Complete DNA40 kit

[nehctik]

In all honesty ive never seen vttv, i searched youtube for it after seeing this thread. This all sounds a bit technical to me, hence why i wanted to see it done first hand.

[VapingBad]

Jan 24, 2015 15:26:33 GMT nehctik said:

Is this the vttv on youtube, if so has he done the video yet?

link

[davetherayon]

Every vaper should watch VTTV imo. It's a fund of info, I didn't know the subtank existed till watchng it Be careful however, or you'll be buying the Next Thing they review

[archiecat]

Have evolv addressed the hole size issue for the 20 AWG wire on the DNA 40? I've done a couple of DNA 30 builds and found it difficult to get the AWG 20 wire through the holes in the board.

Maybee the wire I was using!

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2015 15:34:59 GMT davetherayon said:

Dave Dorn is slacking nehctik To be fair, VTTV has been full of content recently from Dr Farsalinos and other guests. Dave's plan is to fix the negative to the 510 directly, will be interested to see how that works.

Here's a list of the complete kit and bits I used, shopping list for folks who wish to buy the bits :

DNA40 (obviously)
Hana clone box
Fatdaddyvapes 510 - the 22 mm version
Wires : 20AWG to connect to the battery and atomiser, 24AWG for buttons and charger. 1/3 of a metre is more than enough.
Optional : Sheath to cover the solder holes, recommended.
Battery box, lots available, I recommend a spring loaded one (prizing a battery out of its housing can be a pain).
Soldering iron. I have a 40W one, 25W might do, but get a decent one.
Solder.
Small files if you decide to cut the board out (which I did) - Maplins do a set of flat files which do the job.
Epoxy adhesive! Go for the 15 minute setting version, or superglue as VapingBad has said. I prefer epoxy, it gives you time to wiggle stuff around.
Helping Hands : www.maplin.co.uk/p/helping-hands-with-magnifier-n30ch This thing helps a ton if you have poor eyesight, like me.
Wire cutters
Wire strippers
Double sided tape.

Tips when assembling :

Leave the DNA40 out of the caddy.

Keep your soldering iron clean! Wipe any crap off it onto the dampened area, it's also good to run a file along it occasionally to strip off anything that accumulates.

Ensure you use red wires for positives and black for negatives - when the forest of wires is there, you need to know what's what.

Epoxy the buttons in place. (I didn't and it caused a world of pain)

First job is to solder the 510. It's easy, cut some solder ( I did this with 3 cuts) and poke it into the dismantled 510 hole, it should be just a tube with a little plastic screw-in. Then heat it up using your Helping Hands, and poke the wire in. 20AWG red wire.

Cut your wires to size, give them a good bit over the measurement, more is best. When you pack the thing in they'll need some wiggle room. When cutting, put your dna40 into the box on its caddy, and visualise how long the leads need to be.

When cutting wires, leave a long end for the buttons so you can connect them using the legs, but shorten the cut for the holes into the board, alternatively cut the leads after insertion.

Solder the ends of the leads, and solder the holes (seriously) then apply a bit of pressure while soldering - they'll drop right in.

Now, secure the 510. Depending on how you did it, either epoxy the 510 and screw it in, or if you elected to file the jesus out of you box like e.g. me, screw in the negative post and retainer. If not, prepare to solder directly to the 510, later.

Solder the already connected leads for the up, down and fire buttons to the buttons. Tip : when you look at the buttons, their pairs are marked B and 2 for some reason. Solder the B or 2 pairs, doesn't matter.

Glue the charging board to the base, using the 'cut a bit out of a CD case' I allluded to earlier

Glue the battery box in place, and leave the whole thing a few hours to settle.

The leads should all be in place now. Gently pop the DNA40 into its caddy, orientate it with power on so you can see the display is ok.EDIT : my dna screen is held in place by double sided tape.

If you have left enough lead tension, the caddy should hold itself in place, otherwise drop a bit of epoxy on it to do it.

Phew, enough explanation. Say if you need more info

Would have replied earlier davetherayon but needed to have a good read and digest the above.

The Stealth Vape enclosure is slightly different to yours, it Incorporates the charge board mount and screws down, but the battery connections are at the top and the 510 at the bottom. The cradle can't be turned round and to make matters worse  there is a rebate in the case that the screen fits in, guess what, only one way. I have a plan though involving something like a CD case

Thanks for the advice and all the tips, I'll post up with some pic when I start.

