Soldering Help, First TIME!

[illogical06]

Ok, i'm attempting to vmod my 8500le but have no idea where to start...see my other thread, but that is besides the point right now.

This is the resistor i'm using
http://www.radioshack.com/product.a..._011_002_011_000&product_id=271-282&hp=search

I have no idea how to use this resistor on the pcb, it looks odd and the people @ radio shack didnt know either

It seems that every pic of any resistance modding has one of those rectangular block resistor/potentiometers. Where can i get those instead?

I was wondering, can i connect the wires to the top of my graphics card, connect it to the potentiometer, and then mount the potentiometer to the top of my ati silencer 2. Here's a pic of what my card looks like.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article197-page3.html

I understand that this is sort of vague, i'll answer any questions of course. Plus any additional tips would be great.

Edit:It looks like the single leg is the positive, and the other two are grounds.
I'm worried that if i wire the potentiometer/resistor too far away, it will effect the results.

 

[ZachM]

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&product_id=271-343

That is the potentiometer you want. You one you picked up is single turn. That means to get to full resistance or no resistance takes only one turn. Single turn pots are usually too sensitive for volt modding. The blue box ones are multi turn. Usually 15-25 turns. That way you can have fine control over voltage, and not accidentally turn the voltage up too much just by having a hand twitch.

You only use 2 out of the 3 legs. You will use the middle one and one of the two outers. Switching the outer leg will change the direction you turn the knob. If you use one leg, and the pot is at full resistance, using the other leg will yield no resistance. Make sure you measure the resistance between the two legs you are going to use, and adjust it appropriately. You don't want to start the computer with the mod, and have the voltage at max.

You can space the pot away from the card with a piece of wire. Just don't make the length too far, or the wire will start adding resistance. On top of the Silencer should be fine. Basically make the pot as close to the solder point as possible without compromising accessability too much.

Tips. Research, research, reasearch. Know the in's and out's of the mod before you start it. Know exactly what you need to do, and plan it out in your head beforehand. Practice soldering on a dead/old piece of hardware, and when it comes time for the real thing, be patient. Check all of your mods several times after completion to make sure you didn't short anything out, or solder to the wrong spot. Reinforce the joints with hot glue.

Have fun.

 

[illogical06]

Thx! That helps out tremendously but now i think the pot i have is worthless because i need to fine tune the regulation. I'll have to wait till tomorrow to actually do the mod but i still need to figure out what i exactly i'm goin to do. See other thread for details