Making this PS3 laser work

Unless your trying to go for a very low power build, just get some diodes from modwerx.com or hightechdealz.com

Ok. Look at this diode :
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=360025407620

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20mw-blu-ra...620?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53d32fc084

Look at this baby:
405nm 20mW Laser Diode 5.6mm TO 18 Package Wholesale [JG19]

bootstrap said:

Look at this baby:
405nm 20mW Laser Diode 5.6mm TO 18 Package Wholesale [JG19]

Click to expand...

Stop double and multiposting..
Edit the message if you wanna add something

Well I checked all the 5 diodes. 3 are not giving any output and the other 2 are giving a very low intensity output which is not even like a 3mm LED..very crappy..

Post some pictures of what you have, what you are using and someone might be able to help you.
Use the edit button and quit double and triple posting.

00Giorge said:

Post some pictures of what you have, what you are using and someone might be able to help you.
Use the edit button and quit double and triple posting.

Click to expand...

No point in posting the pics now I guess. The diodes that were shipped to me turned out to be faulty. Changing the input current also did not change their intensity by much. 3 out 5 diodes shipped don't light up.

bootstrap said:

No point in posting the pics now I guess. The diodes that were shipped to me turned out to be faulty. Changing the input current also did not change their intensity by much. 3 out 5 diodes shipped don't light up.

Click to expand...

Are you sure they were faulty or maybe you did something wrong?
Read tutorials, here's plenty of them

TuhOz said:

Are you sure they were faulty or maybe you did something wrong?
Read tutorials, here's plenty of them

Click to expand...

I am sure they are faulty. I did allow my current to exceed beyond a limit of 35mA. Also my driving voltage was 4.5 to 5V. 3 of them just dint light up. I have handled many laser diodes till now. I have machined them and extracted them as well. They worked as I bought them. I made new drivers and also powered them. They worked. There is innately a problem with them and I am surprised.

Also I did another thing with my green laser pointer diodes. They take in 3V through the driver. Now when I connected them directly to the 3v battery they worked for some time but slowly died down, but again when I connected them to the driver circuit they started working again. Now they work only with the driver circuit at 3V but not with raw 3V. This was about the locally available cheap low quality 5mW laser pointers.

Could something be missing while driving these blue laser diodes? I have seen people make laser phaser out of PS3 diodes using a 9V battery and 150 ohm resistor. They beam was so bright that one can clearly see it. This is not happening with my blu-ray diodes. I am not expecting them to magically work when I connect them to a driver but will they? I think these drivers in the laser pointers are constant current drivers. So if I power these blu-ray diodes with a driver circuit will they light up brightly? Looks unlikely though. A test bench supply should work like a constant current driver.

Did another test: connected the green diode with a 9V battery and a 150 ohm resistor just like in the kip kay laser phaser for a fraction of second. It does not work but when I connect it back to the driver it does. I think the driver is ensuring the lasing at the right current and voltage range where as just the batteries at the same voltage wont do. Could such thing could also be happening with my blu-ray diodes?

bootstrap said:

Also I did another thing with my green laser pointer diodes. They take in 3V through the driver. Now when I connected them directly to the 3v battery they worked for some time but slowly died down, but again when I connected them to the driver circuit they started working again. Now they work only with the driver circuit at 3V but not with raw 3V. This was about the locally available cheap low quality 5mW laser pointers.

Could something be missing while driving these blue laser diodes? I have seen people make laser phaser out of PS3 diodes using a 9V battery and 150 ohm resistor. They beam was so bright that one can clearly see it. This is not happening with my blu-ray diodes. I am not expecting them to magically work when I connect them to a driver but will they? I think these drivers in the laser pointers are constant current drivers. So if I power these blu-ray diodes with a driver circuit will they light up brightly? Looks unlikely though. A test bench supply should work like a constant current driver.

Did another test: connected the green diode with a 9V battery and a 150 ohm resistor just like in the kip kay laser phaser for a fraction of second. It does not work but when I connect it back to the driver it does. I think the driver is ensuring the lasing at the right current and voltage range where as just the batteries at the same voltage wont do. Could such thing could also be happening with my blu-ray diodes?

Click to expand...