[davetherayon]

If I had a Top Top for modders, in the words of a Gary Dibley, 'tin your tip'. Really, soldering is the most vital bit of assembing a mod. I started out in 1980, destroying a ZX80 kit If you're new to it, practice on bits of wire. Even now my hands wobble around like mad things when soldering. It's a maraton, not a race

[VapingBad]

Jan 24, 2015 17:01:52 GMT archiecat said:

Have evolv addressed the hole size issue for the 20 AWG wire on the DNA 40? I've done a couple of DNA 30 builds and found it difficult to get the AWG 20 wire through the holes in the board.

Maybee the wire I was using!

Still very tight, what I do is use extra flexible silicon insulated wire that has very fine conductors that make it harder if you tin the wire normally 8 out of 10 times it's too fat.  So I don't strip the insulation but tin it with the insulation in place by holding the iron to the ending and feeding solder into it so it tins the end 6 - 8 mm then pull back the insulation and trim the end.  I wish I had discovered this earlier and it works every time, but only for silicon insulated wire.

[archiecat]

Thanks Vaping Bad will try this on my next build

[Deleted]

I have 18 AWG Silicon insulated so that's well worth knowing.

[crystal]

Jan 24, 2015 15:44:13 GMT @scooby said:

Jan 24, 2015 11:08:34 GMT crystal said:

The box from StealthVape is a good box. The board cradle looks quite a bit bigger than the one davetherayon has in his, so not quite as much room to work with.
You would have to cut the dna40 board to fit because the StealthVape cradle is designed for the dna30 board.
The charge board does screw on the end of the cradle and the board just clips in place so no need to glue either the dna or charge boards in, the cradle then that screws inside the box.
I made the mistake of accidentally clipping the board into the cradle before soldering the wires onto it, I had to grind one of the lugs away to get it out.

Also be sure the screen is stuck firmly to the housing or it can move when you put it all together.

Good luck @scooby and take your time.

If I can do it anyone can

Cheers crystal been thinking about it for a while and your post encouraged me to give it a go.

I noted your remark about not using the board sled next time, and I don't like the fact that the orientation is ass about face, but you can't turn the board round so that the charging solder points are near the charge board, and the fire and 510 pos and grd are at the top.

I've got most of the parts now so can see better how to arrange them, will start a thread when I think I'm ready to proceed.

I used a dna30 in mine so it may be better with a dna40, the connection holes are in a different position I think. Maybe put a better 510 in it so you have a spring loaded connector also change the fire button, that's something for the future with me.

It is well worth making, I use mine all the time.

Given a little more experience I'm thinking of a regulated squonker, doesn't look too difficult either.

Use a fine pointed soldering tip too, those holes are very close together and try not to keep the heat on the board too long, you don't want to fry the chips there.

Good luck again @scooby

[Deleted]

I want to make a good job of this so most of the things you mentioned I've addressed crystal it added a bit to the overall cost but I reckoned if I didn't up grade some of the parts I'd regret it.

[crystal]

@scooby Got a Hammond 1590G box last week, going to attempt a slightly different box, just waiting for housings from Shapeways to arrive for dna and charge boards. Only things I'm short of are fire button and a good paint job. I definitely won't be rushing this one

[Deleted]

Ha, good idea to do the apprenticeship then move up with the skilled workers

I've been scanning the Hammond, and Shapeways stuff, but think I'll concentrate on this and see how it goes before I attempt anything else.

[davetherayon]

Definitely take your time. There's nothing more satisfying than taking a toot on a mod you've put together yourself

Oh and on the subject of wire, 20AWG fits fine into the newer DNA40 boards. Even pre-tinned. How so? Twist the leads first

[davetherayon]

Jan 24, 2015 21:27:34 GMT crystal said:

@scooby Got a Hammond 1590G box last week, going to attempt a slightly different box, just waiting for housings from Shapeways to arrive for dna and charge boards. Only things I'm short of are fire button and a good paint job. I definitely won't be rushing this one

My other DNA40 box is a Hammond, 1590B. B to G I have no idea of the differerence. Aluminium is both a pleasure and a pain to work with, and the Shapeways bezels are well worth the wait. Those guys really are artisans of their work.