First Laser

Yes, if you can't adjust anything, it just tells you whether it's working correctly.

and no do not put a battery straight to the LD. it might not kill it the first time, but it is definately a bad habbit to get into.

Hey guys,

I made my driver, pressed the diode into the Aixiz module, connected everything, put the 9V batterie on.......and nothing. Why isn't my diode lighting a powerfull beam??? I was very dissapointed and I thought I killed the diode again when extracting it. But, I was thinking and I thought NO! I'm not going to throw it all away first apply some voltage directly to it (didn't know what I was doing) a small amount (3V) and Guess What: It lighted very dim. SO THERE IS HOPE AGAIN!, I was so relieved. But now I really need your help guys, what is wrong with my driver??? What could I have done wrong?? Here are some photo's.(to big filesize so I had to zip it) I hope you can help me. (Im not that good at soldering but everything looks okay. I even checked if the polarity was good.(and it was) And no I didn't make a test load I risked it. But I didn't fry my diode luckely, but would it be necessary a test load for this driver? I mean if I mesure it and it is wrong I soldered something wrong but.... Now I know too, that something IS wrong. So what should I do next? I hope you can help me. I really want to light it Btw: the capacitor on the driver is 22uF 16V

Added one more picture: This is my meter to mesure the mW (if even possible) If I need to mesure something, that you say you can tell me how I must read this meter.

Thx for reading.

Kindest Regards,

Dominik

Your diode is very dim at 3v because it is most likely a LED now. It probably was not a good idea to connect the LD to the battery directly. It was a much worse idea to hook your LD up to a blind driver. What if that driver was sitting around 400mA? You have no way to verify that your driver is operating correctly etc etc. That diode MIGHT be alright but unfortunatly my money is on 405nm LED. You really can't rush these things! Patience pays off faster than rushing into things :undecided:.

Not to knock your soldering skills but there are quite a few solder bridges on that driver and your breadboard is upside-down(doesn't really matter). The driver probably doesn't work because of some incorrect terminations to ground. Just my $0.02

The last picture is an analog/sweep multimeter. It will be very difficult for you to get an accurate reading from that thing unless you have previous experience with AMM's or similar. You would use that to set|verify the current(mA) of your driver.. not the power output.

I suggest you do a little more research on the basics as far as laser building goes.

-Mike

Hey mike,

I didn't connect the diode to 9V just to 3V, would 3V kill it? Damn. Is it to late for a test load? And how would I mesure it, if it's okay? And what do you mean with "some incorrect terminations to ground". What did I solder wrong then on the driver?

Is this diode dead, or is there hope left?

Thx for the help,

Dominik

Redsteel said:

Hey mike,

I didn't connect the diode to 9V just to 3V, would 3V kill it? Damn. Is it to late for a test load? And how would I mesure it, if it's okay? And what do you mean with "some incorrect terminations to ground". What did I solder wrong then on the driver?

Is this diode dead, or is there hope left?

Thx for the help,

Dominik

Click to expand...

Well there is no difference between 9v and 3v when you look at current (amps). A 3v battery has just as much potential to produce diode killing amperage as a 9v. It may or may not be too late for a test load, or the life of your diode.

As for the solder bridges.. If you look at the bottom side of your driver board you can see stray lines of solder. Some of those "bridges" can be as thin(or thinner) then a human hair and will still incorrectly route power. I speak from a past job (x-ray tech for the SMD line @ Harman/Becker Automotive Systems with ipc class 3 certifications). We would have solder bridges that were so small we had to use a lab microscope and a soldering iron tip the thickness of a syringe to remove.

Giant wall of text hits you for 100,000(crushing)
you die

-Mike

Can I use a 150 ohm resistor instead of a driver?


Dominik

The resistor vs driver situation has been discussed in the tutorial section. The thread should still be near the top. I did not take part in the discussion because I am stubborn and stuck to my opinion .

-Mike

A diode starts conducting current (in significant amounts) only once the voltage exceeds its Vf, or forward voltage. A bluray (PHR) diode has a Vf of about 4..4.5V (there's a graph somewhere, but I've been unable to find it now). So with 3V, a dim glow is all you can expect. If you want to connect a battery directly, try 6V with maybe 20..40 Ohms in series, or 9V with 50..100 Ohms (better start at the higher values and work your way down). 9V block batteries are not the best power supplies, as their current delivery potential is limited.

Hey guys,

Damn my laser is working . Thx alot for the help learnt alot these couple of days. Thx again, will post some pics when it's in a box or so. Focusing the laser is hard .


Cheers,

Dominik

Hmmm, my camera can't capture it. But I don't see a beam how can that be? It is indeed powerfull, at 1 m I felt pain on my arm. I can light fuses and other stuff. it is great . Haven't tried the balloons yet. It gets warm after a couple of seconds, but I don't power it for too long at one time.


Cheers,

Dominik.

You'll see the beam only in low light environments (in dusk & darkness) and generally it will be faint, don't get confused by pictures where it looks like a solid bar. It helps to aim for something dark or outside so the beam isn't overpowered by the glaring dot. You can improve visibility by smoking up your room.

Adding to what dr-ebert said.. The reason you can barley see the laser beam is because bluray (405nm) is border line ultravoilet(invisible) Some people can see 405nm better than others. Camera alike, some capture it better than others.

-Mike

Hmm, it is indeed to powerfull for me now. So I will lock it up so that no-one gets hurt. I only have 2 eyes, and I'm not planing risking my eyes for this (or others). Maybe I'll burn something sometimes when I have protection goggles.


Cheers,

Dominik

Redsteel said:

Hmm, it is indeed to powerfull for me now. So I will lock it up so that no-one gets hurt. I only have 2 eyes, and I'm not planing risking my eyes for this (or others). Maybe I'll burn something sometimes when I have protection goggles.


Cheers,

Dominik

Click to expand...

You think it is strong now? haha. Put a jayrob 405-G-1 lens assy. on it! Glad to hear that you plan to invest in some eye protection! So what do you have planned next? 6x, 8x? Greenie?

-Mike

Hmm, first go on vacation. Then buy goggles. Then that lens. An then maybe a red laser.

So I have enough spam material to ask you guys


Cheers,

Dominik.