As I have learned here, DO NOT FOLLOW KIPKAY. He tries to shortcut things, manny diodes have died because of him. I would recommend getting a PHR-805T as I have just got in the mail, it is bright, and easy to work with.

bootstrap said:

Also I did another thing with my green laser pointer diodes. They take in 3V through the driver. Now when I connected them directly to the 3v battery they worked for some time but slowly died down, but again when I connected them to the driver circuit they started working again. Now they work only with the driver circuit at 3V but not with raw 3V. This was about the locally available cheap low quality 5mW laser pointers.

Could something be missing while driving these blue laser diodes? I have seen people make laser phaser out of PS3 diodes using a 9V battery and 150 ohm resistor. They beam was so bright that one can clearly see it. This is not happening with my blu-ray diodes. I am not expecting them to magically work when I connect them to a driver but will they? I think these drivers in the laser pointers are constant current drivers. So if I power these blu-ray diodes with a driver circuit will they light up brightly? Looks unlikely though. A test bench supply should work like a constant current driver.

Did another test: connected the green diode with a 9V battery and a 150 ohm resistor just like in the kip kay laser phaser for a fraction of second. It does not work but when I connect it back to the driver it does. I think the driver is ensuring the lasing at the right current and voltage range where as just the batteries at the same voltage wont do. Could such thing could also be happening with my blu-ray diodes?

Click to expand...

Hey check out how that phaser is done right:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f42/1-5-amp-445nm-phaser-build-62371.html

jayrob said:

Hey check out how that phaser is done right:

Click to expand...

But that is like a 1W phaser. I believe 20mW beam is also quite noticeable. The seller I purchased from has however denied any replacement saying no warranty with these lasers.

jayrob made the original phaser mod... kipkay then stole it

also 20mW is not noticeable without fog

bennett326 said:

jayrob made the original phaser mod... kipkay then stole it

also 20mW is not noticeable without fog

Click to expand...

Actually KipKay made a video for show. And he accomplished his goal. Many views/add revenue...

I followed his idea (as others have), and made a real laser with it. His didn't have a driver, didn't have sound, couldn't focus, no heatsinking, no power, etc...

jayrob said:

Ok well I guess you probably also know that the driver can hold a voltage charge in the cap, that can kill the diode when you connect it...

Other than those two main things (that or ESD), it's not a complicated thing to do. It should be easy to light it up with about 35mA's. Maybe they got damaged during harvest?? Or were they loose diodes?

Either that or it is more powerful than the old PS3's, and does not even lase at 35mA's. Maybe it is more like a PHR??

But a PHR should begin lasing around 25mA's, and a 6X around 35mA's or so...

Didn't the company you bought them from have a data sheet of some kind for connection and current?

Click to expand...

Well I tested it again today with a bench supply. The other diodes which were not lasing did lase at Vf > 4.8 and at 40mA - 90mA is when you get maximum lasing. Wonder what this laser is. And also the pin config does not appear to be standard (will confirm and let you know). May be these have a fundamental difference during harvesting or the seller mixed them up. More results with pics later.

Will make a heat sink for these diodes as well; Keeping them connected to the supply for not more than a sec.

Update:
None of the sellers have a proper data sheet. The maximum intensity is good enough for reading blu ray discs. Also for some diodes the negative pin is the casing and for others it is the same config as in the SLD3131VF. I think the Aixiz has given a proper connection. Connect both the casing and the other pin to negative for it to work. I am sort of disappointed with the light intensity I am getting from the 405 nm diode. I think it is expected. However it is not as bright as the 5 pin PS3 diode or the one being used in phasers. May be I should try it with the 1W driver from aixiz.

jayrob said:

Actually KipKay made a video for show. And he accomplished his goal. Many views/add revenue...

I followed his idea (as others have), and made a real laser with it. His didn't have a driver, didn't have sound, couldn't focus, no heatsinking, no power, etc...

Click to expand...

oh well i thought you came up with it but as you just said his was crap and he used a ps3 sled which are hard to find and IIRC they cost around ~$30-40
so waste a money IMO

Dude I'd suggest you just buy a PHR or a 6x sled, they will be much brighter and there are no obscure things about them, data sheets and diagrams available at hand.