rhd
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This is a unique little diode. I'm sad to be selling it - I had great intentions for the build that this was mean to be a part of.
It's a 635nm C-Mount diode, rated for 300mW (capable of hitting a bit more) that has a FAC lens. I had really high hopes for this to be a very special build, but that isn't in the cards for me right now. It became apparent that the build was beyond me, specifically with respect to figuring out the correct optics and mounting them. Without a better setup here at home, and more time, it's beyond my capabilities.
It's a shame, because this diode is rated to hit 300mW of 635, and I have a recent PIV that tested it to 340mW. That should be similar to a 660nm diode of 1.2W + in terms of brightness.
Here's the story on its history.
I bought this diode "as-is" from a really kind & helpful seller on eBay. My understanding / interpretation was essentially that this was a "one-off" from the manufacturer. Perhaps a small run of these were made - the chip's serial number is three digits, and the "Chip Number" is one digit - whatever that means. It didn't have a FAC lens, and the individual who sold it to me was extremely kind - went out of their way to actually help me organize getting a FAC added after the fact by the original manufacturer for a fairly reasonable price.
The extend of my testing was to install it briefly in a host that had previously housed a (now non-working) 532nm setup, powered by a C-Mount IR diode. It was a great / safe way to test the function of the diode since you absolutely need these to be heatsinked, even if just testing for a few seconds.
At any rate, I tested it at ~825mA and measured its output on my radiant alpha (no lens) at ~200mW, which is pretty much exactly what the PIV curve I have for it suggested I shoudl see at that current level. The stats I have suggest that the:
- Threshold is around 640mA
- At around 900mA it hits 340mW (max of the PIV curve)
- Vf looks like 1.9 to 2.1 throughought the current range (IE. voltage seems pretty constant)
At the same time as I purchased this diode, I also bought a C-Mount testing / tec / heatsink rig. I never used the rig (it took a long time to arrive).
The diode itself has just been tested briefly as described here. I tried using the original optics from the 532nm host I had tested it in, and the best I was able to achieve was a roughly 2-inch square (with a slight diamond shape to it actually) at about 15 feet. Without external optics, there is actually an observable "cross pattern", with a square intense section in the center (where probably 95% of the light is) Not bad considering I didn't actively work on the optics, and just used what I had.
I also purchased 6 plano-concave and plano-convex coated lenses from SurplusShed for this build, but never got to the stage of trying them. They are:
- PCX, Dia: 7, Focal: 111, Coated
- PCX, Dia: 9, Focal: 28, Coated
- PCX, Dia: 7.6, Focal: 8, Coated
- PCV, Dia: 8.2, Focal: -10, Coated
- PCV, Dia: 8.6, Focal: -100, Coated
- PCV, Dia: 12.2, Focal: -30, Coated
To be frank, this build is beyond my abilities and skillset, even with the FAC added. I'd like to sell this and put the money toward either a 589nm pointer, or one of the HL63133DG 170mW diodes. Either way, here's my actual investment into this stuff:
$136 - 635nm 300mW C-Mount diode
$50 - FAC lens installation
$27 - C-Mount Heatsink Jig
$29 - Surplus Shed Order
$5 - 10 or 12 LM337 negative adjustable regulators (for a case positive DDL driver)
$247 - Total cost into this project.
As mentioned, I've powered this diode up only very briefly. It has seen perhaps 2 minutes of power, always heatsinked, and 1.5 of those two minutes it was shielded inside a closed host. The other 0.5 minutes were when I LPM'd it on my radiant alpha. The cathode "tab" was trimmed a few mm shorter when I installed it in the C-Mount host so that the head could screw on safely (I wanted to avoid the alternate approach of bending the cathode "tab" at that early stage.
Given that I purchased it AS-IS, I'm not warranting anything here myself either. It's probably a positive that I tested it, because at the very least, I know that it works, gives roughly the power output that is charted, and (I presume because of the roughly square output) the FAC is installed properly.
