broken DX 30 - diagnosis please?

Dave_Foss · Feb 12, 2008

Thanks for all he help guys

So I went to cut the glue around the inner lens and the whole crystal ended up coming out. (with the lens)
I also found that my LD+ connection has been broken, and after inspection of the diode (THE DIODE DID NOT HAVE POWER TO IT) I noticed that one half of it was a lighter color than the other half; one side was perfectly clear, and the other side was more whiteish.

At any rate, even with al of these problems, when I place the crystal above the diode and press the button, it still does the same thing. It temporarily powers up (depending on where I place the crystal) and quickly dies down.

I'll re-solder the LD+, but can anyone tell me if anything I mentioned sounds like it could be the culprit of the problem?

dar303 · Feb 13, 2008

Ace82 said:
Check out the photo of the DX Wish 5mw laser. See the orange and green wires? That is where the IR filter is soldered.

No, actually it is the wires for the powersensor that is mounted after the optics assembly. An IR-filter is a passive piece of brown/black glass that blocks infrared light but lets green light through.
On some DX-lasers the reflector for the powersensor might be the same as the IR-filter, it is set at an angle so some of the light is reflected at the sensor.

Benm · Feb 13, 2008

Well, a loose connection to the LD sounds like the problem to me

You could have discoverd that by just looking at current from the batteries... i hope you'll be able to re-assemble the optics properly.

The crystal should have different pieces - its actually 2 crystals glued together. One is a solid state 1064 nm laser, the other a frequency doubler to 532nm.

MarioMaster · Feb 13, 2008

the thing i'm seeing here is that if you are still seeing that dim red light - that's IR from your pump diode which means that it's working fine, you can try resoldering the pins but if that doesn't help then it's your crystals. just try moving them around randomly while the power is on and see if you can restore the green output. If not your crystals may be bad

Benm · Feb 13, 2008

The problem with these things is that bad connections are often intermittent, and usually still conduct to some degree. If you run the pump at half its normal current, it'll still pump just file and visibly, but there will not be enugh power for the doubling process to be efficient.

I've tried it, no chance the laser/crystal assembly from a DX20 will produce any visible amount of green at 150 mA, while the same unit lights brightly green at 300.

Ace82 · Feb 13, 2008

spyrorocks said:
Kinda offtopic, but with the last picture posted could you rip the driver board and the diode out of the housing quite easily?

No, it is mounted with a threaded holder. It needs to be unscrewed.

P.S. I got all these pictures from DX. I don't break my diode's pins! Lol ;D

Ace82 · Feb 13, 2008

dar303 said:
[quote author=Ace82 link=1202710136/0#13 date=1202829231]Check out the photo of the DX Wish 5mw laser. See the orange and green wires? That is where the IR filter is soldered.

No, actually it is the wires for the powersensor that is mounted after the optics assembly. An IR-filter is a passive piece of brown/black glass that blocks infrared light but lets green light through.
On some DX-lasers the reflector for the powersensor might be the same as the IR-filter, it is set at an angle so some of the light is reflected at the sensor.[/quote]

I suppose I stand corrected! Thanks!

Ace82 · Feb 13, 2008

dar303 said:
[quote author=Ace82 link=1202710136/0#13 date=1202829231]Check out the photo of the DX Wish 5mw laser. See the orange and green wires? That is where the IR filter is soldered.

No, actually it is the wires for the powersensor that is mounted after the optics assembly. An IR-filter is a passive piece of brown/black glass that blocks infrared light but lets green light through.
On some DX-lasers the reflector for the powersensor might be the same as the IR-filter, it is set at an angle so some of the light is reflected at the sensor.[/quote]

I apologize for continuing to speak of this topic, but what is the purpose of a powersensor? Why is it only the low power DX lasers have it and the higher ones don't?

MarioMaster · Feb 13, 2008

i'm not really sure as i removed it from my friend's laser and it had no effect on the power output

Benm · Feb 20, 2008

Not all DX models have the power sensor though, there are at least 3 different circuit boards for these, and only one has the strange wires and sensor. Which board is used doesnt seem to be specific to a certain power rating or true/nontrue version though.

monel_funkawitz · Feb 29, 2008

I'll tell ya EXACTLY what the problem is.

I've ruined my share of lasers. The laser diode is fried. It isn't crystal misalignment or any other hokey like that.

When they turned up the pot, they either fed the diode more than it could handle, or shorted something on the PCB with the screw driver and the current surge killed it. Pump diodes, when they fail on me, emit very little red, a little bit of infared (Shows up on a digital cam), and don't lase or output any real power. Basically a really weak red/infared LED. I have about half a dozen that do it.

Turn down the pot, change the laser diode, and it will work again.

At this point though, you are better off seeing how it works, then getting a new laser. DX 30's are cheap.

Ace82 · Mar 3, 2008

monel_funkawitz said:
I'll tell ya EXACTLY what the problem is.

I've ruined my share of lasers. The laser diode is fried. It isn't crystal misalignment or any other hokey like that.

When they turned up the pot, they either fed the diode more than it could handle, or shorted something on the PCB with the screw driver and the current surge killed it. Pump diodes, when they fail on me, emit very little red, a little bit of infared (Shows up on a digital cam), and don't lase or output any real power. Basically a really weak red/infared LED. I have about half a dozen that do it.

Turn down the pot, change the laser diode, and it will work again.

At this point though, you are better off seeing how it works, then getting a new laser. DX 30's are cheap.

You seem so sure.

The 808nm diode (by itself) emits a dim red light when working correctly. The crystal converts the 808nm to 532nm when aligned correctly. On one of my DX 30, the diode was loose causing the distance between the diode and the crystal to fluctuate, going green and dim red from one second to the next.

Nevertheless, good theory, very plausible. I too have destroyed my share of lasers

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