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Big Al's ipwm help

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Hiya,

Hopefully I'm in the right section here, basically I'm having some issues with my build, I've made some unregulated mods before and wanted to try my hand with Big al's IPWM. No then, my issue here is this, it' not firing. The LED powers up, green only flashes 3 times (running 3s 18650's) rapidly, then nothing.

Originally it then flashed red 5x which I found out is the pot, so I switched from the leg closest to the 0 and the centre pin to the centre pin and the leg closest to the 100. No more red flashing. Its a 1k pot btw.

Everything seems to be in order (if a little sloppy on my soldering) and nothing is bridged. I'e tried the 5x button press to turn on but tbh button presses do nothing that I can tell.

Obviously I've gone wrong somewhere but I have no idea where. I'm not running a volt meter but that shouldn' make a difference as far as I can see. Just in case I ran a bridge between the V terminals and made no difference.

Any input would be much appreciated at this point as I don' doubt I'm being an eedjit.
 

PoppaVic

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
I'll be interested to follow this. A friend is in the process of designing a PWM ;-)

Oh, and a POT is internally thus:


Code:
    o---vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv---o
               ^
               |
               o

So, you want end and middle.
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Thank you. So middle and the end pin are correct. Ive noticed that when turned to 100% on the pot it flashes red on battery startup but anything below and it doesn't. I'm confused easily and at the best of times lol but this is stumping me. :/
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Thanks for your help and input PoppaVic, it's very much appreciated. Heres how it panned out.

Removed everything from the board and re soldered it all from scratch. Reapplied batteries and . . . . Viola! Sorted. So it must have just been me being a ham fisted idiot.

I would also like to add that In between doing this I emailed big al direct on his website and they were good as gold, helpful and thoroughly nice about having their time wasted by me so they get a gold star in my book. Just waiting for the epoxy to dry on my switch and pot and then I'm good to go with it. Chuffed :)

I'm a mechanic and in the bike world we have a saying "99% of mechanical problems are caused by a single nut between the seat and handle bars" . . . Holds true everywhere lol
 

PoppaVic

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
NP.. Yes, one little poor solder-joint... One spatter you can't even see - and all is naught. Sometimes all it takes is a touch of iron to joins to fix silliness.
 

Zohmbiebuilds

Silver Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Great thread. Bro, I really wish you'd have put to pics of your entire build from start to finish. Looks like I guess I'll do it I guess. I think this will be my next build. I've used pwm and it's a really cool concept. There's not much on them, but I hear the ipwm is the best one.

I've got to save up I just finished my dual parallel cherry SQ. It's my new favorite. I might know someone who wants to buy one so maybe I'll just make a deal with him and offer to just get 2 kits. I build both and he gets his for the price of my kit.

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Lol, well tbh I'm not using that build as the battery sled I used (cheapy ebay jobby) was not up to the job. Had to modify the sled to fit and the plastic was so thin it had no structural rigidity at all and the springs on it couldn't take the current. To the point where on approx 75% power they started glowing. im pissed off as It was allegedly a 3s sled and I wasn't using it out of spec. Not good when in direct contact with an 18650. . . . So. As I'd epoxied it in, and I'm not 100% happy with the look of it I will be ordering another enclosure etc from Mod Maker and a sled from Sledzuk and be salvaging the iPWM out of the previous one to transplant into the new one. I'll do a step by step of the build and close ups of the various connections on the board. (I'll apologise when I do for the soldering ;) ) I was apprehensive taking on a big als board but even for a lummox like me it was doable.

I'd also like to add, as I feel guilty here, that I had previously attempted a diyfancylights pwm board. I do not doubt that the board is fantastic, and I can vouch for all the time he put in talking me through populating the board and how much help he provided me. I cannot praise him enough. I must've been a royal pain in his email inbox. however, populating the board was wayyyyyyy beyond my skill set and I fucked it up. Solder everywhere and, for me, way too fiddly. That's nothing against his pwm, he designed it and supplies everything you need and I don't doubt that were I a better solderer it would've been awesome. And the price was more than reasonable. He's on here and a genuine guy.

I'll start a build thread probably with a week or so :)
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Yeah got my Mrs to sign up as I don't use Fb, had some feedback but was pointed in the direction of a different group that had more experience with the boards. Didn' need their help that time but I always appreciate assistance
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
OK. So I've ordered all the necessary to do a fresh big als ipwm build which should be here before monday if people want to see it? Well. I say fresh but in reality I'll be salvaging the board from the build this thread was based on So I'll apologise in advance for the state of it lol if there' anything specific anyone wants to see them let me know and I can factor it in as I'm taking pics etc. I'll also add in that this will be the first build I've put out there so think more rough and ready rather than top notch when it comes to workmanship ;)
 

PoppaVic

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
I would say that sharing build info is never futile, nor the struggle to learn to solder, or even program.

I'd love to see more of this over time - because our only alternative in the US is Evolv or mechanicals. Most housings are overdamnedpriced madly, some are flat out gorgeous. And, of course, if you have the lathe or mills to make a Good Casing - you can make all sorta' things liberals hate and feds scream about ;-)
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
I dream of a machine shop. I'm currently building a workshop in my yard but it probably won't be ready till Xmas. And your right. The possibilities are endless. I started to make an enclosure a little while ago out of 3mm steel all welded together. Work got in the way though. I wanted something as close to unbreakable as possible for those who vape in tougher environments. A friend of mine is a rigger and has lost 2 mods at over 500 feet! So if I finish it i may give it to him to test lol.

Thankyou for the encouragement :)
 

KingPin!

In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
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Would love to see your work and progress please do share :cheers:
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Hey guys, right. Mod Maker stuff arrived this morning and I'm mid build as we speak. I've just finished drilling and filing the enclosure and thought I'd earned a sammich. So later on when I'm done I'll post up the pics and my thoughts on it. Also, where would be the most appropriate place to post it??
 

KingPin!

In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
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Hey guys, right. Mod Maker stuff arrived this morning and I'm mid build as we speak. I've just finished drilling and filing the enclosure and thought I'd earned a sammich. So later on when I'm done I'll post up the pics and my thoughts on it. Also, where would be the most appropriate place to post it??

Post in here if you want :) you can always repurpose your title and I can move the thread for you to the modification section ..get an end to end follow up that way
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
OK then. Quick update. Let's start with a positive. I haven't launched it out of the window yet lol.

I've run into a massive issue of space, ironically. I'm struggling to get everything in place and soldered and safe. Tis tighter than a gnats chuff in there.

I can see its my own fault, it's my first proper pwm build and I've gone for a voltmeter, an led switch plus a bezel mounted pot wedged in above a 3s sled. (More on the sled later, bastard thing)
Its reached a point where I'm knocking it on the head for tonight as I will lose my shit otherwise and nothing constructive will ensue.

The dry build outside of the enclosure went well and she fired up and worked fine though so it is now a case of me playing electrical tetris. Just hit the end of my tether for today. I'l save the pics for when I'm done unless people want to see where I'm at. :)
 

KingPin!

In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
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Sure I’m interetsed to see what your up against but appreciate if it’s gonna send you over the edge so by all means wait until your ready, there’s no rush it’ll be there tomorrow :cheers:
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Okies. Well, to start with here are the ingredients, there is a 3s SUS sled from sledz uk, the rest is from Modmaker. A wideboy 100, a black/blue led clicky switch, a 470 ohm resistor, an rm065 potentiometer, a bezel mount for the rm065, a volt meter and matching bezel, a big als ipwm board and a fat daddy 510.

Had a broad idea where I waned stuff and laid it out as you can see. It was about the only way I could everything in above the sled.

More to follow. . . .
 

