Modified My Arctic G2 to Put out 1275mW With Smartswitch Features.(No G1 Lens)

id really like to try this mod... but i dont have an lpm... sooo i have to be careful not to overdo it...

about how much turn did you put on the 2 pots... and in which direction to get your results... somewhere around 1100-1250 would be my desired output aswell. but like i said... i dont wanna overdo it...

You don't need a LPM to do this mod, actually.

All you need is a DMM and a testload. Output power is a function of input current, but because of diode variability, one cannot see if their diode is running safely by only measuring output power - one must, instead, measure input current. To do this, hook up the driver to the test load and measure voltage across a single 1-Ohm resistor!

Dang I missed this very nice work lazeerer:bowdown:! I am verrryyy tempted to do this, thanks for the tutorial!!

Wolfman29 said:

You don't need a LPM to do this mod, actually.

All you need is a DMM and a testload. Output power is a function of input current, but because of diode variability, one cannot see if their diode is running safely by only measuring output power - one must, instead, measure input current. To do this, hook up the driver to the test load and measure voltage across a single 1-Ohm resistor!

Click to expand...

thanks fo the info man... i gotta get a test load

thanks for all the help guys... my s3 is now considrably stronger...

^^WHat did you set the Driver too.? WHat was the Max of the Driver.?

This information would be Great.

well... (probably going to get reamed for this)
i dont know...
i took the laser apart as described...

the leads did not snap to my diode. what happned was, they slipped out of the solder. so I twisted the wires to the leads and put the diode modual heatsink part in a vise pointing at a black metal fold up chair...
i turned it on... and turned the pots expierimenting till i got it at a consederably increased brightness then i turned it back down a hair (just in case) and put it all back together (resoldering the leads i had twisted together)

sooo, i dont have numbers for you... sorry.

Hmmmm.. I would feel that without a dmm and a test load and what not, that it would be extremely hard to do that...

Yes it is a very risky move to set the currant this way. Especially in this situation.

The Thing is You have to balance the 2 pots Perfectly. Iam not sure if its not balance what can happen or if the driver wont perform aswell because i remember when i first was messing with it and only started to turn 1 of the pots and not keep them balanced that when maxing out the first pot i was get ~ 800mA (Iam Guessing cant remember) But when i wen to turn the other pot and maxed that pot out it was only increased by 20mA.(Cant remember exactly)

So that was ~820mA. However after Realizing that the pots have to be balance Perfectly i realized that this is the only way to get the max out of the driver.

I noticed also that when the pots were not balanced the output currant would bunch around 10-15mA and not stay stable.

But when the pots are balanced the driver is rock solid and does not move from the desire currant that it set too. Maybe 1mA shift.

However iam 99.99% certain that these drivers in the Arctic G2 can only go up to no more then 1A by just turning the pots unless you do further modding witch iam working on.

I would Find someone near you that has a test load and a LPM would also help and set the currant properly and test the output of your Laser.

If you need a testload send me a PM. I can build you a 3A one. Ive built a few for other members already.

THis is what my testloads Look Like.



:beer:

I noticed if i continually spun one pot it would turn up the brightness for an entire circle then drop down and start to increase again... so the max i assumned was right at that drop off point (kinda like running up a set of circular stairs and falling off the top to land at the bottom and start over. both pots acted this way... the one closer to the diode leads (pot 1) seemed to have more controll, increase the brightness the most, the pot furthure from the diode leads (pot 2) had substantiall less controll on the brightness... but like you said if i did not pbalance pot2 than pot1 would never max...

if anyone lives in tx near ft hood and has an lpm and would be willing to measuer my s3 id be happy to drop by... adding a test load to this one would never work anymore... after i soldered the leads together i filled the extra space with clay and torch hardned it... she aint coming apart again... not without making a huge mess anyways... i suppose i could snip the leads and splice em back together again... but thats messy too... if i get a low output rating from an lpm I may take it apart, but if its at or over 1w ill be happy (just trying to get it to adveertised power)

i feel like im rambling.

Yes Exactly. This is why you have to balance the 2 pots. You are most likely not running it at Max.

Also You cannot GO by the Brightness of the laser to assume the if its the max output. Your eyes cannot pick up that kind of detail. Especial When you are wearing safety Google. WITCH I HOPE YOU WHERE.?

The reason why the pots keep turning is because they are multi turn pots.

So now i know for sure that your pots are not balanced because you said according to the way you describe the pots as Pot 1 and Pot 2, Pot 1 seemed to have more control.

If you balanced the 2 pots together they have the exact same control.


The Drivers in the Arctic G2 i believe go up to 1A. and maybe if you tweak it just Right like i did a little more.

However DID you change the diode that came with the Arctic to a A140.

Also the Reason why i got more then 1W is because i put a Really High efficiency A140 in the Arctic. If you look at my Numbers with the A-130 Diode I was getting ~1W compared when i was using the Hight efficiency A-140. Witch when i tested this diode it was doing at 1200mA putting over 1.42W.

I hope yours does more then 1W That would be Awesome and I wish you tested the currant before putting it back together so we can have more data on this.

If you dont mind me asking why did you put Harden clay? what happens if the diode goes or something else and you have to rebuild it. Wont that stuff make it impossible to fix.?

I think the power increase just makes the laser so much cooler. Plus the power increase does not seem to add that much more heat then before. However battery life is not that great with the 2200mah Sanyo cell.

But get some of LarryDFW 2600 Sanyo cells. Those are Awesome and last alot longer. Pretty close to when i dint have it modded and when it was doing 758mW.

Best beat is to make a thread asking if anyone is in your area that has a LPM. Iam sure there is someone that lives near you. Or you can contact any Vet with a Meter to test your laser for free. All the usually ask is to cover shipping both way.

Keep us updated if you get a power reading.

:beer:

i put the clay cause i was unsure abt my soldering skills lol.. and its not impossible to remove... just nasty. if it does go out ill be crakin it all up to get back into it... if im reading way under 1w ill be back into it again aswell... no i did not change the diode, im not trying to get a huge jump with it cause i already have a couple 1.3s and some kits to build whatever i want... i just want it to shoot what it advertises...

and yes i was whearing goggles lol.

I noticed it does get warmer (it never got even warm before now it will) and it burns much faster (shooting cardboard from accross a room)

ill post here when i figure out what its output is.

Thanks. Cant wait to hear your Reading.

Yes Mine does get a tab warmer then before on a 10 minute run but no where near hot.

What was your arctic doing before.? Or you dint meter it aswell.

lol no never had it checked. I just assumed (from the general consensus around here) it was around 700mw since ive never herd anyone say they put out 1w stock... ever...

Hi All,

Just wanted to give an Update.

I wanted to get in a little deeper in the Arctic Driver on what IC it is Using. After this thread got Bumped a few times i figured why not.

So i took it apart again.

After Removing the Heatsink that was over the IC here is what it is:


The Lay out of the Board and Parts lean me toward the LTC3454.

DataSheet:
http://cds.linear.com/docs/Datasheet/3454fa.pdf

So after finding this out that the driver is rated for 1Amp I turned the laser driver down to 975mA.

Not that much difference in power from where i had it before ~50mW.

SO i pretty much solved my curiosity and hope it might have answer your curiosity on what chip they are using.

Thanks.:beer:

Very nice work lazeerer :gj: i am curious as to how the pots affect the low power mode, have you noticed a similar increase in power for the low power mode?
:thanks: