anode cathode?

hello forums. so i took out a laser diode from a rewritable dvr from my old desktop tower. i cant really tell which side is anode or cathode lol. both legs are the same length, theres no symbold pointing to the leg or whatever, and the chip it was attatched to originaly wasnt labled on the connections:/ any help? oh! and also i dont have a multimeter

got a picture ?

http://s542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/?action=view&current=DSC00732.jpg

http://s542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/?action=view&current=DSC00733.jpg

http://s542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/?action=view&current=DSC00734.jpg

I would retake them, this time holding the camera very still. :na:

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/DSC00738.jpg

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/DSC00735.jpg

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/DSC00736.jpg

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/DSC00737.jpg

this is the clearest i can get the pictures

I hope you know the MACRO function.... -.-

BUt anyways, please take a picture of the front of the diode... also, what are the measurements?

you should also write down the model and the manufacturer of the rewritable drive this should also help!

is that a DVR? or DVD? these are completely different things

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/DSC00743.jpg

it sais "compact disc record-able and re-writable"


im not sure this matters

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/DSC00742.jpg

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/DSC00741.jpg

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/DSC00740.jpg

Take the photos from further away then crop them to get a good image. :san:

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/pic3.jpg

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/pic4.jpg

http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/pic1.jpg

blurry
http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg418/dexter27-ish/pic2.jpg

that should be some weak IR diode, look at that year 1998??

You won't be able to do much with this.. You need a camera to view the emission or you will probably see a weak red spot inside the diode window which you DON'T want to be looking at directly!! It is IR light which is an eye hazard!!

I couldn't find any info on that drive it's pretty old indeed!

You can try this but I am not sure: (if it doesn't work try in reverse)
You should start at a low current say...10-20mA Those diodes won't be able to handle much... and gradually rise it like 5mA step until you blow it eventually

set the camera in front of the diode window and look carefully when connecting the power supply (just do it for a second if it doesn't try the reverse polarity) i have tried this method when I am not sure about the pinout and I never blew a diode that way with low current!

thanks
well ive never costructed a laser so ill do this for practice since its weak, but for the future do you know where i can get a good one(i dont wana buy it) that i can scavenge from something? and also if there arent that many good ones i can find from scavenging then whats a good place to buy them? (if i have to)

sources:
.many members in the forum
.ebay
.other laser related websites (ads are everywhere around here )
(just don't go with wicked -> bad rep)

if you want a cheap ~250mW-300mW Red go for LG DVD Burner 22x
and extract it from there
or search for LPC-815 bare diode! or LPC-826 (little more powerful)

The LG also has an IR inside of which I don't know it's power
do some research around here I'm pretty sure you will find a good deal