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Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Once I had things where I wanted them I marked, measured and drilled. I used one of those staggered conical drill bits in a pilot hole for the 510 connector, fire button and pot. I haven't got a dremel so lots of little holes and a set of needle files later and it's starting to look more like it
 

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Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Now it was here that I made a schoolboy error. My pilot hole slipped down just a fraction which meant that the fire button hole is now uber close to the top of the sled. Also, when I offered up the sled I hadn't put the keystones in. As you can see in the pics, I modified the back of the bottom clips by sanding them back so they sit flush, running the linking wire between the 2nd and 3rd battery across the top, and drilling a small hole to feed the main negative up underneath. The sled then sat where I wanted it. At this point I can really see that I am about to hit a wall with space. And to add insult to injury as I offered it in with the other components in place, the sled cracked top and bottom. (Just sods law I think, it went along the layer of the print I think, I've contacted sledz and the have a no quibble replacement policy if the part fails whilst building)
 

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Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Any, miffed but undeterred I soldered on . . See what I did there ;) there's the ipwm board with the volt meter, 510+ & - switch wires, switch led power supply wires which I was tapping into the board feed. I put the resistor directly onto the leg of the + switch. There is also a pic here of how the rm065 fits into the modmaker bezel. Whilst it's not complicated, it came disassembled and if your using them for the first time then read the pic from left to right. The penultimate pic is it dry built out of the enclosure and the last pic is it powered up :)

During my attempts to fit the board in around everything else, the sled gave up the ghost.

there was going to be more, but I lost my shit lol I'm going to have a fresh look at it tomorrow, however, now I've sat and thought about it I may well switch to a 2s sled to give me room down the side to fit the board rather than where I'm trying to put it, it is Very wedged in, pressed on all sides and there is a lot of strain on the wiring as a result. I'm also mildly concerned that if I leave it as is then heat may be an issue. It would also make my life a lot easier lol . . .
 

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Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
OK, so constructive criticism welcomed.

Things I've learnt from this. . .
1. Ipwm builds need a lot more forethought on space. Relative to unregulated mods anyways.
2. I need a dremel
3. I have a lot more to learn
4. I need more soldering practice
5. I'd use a drill press and vice if available
6. I've got some 32g wire I first used on the pot and the switch. Way too small amd fiddly IMO
 

KingPin!

In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
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Thanks for the write up mate ..I agree going to a 2S sled is going to help you in that size enclosure especially with the fire button as you need space to fit that in which is always a ball ache ...of the mods if seen people either stick the voltmeter down the bottom side of the mod or inside it entirely. That helps free up a little space up top

I’d also say your leads soldered to the board and other parts are a little too long you are going to have trouble getting them into the enclosure perhaps taking a third off would help?

I’m sure I’ve seen a sled out there were the chip sits on top on top of it already if that helps?
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Thanks for the write up mate ..I agree going to a 2S sled is going to help you in that size enclosure especially with the fire button as you need space to fit that in which is always a ball ache ...of the mods if seen people either stick the voltmeter down the bottom side of the mod or inside it entirely. That helps free up a little space up top

I’d also say your leads soldered to the board and other parts are a little too long you are going to have trouble getting them into the enclosure perhaps taking a third off would help?

I’m sure I’ve seen a sled out there were the chip sits on top on top of it already if that helps?

Thanks for moving me Kingpin and thanks for the thoughts on it :)

Yep the wiring was way too long, I trimmed each piece as I was attempting the final fitting, because I hadn't anticipated quite how tight it would be, that made it a LOT harder to solder in situ. And your right there are sled mounted boards, in fact (and I should've mentioned this before perhaps) this is the sled mount board from big als.

As for volt meter placement, I did toy with the idea of having it internally but I wanted to have it visible and on top or inside are the only options in a 3s box of this size. I'm definitely going to go for a 2s sled in there.

Which in turn gives me the option of building a 3s later on with a different board as I will have a 3s sled laying around. . . . What a shame ;)

I'm also wondering, were the pictures and steps as I described them ok? Or do they need to be more broken up/more of them etc etc?
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Ok, well I have a 3s sled en route from Sledzuk to replace the failed one. They were awesome about it all, which is nice.

