Come See Me at Maker Faire NY
Please come see me at the Maker Faire NY this weekend.
I have some goodies for you! Mention this code: “LED fetish“, and you will get a freebie. I will have proto PCBs, assorted LEDs, and even working prototypes!
I will also sell my kits at discounted prices! Must come!
Update: I’m on the flyer!
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I wasn’t kidding when I said I was looking forward to getting home and soldering :)!
And it was so worth it. Not only was this a perfect project to learn some smt techniques, but the result was even more beautiful than I expected. I saw the unit in person at the fare, but somehow the lights feel even nicer when you assemble it yourself (as I did.)
I was up from 2:30am to 4am soldering the whole board. As a complete newcomer to smt (but experienced with through-hole), I would agree that once you have the hang of it then smt is somewhat faster than through-hole. I really felt I was in a groove when I got to the LEDs (the last components I soldered.)
My one hitch was that I lost too many of the 68ohm resistors, and ended up being one short (despite a vain 15 minutes of searching on the floor and picking up every scrap of dust.) I had to wait until the morning, when I soldered in place two 33.2ohm smt resistors from work.
When I get home, I’ll add sugru as strain relief for the power cable- which I have as a retractable mini-usb cable that I cut off the end. And maybe I can make some sort of STL file to encase the whole thing in a thin layer of translucent abs. I’ll update if that project succeeds.
Whoooh, all one breath. Sorry for the long message. I simply want to convey my appreciation and excitement.
October 2, 2012 at 11:58 am
Thanks for your feedback Tomek!
I love hearing personal experiences. Great to hear that you got the hang of SMT soldering. It took me a little while too, but now I prefer SMT over TH. It’s quicker and cleaner.
Sorry you lost too many resistors. I include some extra in my kits, but I will start adding more. 0603 size is so tiny it’s too easy to lose.
I’m also planning to design casing – actually thinking of casing Aurora in resin. I will post my result too.
Thanks again and happy making!
Aki
October 2, 2012 at 12:11 pm
Aww, Shoot, I forgot to mention “LED Fetish” :p.
Still, it was nice to meet you! I look forward to getting back home to my soldering iron, and soldering up the Aura 48. Thanks.
September 30, 2012 at 3:14 pm
Too bad – I was waiting for someone the say the magic words!
I had such a blast at this Maker Faire!
Vary happy to meet you. Let me know if you have any questions about assembling Aurora 48.
Aki
September 30, 2012 at 9:45 pm