same charger. Initially this seemed to work. It just lasted a very long time to charge, as this battery has the 18650 form factor, perhaps a bit too much for this charger. But then one day I connected the charger and the battery got very very hot. The battry has protection, it turns off when charged properly with a hobby charger, but maybe it was defeated by the 5V coming out of the dodgy charger. So, I built a dedicated charger sacrificing a 4 dollar vape pipe to get the EGO connector, and a buck convertor that supports current and voltage limiting to 600mA (this was the max according to the plastic bag the battery came in) en 4.2 Volt. This works well enougn. Lesson learned: don't trust that funny charger.