Bakatronics-anyone use them?

robiwon · Post by **robiwon** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 9:50 am

I need a runway circuit for my Salzo Galactica landing bay. This do-it-yourself kit is only $9 and supports 10 LEDs. I don't need that many, but that's fine. Anyone have any experience with product or company?

http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=344

Joseph Osborn · Post by **Joseph Osborn** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 11:56 am

I haven't done any business with this company but I've bookmarked it because they have some really nice stuff and appear to be completely legit.

robiwon · Post by **robiwon** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:16 pm

Yes, they do seem like a pretty large operation with nice prices for a lot of differnt kits.

Styrofoam_Guy · Post by **Styrofoam_Guy** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:57 am

I have used their Ghostbuster LED kit for my 1:1 pack. Much cheaper then any other option out there. My friends and I have so far purchased 4 of these kits.

I would have no problem getting any of their other kits or ordering from them.

robiwon · Post by **robiwon** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 4:32 am

Thanks! Would love to do a GB costume one day. How about some pics in the Thunderdome section? Would love to see it.

Madman Lighting · Post by **Madman Lighting** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 10:34 am

Neat! a 555 timer with a decade counter. Really simple.

I'm surprised they sell it for so cheap, but then again they are using some pretty old parts.

Oh, I make a runway effect kit too:

http://home.comcast.net/~johndavidcook/runway.html

Mine does four lights in sequence and it gives a wad of fiber optics in two sizes so you can do sets of repeating lights for very many sizes of runways.

Mine's a lot smaller too.

robiwon · Post by **robiwon** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 2:47 pm

I saw yours as I was researching runway lights. It's very nice. There are several options out there. Since the one I buy will be going in a 3 foot model, size isn't a real issue, however price was a factor. This was $9 and I can get 50 feet of .25mm fiber optic for $6. Since I'm pretty adept with a soldering iron I went the cheaper route. I need to save money for WF!

Madman Lighting · Post by **Madman Lighting** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 2:52 pm

A guy's gotta keep trying.

robiwon · Post by **robiwon** » Sun May 04, 2014 6:26 pm

Just ordered the runway lighting kit I linked to. I'll swap out the red LEDs myself. No since in them charging me another $10 for doing it for me. When the kit arrives I'll do a review as I build the little unit and when it gets installed in my 3 foot Salzo Galactica.

robiwon · Post by **robiwon** » Thu May 08, 2014 4:09 am

Ordered the kit on Sunday and it arrived yesterday. Impressive shipping. The electronics arrived on a blister car, like an action figure, and are actually made by a company called Future Kit. Seems Baka is their distributor I guess. Very nicely done, even comes with some small diameter solder! I'll post pics tonight after work of all the components.

robiwon · Post by **robiwon** » Fri May 09, 2014 8:11 pm

Well, I built the runway kit tonight. Here is how the kit arrived.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/ ... d6a607.jpg

After about of an hour of soldering this is what I wound up with.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/ ... 88a727.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/ ... 2b3ebe.jpg

I had a little scare when I plugged the battery in for the first time. Only one LED lit up. After checking the instructions to make sure all the components were in their right spot, I moved on to my soldering. I traced the problem down to a cold solder joint on one of the jumper leads. The board worked if I shorted it with my finger. I re soldered the lead and plugged the battery back in. It worked perfectly!

I suggest soldering your LEDs first and clipping the leads afterwords. You will need those legs for all the jumpers that go on the board. All in all, I'm quite happy with the product. Bakatronics shipped the board very quick with a tracking number emailed to me. They have a ton of neat stuff on their site. I'm sure I'll probably order from them again.