Definitely going for the 2s option with this however sledz are away now until the 15th, so whilst I could get a sled somewhere else quicker, I like these guys so I'll wait a week.

In the meantime I'll be designing/building an enclosure for a 3s i/pwm (got my little heart set on it lol) but I'll do that as a separate thread when I get started. I figured a big chunk of the cost in these is the enclosure, so if I can remove that cost, so much the better. Also, I then have a completely unique mod :)
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Hi all. Quick update, I have a 2s sled en route from sledz for this mod, plus goodies from modmaker in the form of its retro pwm board among others. Also got some cheap hammond style boxes as I want to play around with home hydrodipping and some electro acid etching but I'll post up pics and shizzle separately in a fresh thread as I go. Hopefully should have this mod finished in a few days :)
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
IMG_20180818_125900.jpg IMG_20180818_133748.jpg IMG_20180818_133856.jpg IMG_20180818_140719.jpg ok, so here we go for round two on this.

I opted to put the new sled on the right as it was way too close to the fire button to be practical. As you can see this gave me plenty of room to wire both the controls, display and 510 first then accurately measure the wiring for final fitment where I could solder the board more or less in situ. I can honestly say going to the 2s sled was the right choice for me. I don't doubt a better builder could fit it in with a 3s but I ain't there yet lol

The 30g wire I had was stupidly thin so I twisted it to make it a little more manageable for me here and it seems to have done the trick. Not too sure how it sits in terms of good practice, but it works for me. On to the next. . . .
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
IMG_20180818_141918.jpg IMG_20180818_143905.jpg IMG_20180818_164229.jpg IMG_20180818_170243.jpg IMG_20180818_170437.jpg well, and I maybe should'e mentioned this in the last post, as I had to recover everything from the failed build before, some parts didn't quite make it unscathed. For example, when removing the resistor for the switch led, I accidentally used too much pressure on the iron and removed the tab for it. So my switch, while usable, will not be illuminated. :( this makes me sad, but it is a learning process. Also, as I found out after everythin was connected, the repeated soldering and de soldering of the board have caused some damage to the ipwm. There' a bit less of the 'i' now, just pwm. The voltmeter won't display via the board, however I've run it direct to + and - inputs to the board so it's constantly displaying voltage. I could rectify this with a switch but I really cba right now. Also, the 5x on/off function seems to have vanished. I can't stress enough that these DID work the first 3 times I soldered this board so I'm blaming me and my 'fist of fiery fury' soldering techniques for that failure.

Again I bridged the batteries across the top of the sled and drilled a small hole for the wire to pass into the channel to give me more room at the bottom.

everything actually went together really really well and I'm counting it as a win. Despite one last schoolboy error I made. When it came time at the end to epoxy everything in place. I was so chuffed I just epoxied the magnets in place. I didnt enter my head that magnets have 2 poles and therefore would obviously need to be attracted to each other to act as a locking mechanism. Numptie that I am has epoxied some of them repelling each other. Feel free to mock me for this, although I promise you you'll have to be inventive to call me something I haven't already called myself for this.
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Final round up and thoughts are this.

1. Big als ipwm actually stood up quite well. These things aren't meant to be abused the way I have abused them and I feel they acquitted themselves admirably.
2. I need more soldering practice. And a solder suckered
3. I want to build another ipwm mod, maybe after I've done the 3s retro pwm.
4. Gorilla glue epoxy genuinely sets hard in 5 minutes. It is both awesome and bastard stuff.
5. I'm genuinely surprised at how light the finished product is with batteries in. I' have to weigh it but it's noticeably lighter than my gfs Mag and my frankenvape.
6. I'm undecided as to replacing the gashed led switch as I'll be building another ipwm but having a non working one bothers me a little.

Please feel free to dish out constructive criticism and ideas and also to point out where I could improve or alter. :)
 
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Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Something else I should've mentioned, that potentiometer housing, I found it needed some threadlock (or like i used, my gfs nail glue/superglue) on the inner housing otherwise you will inadvertently unscrew it whilst tweaking the pot.
 

