Battery type / current draw in Nova X series?

Re: What batteries do you use in your Nova X150?

Yes I have 4 different meters in-fact, the laser averages 200mw and peaks @ 210mw-215mw, I ran it for a full minute and it didn't drop any lower than 197mw. I'm very pleased with it.

Re: What batteries do you use in your Nova X150?

That is sick man! Quite amazing for a pen laser actually. Looks like CNI sends the best ones to Nova...

Mine works great and remains at 170-174 if the ambient temperature is low, but if it is warmer, it remains above 165mW for up to 30 seconds, slowly drops to 150, but then there is a sudden drop to 135mW... I don't like this last part. But it did just peak at 179mW..

It is also interesting to note, that CNI does not recommend leaving these lasers on for more than 7 seconds.


Electron, do you perhaps know what your divergence is?

Re: What batteries do you use in your Nova X150?

Electron, you got a fine laser.
What kind of Duracells do you use? :Curious:

Re: What batteries do you use in your Nova X150?

I just got an answer from CNI.

Their engineers say, that the GLP model (X series) is supposed to stay above the rated power for 15 seconds. Mine can do it for 30, so i guess it's ok.

But i should have bought the PGL model (alpha), which they say can remain above the rated power
for three minutes. I really don't know what i was thinking.. And i'm not sure i want to go through all this trouble again.


On the other hand, if i didn't have an LPM, i wouldn't worry about it, as the differences in brightness are not really noticable, and neither is the burning power. I just tested it on some matches, and it easily ignites a sharpied wooden match in under a second, even when it's warm. Now i'm cooling it down, then i'll try again.

Re: What batteries do you use in your Nova X150?

Hi Igor!

I will hopefully make some updates about the Ni-MH batteries later today.

Igor, I know you're very busy right now, so I don't expect a reply from you and it's ok. This measurements can be useful for all anyway, something too compare with perhaps.

I found some 1000mAh Ni-MH Varta batteries. I made some voltage and current measurements on a fully charged cell.

Voltage: 1.4V

The current started at 520mA and staid there after a full duty cycle (100 seconds). There was no mode hop, it just flickers a few times for about 3-5 seconds and then it's all going well.

Voltage after the 100 seconds: 1.37V. A few minutes later: 1.38V


I'll make some more measurements when the batteries have been used a bit. A good thing is that the current staid the same through the whole duty cycle. My only concern is that is wasn't +600mA. Maybe there is a different diode/driver in mine.

The voltage after 10-15 minutes of use is now 1.28V and the current is 350mA.

Here is a discovery:

Current measurement with complete duty cycle:
It start at 350mA and it climes slowly up (as the diode heats up?) to 400mA after 100 seconds.
How's that for regulation? I saw this in my previous test too, but it was maybe 5 or 10mA which I'd say is... IDK, actually.;D Good/bad IDK.

IgorT said something about the lowest voltage for good regulation was 1.3V, so I guess that this confirms that.

At this power level it really struggles to light matches and it mode hops so I need to press the button ones and ones again so I get TEM00.

Anyone please give me some feedback.

Yeah, mine starts dropping out of regulation, when the Ni-MHs have 1.28V on them (no load).. So i guess you're getting the same results. I've also noticed the same low start and slowly climbing current when it was on the lower limit for regulation.

It would seem yours is regulated as well, but obviously set to a lower current. When i first heard, that all of these above a certain power use the same diode and just the efficiency of the crystals is different, i thought that the current is the same as well.


But i think i just had a realization. CNI doesn't really make 125mW models. And sometimes manufacturers have to use a more expensive product to fill the need for a cheaper product, so they just adjust them to meet the requirements of a cheaper product, and sell it as one..
I have a suspicion, that CNI (by request from Nova and some other resellers) uses the >150mW lasers and adjusts them for a lower current to get >125mW lasers. This way Nova has a mid range product to sell, which is good for them, as the 125mW models are the most popular ones.

What this means is, that X-125s are very probably capable of delivering >150mW if only the current was set to the full 650mA. I'm actually pretty sure of it. And this could be a big deal for people willing to mod their laser. All it would take is to adjust the pot on the driver untill the current would reach 650mA.

Of course these are very hard to take appart, and the warranty would be void, so i don't see many people doing this, but i think the X-125 is a laser that could safely be "pot-modded" to >150mW. (and i don't like to use the phrase "pot mod")

When i finally have time to test the X-75 driver, i will know more. Another thing i can safely do is to hook up my 150mW to a PSU and limit the current to 520mA like you measured. Then i'll measure the power, and i wouldn't be surprised if i suddenly had an X-125..



Oh, and powerful greens often mode hop when the current is too low. Since the X-125 are set for a lower current, there is an even higher probability of this happening. Otherwise the behavior is very similiar to mine, so i don't think you have anything to worry about. If it doesn't mode hop at high currents and when it's hot, i think it's good.


Thanks for the info FML! It's quite interesting, to say the least.



