mixed emotions on ma setting

I have used the search option but still have questions about the ma setting for the 6x diode. I have read that one has been pushed to 300ma but will not try that one. I have also read that 200 is safe but have seen builds at 215. I have also read that one is expected to be pushed to 250. Please help with some input

thanks, Skylight

From what I've read: 185-190mA is pretty safe, 200-215 if you're interested in a bit more power, more if you're feeling daring. As always: the more current, the better your heatsinking should be and/or the shorter your on-time. If the heatsink gets hot, it's high time to shut it off.

I have also read that one is expected to be pushed to 250

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I think this was me that you read this from. Don't do it, I was inexperienced. I would now run it at 200mA max.

-Jakob

I've got 2 at 200mA that have been used and abused for a few months now, one outputs 197mW and the other 190mW and still going strong, prob getting about 2hrs use a week each...

if your wanting "safe", i run mine at 187mA and have yet to see one die (but then again i've only made 4, 3xSF-AW210 and 1x GGW)

Unfortunately, while lasers do appreciate good heatsinking, they are not like computer CPUs where if you just keep cooling them down you can overdrive them almost indefinitely.

With laser diodes, once you go past a certain current (which varies slightly from diode to diode) instant death will occur regardless of how much you cool the laser. Heat is not the sole determining factor when it comes to lifespan, nor is it the most important factor. Diode current is the most important. The more conservative your settings, the longer your laser will last.

With 6X diodes, I'd say that 200mA is the absolute maximum current that will allow you to see at least several hundred hours of operation. 150-175mA should allow for thousands of hours. Then all you need to know is what kind of system the diode will be used in (pointer or lab-style). In a pointer, you probably won't see hundreds of hours of usage in it's lifetime since time racks up so slowly on pointers, but with lab-style systems you'll most likely easily see thousands of hours usage in it's lifetime.