I'm open to offers on this package. It cost me $242 in total.
Some photos:
It's a 635nm C-Mount diode, rated for 300mW (capable of hitting a bit more) that has a FAC lens. I had really high hopes for this to be a very special build, but that isn't in the cards for me right now. It became apparent that the build was beyond me, specifically with respect to figuring out the correct optics and mounting them. Without a better setup here at home, and more time, it's beyond my capabilities.
It's a shame, because this diode is rated to hit 300mW of 635, and I have a recent PIV that tested it to 340mW. That should be similar to a 660nm diode of 1.2W + in terms of brightness.
Here's the story on its history.
I bought this diode "as-is" from a really kind & helpful seller on eBay. My understanding / interpretation was essentially that this was a "one-off" from the manufacturer. Perhaps a small run of these were made - the chip's serial number is three digits, and the "Chip Number" is one digit - whatever that means. It didn't have a FAC lens, and the individual who sold it to me was extremely kind - went out of their way to actually help me organize getting a FAC added after the fact by the original manufacturer for a fairly reasonable price.
The extend of my testing was to install it briefly in a host that had previously housed a (now non-working) 532nm setup, powered by a C-Mount IR diode. It was a great / safe way to test the function of the diode since you absolutely need these to be heatsinked, even if just testing for a few seconds.
At any rate, I tested it at ~825mA and measured its output on my radiant alpha (no lens) at ~200mW, which is pretty much exactly what the PIV curve I have for it suggested I shoudl see at that current level. The stats I have suggest that the:
- Threshold is around 640mA
- At around 900mA it hits 340mW (max of the PIV curve)
- Vf looks like 1.9 to 2.1 throughought the current range (IE. voltage seems pretty constant)
At the same time as I purchased this diode, I also bought a C-Mount testing / tec / heatsink rig. I never used the rig (it took a long time to arrive).
The diode itself has just been tested briefly as described here. I tried using the original optics from the 532nm host I had tested it in, and the best I was able to achieve was a roughly 2-inch square (with a slight diamond shape to it actually) at about 15 feet. Without external optics, there is actually an observable "cross pattern", with a square intense section in the center (where probably 95% of the light is) Not bad considering I didn't actively work on the optics, and just used what I had.
I also purchased 6 plano-concave and plano-convex coated lenses from SurplusShed for this build, but never got to the stage of trying them. They are:
- PCX, Dia: 7, Focal: 111, Coated
- PCX, Dia: 9, Focal: 28, Coated
- PCX, Dia: 7.6, Focal: 8, Coated
- PCV, Dia: 8.2, Focal: -10, Coated
- PCV, Dia: 8.6, Focal: -100, Coated
- PCV, Dia: 12.2, Focal: -30, Coated
To be frank, this build is beyond my abilities and skillset, even with the FAC added. I'd like to sell this and put the money toward either a 589nm pointer, or one of the HL63133DG 170mW diodes. Either way, here's my actual investment into this stuff:
$136 - 635nm 300mW C-Mount diode
$50 - FAC lens installation
$27 - C-Mount Heatsink Jig
$29 - Surplus Shed Order
$5 - 10 or 12 LM337 negative adjustable regulators (for a case positive DDL driver)
$247 - Total cost into this project.
As mentioned, I've powered this diode up only very briefly. It has seen perhaps 2 minutes of power, always heatsinked, and 1.5 of those two minutes it was shielded inside a closed host. The other 0.5 minutes were when I LPM'd it on my radiant alpha. The cathode "tab" was trimmed a few mm shorter when I installed it in the C-Mount host so that the head could screw on safely (I wanted to avoid the alternate approach of bending the cathode "tab" at that early stage.
Given that I purchased it AS-IS, I'm not warranting anything here myself either. It's probably a positive that I tested it, because at the very least, I know that it works, gives roughly the power output that is charted, and (I presume because of the roughly square output) the FAC is installed properly.
I'm open to offers on this package. It cost me $242 in total.
Some photos:
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