Quick question

[Hippytipper]

I am doing some light modifications to my Nes. One of which is I had changed the led. It is sitting in place fine and doesn't move, I just want to help support it a little better to the board and I don't have the means to solder.
Will something like hot glue work? Some caulking? or anything else?

[BetaWolf47]

I wouldn't try using an insulating material like that...

[TheDomesticInstitution]

If you are just trying to keep the LED from moving around, a blob of hot glue will work. As long as your not trying to affix wires to the circuit board, or splice wires then you should be ok with hot glue.

[Hippytipper]

Wasn't really serious about the caulking:)
I want to add some to the base of the the wire going into the board, kind of to prevent it from slipping out.
I actually have a friend that's got a soldering kit. Might end up using it, just wanted to see if there was any other "easier" options.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Wasn't really serious about the caulking:)
I want to add some to the base of the the wire going into the board, kind of to prevent it from slipping out.
I actually have a friend that's got a soldering kit. Might end up using it, just wanted to see if there was any other "easier" options.

Soldering is pretty easy. I learned how to this year, and I'm 30. Hold the tip to a piece of soldering core and the place you're trying to solder and the metal (solder) usually forms and hardens right around the point. If you can learn how to use a hot glue gun you can solder. There are plenty of tutorials on Youtube.

I wouldn't use hot glue to try and hold a piece of wire to a solder point on a circuit board. Like Betawolf said, it's an insulator and it could prevent the connection from working if it got hot.

[jb143]

I'm not too sure I understand what you're trying to do but if you have 2 leads or wires you're trying to connect together then you could get away with wire wrapping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_wrapping). Even something like a bread tie with the paper/plastic removed would probally work. If you're trying to attach it to the board or solder on the board though, then I wouldn't trust anything other than soldering it.

[Compute]

Soldering would be best here, from an electrical standpoint. However, you will want to PRACTICE before doing it, so if you're impatient the hot glue should work as long as the planets align.

[Hippytipper]

Hey all, thanks for the responses.
Ok, when removing the old Led, there are two holes going into the board where the prongs are inserted then soldered from underneath. When I put the new Led in, it fits perfectly in place where the holes are and doesn't move. Even when you knock around the system it doesn't come out of place and works perfectly. That's great I thought. But I figured why not add a little something to the base where the prongs go into just to support it so they don't slide out. Which is why I wanted to know if there were any other easy options rather than soldering it....

[Compute]

Thanks for re-phrasing your question. :rolleyes: If it works fine and stays in place, toss some hot glue or other non-conducting goop on there to hold it in place. At work we use RTV (room-temperature vulcanized) compound for exactly this application. It's like rubber cement for grownups. It will be available at a hardware store or auto parts store for less than $4 for the quantity that you need. If you're unsure of the quality of the hold, it is currently keeping one of the headlights of my car from falling out, so it's strong but the lighter stuff is easy to peel off if you need to.