EDIT: Oh, and CNI also doesn't make 175mW models (or at least they say so), so it's possible, they are just 150mW, that came out really high and were then set to a slightly higher current (700-730mA maybe)...

That's the kind of reply I was looking for! I was so worried about the low current but you may be on to something.

Keep up the good work! [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]

There is nothing to worry about. You got exactly the same results like me - dropping out of regulation at 1.283V per 1000mAh Ni-MH cell..

See how much better Ni-MHs are, compared to alkalines? Alkalines show a much higher voltage without any load, but as soon as some serious current is drawn, they suck. I mean sag.. : Ni-MHs start at a lower voltage, but keep it up much longer. In my unregulated DX200, the current would start high on alkalines and immediately drop, while it would start lower on Ni-MHs, but actually climb! That is something i would expect from using a constant voltage source on a diode - the current would climb as it would heat up, and shows how good a power source Ni-MHs really are.


I'm gonna have to do some testing before i can confirm my theory, but if i'm right, this could be a big deal for some people. I wouldn't recommend anyone pot-"modding" their X-125 to currents higher than 650mA, but this current should be completely safe for the diode and could bring a significant increase in power. I would absolutely love to hear some current measurements from an X-175!


I would also love to start doing the testing on the X-75 driver and my 150 right now (as well as a million other projects), but i have to resist! Need..... to work.. on..... not.... lasers. :'(



BTW: In some rare cases, a laser can actually average quite a bit higher on a slightly lower current. The fast drop in power is the result of the crystals losing efficiency from a combination of saturation and heat, and the slightly lower current offsets this a bit i guess. Green lasers can be weird, but that's why i love playing with them.

Wait a minute, look at the alkaline measurements:

FireMyLaser said:

They send just two measurements.
Here are the my measurements, I don't have a 20A range, but I used 10A instead.
Current and voltage on new and the slightly used Duracell's with complete duty cycle:

New cell
Current: Start at 610mA, after 100 sec: 600mA
Voltage: before: 1.60V, after 100 sec: 1.53V*

Slightly used cell (~5-7min old)
Current: Start at 460mA, after 100 sec 410mA
Voltage: before: 1.44V, after 100 sec: 1.43V*

*I let the cells rest a few min.

Click to expand...

Notice something? 600mA.
I'm so confused right now. :-?

BTW, please understand that I understand that you're very busy right now.

I wish i was just busy... This forum helps me forget about the real problem. But don't worry about it.. I only browse here when i want some time off.


So those were your old measurements on alkalines, which i forgot about. Yeah, that is odd. I have not done much testing with alkalines. The little i did showed the same currents as Ni-MHs, but the alkalines sag so quickly, that they become useless for testing, as they drop out of regulation. That's why i was recharging them. : Even up to 1.8V and the current didn't change (well, it showed up as 0.66, which means less than 10mA of change)...


Your measurements are confusing. The max. current should be the same +-10mA on all batteries as long as they are full..

I'm gonna think about it. If you should decide to buy new alkalines, please make the very first power-on through the DMM. I must have done 30 measurements or so, before i decided anything about mine....


On the other hand, yours did behave as if it was regulated on both the Ni-MHs and the alkalines. The current was steady, untill the voltage was too low. But it really shouldn't be regulating to two different currents, depending on the battery type. And your DMM shouldn't introduce that much of a voltage drop in the 10A range. And if it did (if you would measure in a lower range) it would just drop out of regulation faster. While in regulation, the current should still measure the same (+-20mA because of a different range).


I have an idea. Charge the Ni-MHs as high as you can, and then power your laser on through a lower current range (2A?) and report the currents. If it is not regulated, there will be a big difference, compared to the 10A range. It would be even better, if you could then do the same with fresh alkalines, to compare to the reading in the 10A range. If you can do this, you would have for data points for comparison. The lower current range uses a higher resistance shunt, while in the highest range, the shunt is just a thick metal rod.


So if you really want to figure this out you need to measure the following:
- FULL Ni-MHs in 10A range (recharge)
- FULL Ni-MHs in 2A range
- Fresh alkalines in 10A range (not for too long so it doesn't influence the next measurement too much)
- Fresh alkalines in 2A range (or maybe you should do these last two the other way around...)


Let me know.

I'll do this when I can borrow a different DMM, as mine can only handle 200mA. (fused)
I.ll let you know.

Hey guys you ever try pro-cell duracells kinda ok thet say industrial use only on them anyone heared of these??

john_lawson said:

Hey guys you ever try pro-cell duracells kinda ok thet say industrial use only on them anyone heared of these??

Click to expand...

They are impossible to get retail I’ve been looking for a good source for those, but haven’t found it yet. Hydro companies etc get them for their devices in bulk, and occasionally you will find them in a big open box at your local hobby store. Definitely a good battery.

My batteries say that they have "no memory effect". What does that mean?
That I can recharge them even though their not empty?