So now that I have a workbench, heatgun, and dremel I can work on my corner light project. I've always liked the idea of getting more light out of the corner housing.

You might be asking what is the point of getting more light? Well, why not?

Honestly, I don't have a solid reason, it can be used as a rock light or a clearance light. I don't even know if I will keep it as a constant on light, maybe it will have a switch.

Anywho, here's what I have now






Here's a mock up of how this thing will sit, I already thought about cutting down the LED board, but I don't think I can do that and it will still function. I can post a pic of the back of the board to see what you guys think.








The setup in my head involved more utilization of the reflective housing. This board is more directional so I may just paint the whole thing black and only rely on the LEDs to push the light

What do you guys think so far?

 

damn thats bright!

 

Came here to post that!

 

Yea, they are pretty bright. Whenever I get both boards mounted I will try them without the blinkers to see how much light they really put out on their own.

 

Holy crap.

 

So, I made a little progress tonight.

I've tried both blue and green painters tape, but both peel the reflective coating. I don't know if it's just eBay quality lenses or just the tape, but I only seem to have 1 option. Paint the whole thing black. I painted a spare to see what it would look like.

What do you guys think?

 

it looks good all black. Next time you try blue painters tape, stick it on your clothes a few times before putting it on the chrome coating.

ltr

 

JP7 jr lol

 

I knew that comment was coming lol.

I don't think I'll ever be at that level, but I like doing something different.

 

So THAT'S what you've been up to

Those corners look pretty good painted black inside.
You could always add a small t10 base bulb socket to the housing if you wanted to use the panels by themselves and still have corner markers or turn signals.

 

so much light...how many lumens those put out? Im pretty sure my 100watts aren't as bright!

 

The black looks better than chrome imo.

 

You can get some Perfboard and some Basic LED's and solder them yourself for a more custom directional LED's.

Perfboard This stuff cuts with a razor.

LEDS
A little solder and an iron and you can be on your way.

 

Thanks for the link. I couldn't remember the name of the boards. This would be a more custom solution. Now I need a soldering iron

 

The only issue i see with the perfboard is that it would need some sort of stability, its a bit harder than cardboard. But you can get some that is made of plastic as well, or something a lot closer to PCB Material.

For a starting soldering iron, I'd recommend something Variable heat with a stand.


Its not bad, its top end of the power (40w) is pretty good for beginning. Normally i solder components around 45-55W. or around 550-700 Degrees F. depending on components and other boring variables.

If you need any help with soldering information (Irons, What solder to use, Flux etc) Let me know. I'm IPC certified for Soldering.

 

You can find blank PCB's at radio shack or evilBay.

I keep a bunch of different sizes for the various custom stuff I do. It's about the same thickness as the pcb's on those led panels, very firm. They'll have hundreds of holes evenly spaced with copper dots on the back side.

If you get a solder iron, there's a couple trains of thought:

1. Cheap-o/ one time use: Get the cheapest one you can find (35w or better probably $10 or less from wally world or radio shack), get extra tips, especially if it's a no name brand that might use an odd size tip.

2. Middle of the road: Something like THIS
It has adjustable heat controls, better tips, fancy little station, etc. Still get extra tips just in case it gets discontinued.

3. buggman: buy a bunch of cheap irons, make your own custom tips, lengthen the cords & add some padding to keep your hand cool. Wear 'em out & toss 'em out when they're dead.
I've been soldering stuff for 30+ years & I've used some of the finest solder stations made, but I still like my cheap stuff for my own use. If I drop one or it wears out I can just toss it & grab another one off the shelf.

I like flux core solder, although I still brush on flux to make sure everything is good to go. It does make for more cleanup, but I wash all my custom stuff after all the soldering is finished anyhow.

Hey STX, is the IPC certification similar to ISO standards?

 

looks good buddy!

 

Yea, The company i work for is ISO Certified and they paid for it.

I use Flux core solder as well and I have flux pens when i normally solder, Flux is your best friend when it comes to board level soldering.

I guess the other thing i'll add is that, if your looking for a good long term brand, Weller would be it. They haven't changed the size of their soldering tips in years, you can still buy tips today for 30 year old irons because they don't change. But, if we're looking for Quality, I've come to really like my Metcal, I started using one in College and just recently bought my own. I will probably never buy another.

 

Looks awesome! Once perfected you're making me some.

 

These could be handy for you. Almost like built in rock lights for night wheeling

 

Cool.
I never got an "official" certificate, but after years of training hundreds of employees how to solder, you'd think they would have spend the $0.99 on a certificate for me

Wellers are good irons too. I have a small pencil iron that I've used for 15+ years. The first one I've seen that uses screw-in tips. Impossible to find new tips, so I make my own out of 10ga copper wire & thread the end myself. Redneck engineering at it's finest.

Looks like we're gonna be adding another solder slinger to the forum now.

 

More progress tonight. I got the boards glued down and I decided to paint as much of white board as I could to help it blend into the black housing.

Tomorrow I should have the lenses on

 

Lookin' good!

You might want to squirt a little silicone in the back to cover the old bulb holder opening just to help keep any moisture out.

Also, if you are gonna make a set from scratch, you can paint the pcb beforehand & it will almost completely disappear in the housing.

 

I have an Antex 12w 650 degree Model M12. It's a super thin iron with replaceable tips. Made in the UK. Available on Amazon and fleabay. If anyone buys one, make sure you get 115v version. They make 12v, 115v and 230v. It is a really good pencil iron.

USA distributor.
Antex Soldering Irons On M.M. Newman Corp.

Official Antex web page
http://www.antex.co.uk/soldering/sta...ing-irons/m12/

I also have a vintage Weller D550. 325watts of soldering power and joy.

 

I like the look !
I like the light output !

My only problem is, if you are going to use these for side markers and directionals, the wiring will be interesting.

I didn't read anywhere in the thread about using them as directionals but I do like the Directional Mod where the side markers blink with the turn signals and would want to keep that option.
LEDs will not work with the standard Directional Mod and unless there is a two level light output then you will need separate LEDs and additional wiring.