PoppaVic

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Magnets are easy, and here's the clue.

  1. Stick them together in pairs. (If it will matter, now is the time to flip ends of oddballs that don't match the polarity of the rest).
  2. Add glue to door holes,
  3. Slide one side into door - leaving them PAIRED.
  4. Wait for a bit, so CA seizes.....
  5. Double-check that you can still remove all the mates.
  6. Place glue in the mod holes for magnets.
  7. Pull each magnet off door and install in related hole.
    1. ALTERNATELY leave the magnets all facing each other and
    2. Place the whole panel over the open chassis.
    3. Gently lower into place, and immediately slide that damned door away and up to prevent excess CA from binding the magnets OR the door to body.

Solder-suckers Suck. I have one. Hate it. I prefer braid. So far, it's only value as a "sucker" is when I somehow get solder inside a thru-hole, and lack a component: brace sucker on the back, iron to the front, flow? POW! sucks it clear.

Some folks claim a heavy-wattage iron works FASTER on switches and such. I never had luck that way, but ymmv.
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Thanks PoppaVic, yeah i think it was just a case of me getting over excited at nearing completion so to speak. Next time I'll pair them up, Mark the ends with a sharpie and do them matched pairs at a time.

As for the soldering I'm considering getting a slightly more gucci iron with a temp control maybe. Mine works fine but it is old and a little large so I'm due an upgrade and it won't hurt getting some fine point tips on I'm doing this more often. I've never used the sucker before, I've got some braided stuff but I don't seem to get on with it so well, although I am a noob with using it so I'll practice some more before I slate it :)

Really looking forward to my next build though and putting what I've learned here into practice.
 

PoppaVic

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
I had a few of the smaller irons over the years - even a weller gun or two..

Find yourself a Rework Station, cheap. I think I paid like $70 for a boxy-thing that has a hot-air pen on one side and a nice temp-controlled iron on the other. I thought I'd be using it more, but when you need it, you need it. Make sure it comes with an iron you can freakin' replace, that includes multiple replaceable tips. (I repacked mine, moved.. a year later unpacked it: the iron refused to work - took a leap of faith and ordered a part that LOOKED like it would replace the electronics from connector to tip of iron and got lucky. No problems since)
 

Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
I'll keep an eye out for one. Tbh I'd not even considered one but now you mention it, it may well be an ideal solution if I can pick one up for the right price. It's highlighted to me how piss poor my soldering is (usually I've just done automotive wiring so ham fisted is more than sufficient) especially when it comes to soldering direct to PCB's, practice practice practice. :)
 

PoppaVic

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
direct to PCB's, practice practice
Yes, you can order "stripboard" and some really nice point-to-point boards like:
  1. Perma Proto's
  2. Adafruit's spin on Arduino Uno
An Uno is a nice, cheap tool; A PI is more powerful, and their Metro thing is sorta' between them.

I'm currently fighting the damned code for a PWM board via my Uno and unittesting.. Buttons are killing me, this week, so I hope the board-designer is suffering equally ;-)

HAH! Update:
I got the buttons to all play the DNA200/vt133 clicky/hold games.
 
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Theserialvapist

Member For 1 Year
Hi guys, just thought I'd post a quick update on this, had another big als ipwm arrive today as my friend wanted one made for her just like mine. I'll be completely honest I have no pics of the build process because I literally finished work and started building and I feel I've Covered it for now. However, this one went perfectly and I'm currently vaping it for testing reasons ;). All functions work as big al intended and here's a couple of pics of inside and out. Only real difference is a lack of VM, but you can really feel when the battries need replacing and it has an on board low voltage cut off. :) there are a couple of minor differences but I'll talk about them in my retro pwm build thread. Which should be happening soon as I've sorted an enclosure. (Read bodged and ballsed up a hammond type enclosure lol) IMG_20180830_031906.jpg IMG_20180830_031325.jpg IMG_20180830_031235.jpg
 

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