Building megajolts/squirts etc
Turbo Mini Forums

Now i have a fair amount of soldering practice, used to do electronics at GCSE, making phot etched boards etc but all the stuff i have ever done was "through" mounted.

i notice the megajolt is all surface mounted and noticed it warns if you havent done any before etc.

i've read through the build instructions and have to say it sounds simple enough.

to be honest, a kit is $80, then add maybe £30 for edis/coil pack and a little bit for a TPS and i'm laughing. mappable ignition for next to nothing.

They do built ones for $140ish but i just cant see it worth spending the extra £40 or whatever when i could do it myself, nearly buy all the other bits for that money!

Whos built one? i know Alex has

I would say go for it,

the jolt looks to be 0805 sizeish components, which IMO are fine if you know one end of an iron from the other,

the 0402 stuff i do at work are a different matter though lol

alternativly, the squirt is all leaded components (for the v3) and gives the option of using adding injection later on and can use the crankwheel inside the XE.

I'v built two V4 kits, it's really not that hard. It helps if there are two of you, but i built the second one on my own, it just took a little more time as i had to hold tweezers and the solder in one hand and the iron in the other.

Edited by Carl S on 1st Jul, 2009.

The Megasquirt is easy as it is all through mounted.

Not that I've build mine. I got Sturgeo to do the new one.

You can now do 4 cylinder COP if you wanted something a bit bling.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

I've built dozens but not the V4 - I havent got the time to build them, they look far more time consuming.

Alex

AlexF

well V4 does look time consuming but thats not an issue.

well guess its worth the risk, as i said i've got a good chunk of experience, done solid state stuff etc

You'll be fine then matey :)

people mainly buy complete kits so there is warranty :)

AlexF

thats no fun

i'll get one ordered so its home when i am then! woohoo! should be a laugh!

I deal with this stuff all day long, my top tip is to put a small bit of solder on one PCB pad of every component before you start. That way you can solder the component on one end at a time. For stuff like ICs solder one leg down then do the opposite corner to hold it steady then take your time soldering the rest up.

Finally should you get any problems building it, send it to me and Ill sort it for you for the cost of postage (back to you!).

Ive built a V3 squirt and V4 MJ both worked first time (I also have the test kit set up for both already!)

Edited by eaton_mini on 2nd Jul, 2009.

cheers, appreciate that!

yeah i read the same tips on the build page for the MJ, makes a change for every to recommend the same procedure! lol!

order in a few days after i've seen the outcome about a 2nd hand K3.