I'm jealous. I wish I could find the time do something like that, especially so well. I've crossed some cars off my shopping in the list because of the dash lighting.
Again, very impressive.
Kevin
Thanks!Holy crap! Nice work, drvnbysound!
Holy crap! Nice work, drvnbysound!
I'm thinking the same thing. Long gone are the days of little bulb "condoms" to change the dash light colors....
Ha! Funny you mention that. After showing some friends what I had done, one of them decided he wanted to change his - a 2008 Toyota Tundra. He tore the dash apart, hoping for LEDs that could be a direct replacement. Unfortunately, he came across a few incandescent bulbs and there was no way LEDs would illuminate the entire dash (too directional). He ended up trying the colored "condoms"... It didn't work out so well, you could see some decent hot-spots and tell it wasn't anything close to OEM :unsure:
I like XYTronics soldering station, I have 169D, the newer one is LF1600
https://www.howardel...nic/LF1600.html
For smd parts, this one is good:
http://www.xytronic-...aspx?itemid=202
Very stable temperature and ESD protection.
It involved initially removing a zif connector from another board baking (low on the WAF - but she didn't anyways) it for a few minutes (which I have never really done) and then soldering it to the motherboard.
Since I started this thread, I just wanted to update. On BSR's suggestion, I ordered the Hakko FX-888 Soldering Station. Last weekend I used it to solder wires onto a PCB in a Liftmaster Smart Control for my garage door so I could finally automate the door without resetting the clock on the control. I practiced for a while on a junk board before doing the real thing. The Hakko worked great, and so does the Smart Control now.
The Hakko may have been a lot to spend for the very occasional use it will get, but it's nice to have a quality tool when you need it.
Thanks to BSR and the rest for all your suggestions. This is a great community.
Kevin