Need help with (testing) an o-like module

Hello all,

i got me a 120-150mw module and three 5mw modules from o-like.
I tested them all, and the 120-150mw one seems strongly underpowered. with a thermal head (from die4lasers), no filter or anything in between, and the module almost touching the head, i measured:

5mw1: 33-31 mw @ 300mA
5mw2: 21-20 mw @ 340mA
5mw3: 34-21 mw @ 350mA
120mw: 46-53-50 mw @ 320mA

meaning: right at swtiching the module on it reads 46mw, after "stabilising" within a few seconds 53mw, then slowly falls to 50mw over the next minute.

since i dont really trust my rcr123, i used AA nimh and primary cells.

i wrote susie, she suggests me to check again with a "freshy charged 18650 lithium battery". at that similar current draw, and testing with 3x 1.2v nimh or 3x 1.5v (new) primaries, i dont think i powered it wrong.

the page says:
3) Working voltage: DC 3.0~4.2V
4) Working current: < 400mA


another thing i noticed: the epoxied chip on the driver gets really hot! hot enough to burn fingers after a short time, on all 4 modules the same. i guess this is normal, and will glue some heatsink to it later.

am i overlooking something? what should i test the modules with? can anyone provide me the battery currentdraw from his module?

i fear its a return, but if i just did something wrong, even better!

besides that: the "5mw" modules are great, and susie replied quick and helpful!

manuel

The 120-150mW module will require much more current than the others. That's why it seems underpowered. Try giving it 400-500mA of current and see if it doesn't brighten up a little..

I think that the quoted rating of 400mA is a bit low for a 120-150mW module. I have an o-like 50mW module that draws every bit of 450mA..

i just tried again, with 4x 1.2v nimh and 5x 1.2v nimh. thats definitely over the rating, so i tried it on the "5mw" ones first.

5mw1 4.8v 395mA 28mW
5mw2 4.8v 443mA 24mW
5mw3 4.8v 450mA 44mW
120mw 4.8v 300mA 44mW

5mw1 6.0v 484mA 36mW
5mw2 6.0v 534mA 43mW
5mw3 6.0v 550mA 56mW
120mw 6.0v 300mA 37mW

one of the 5mw ones started to smoke slightly, when i intentially left it on for, say, 10 sec. current draw didnt change though, beam didnt change a lot.

the 120mw one has a different driver. it has a 8pin smt chip and more/larger capacitors. which makes me wonder how/if at all the 5mw ones are current regulated.. ;-)

and, just because susie asked me to check with a 18650 battery, i currently charge my cr123 cells (have no 18650 ones here).

seems like the diodes on the 5mw ones are quite tough, so replacing the board with a flexdrive should yield nice results. the original board is neither reliable nor up to providing a high current without melting.

at the moment i try to shorten one 5mw unit by replacing the collimating lens. more about that in a new thread once i have results!

manuel

okay, now thats stupid. I tried with cr123, for a short time it seemed noticeably brighter. It turns out that the module only does 300mA/40mW when I touch the driver-board! I had a finger on the other side to support the board when pushing the button. When using the +- solderpoints directly, which bypasses the switch too, I got 660mA and 130mW output! yay!
sure, thats only for seconds (no heatsink) and only when almost touching the sensor, adding all IR to the reading. but its well in the 120-150mW range!

me happy and feeling stupid, learned something new, and will play with my new module now!

thank you for your help, electrofreak!

Manuel

Krutz said:

okay, now thats stupid. I tried with cr123, for a short time it seemed noticeably brighter. It turns out that the module only does 300mA/40mW when I touch the driver-board! I had a finger on the other side to support the board when pushing the button. When using the +- solderpoints directly, which bypasses the switch too, I got 660mA and 130mW output! yay!
sure, thats only for seconds (no heatsink) and only when almost touching the sensor, adding all IR to the reading. but its well in the 120-150mW range!

me happy and feeling stupid, learned something new, and will play with my new module now!

thank you for your help, electrofreak!

Manuel

Click to expand...

No problem.. Just a side note, however..(and you may already be aware) those 120mW modules require heatsinking or they will self-destruct. I recommend either a good solid pointer host with plenty of heatsinking, or a lab-style heatsink. IIRC those modules have the same diameter as an Aixiz module, so any lab-style sink that would work for an Aixiz would work for these. If you use it without a heatsink, I wouldn't burn it for more than maybe 20 seconds at a time followed by at least 2 minutes cool down time..

Krutz said:

turns out that the module only does 300mA/40mW when I touch the driver-board! When using the +- solderpoints directly, which bypasses the switch too, I got 660mA and 130mW output! yay!

Click to expand...

Hola,

I'm afraid I lost you (both) there...  :-?

I assembled JayRob's Groovy Green which means I ended up bypassing the switch anyways and I'm using one CR123A 3.6V.

Unfortunately I don't have an LPM yet, but like I noted in my review, I can't see a difference between the O-Like 120~150mW module and my (top quality) <50mW leadlight-hosted pointer....  :-/

Besides having equally perceived brightness, they both can "scar" CD cases - but don't burn through and they can both pop dark ballons from about 2m distance. The biggest "visible" difference is the divergence (1.2 vs. 2.0 mRads).

So are we ok with the one CR123A?

one CR123 @ 3.6V is a tiny bit high, but should not have any ill effects. The problem Krutz was having was caused by the fact that if you touch certain areas of the driver board while it is on, it alters the way the circuit functions.

ElektroFreak said:

...if you touch certain areas of the driver board while it is on, it alters the way the circuit functions.

Click to expand...

Oh, ok, got it

Yes, some suggested using the std 3.0V version but heck, Daguin's got 3.6V in his...

Thx for the feedback

Hi i have the same 120 ~ 150 greenie module too from O-like. but mine is great i had made a graph with my laserbee too.

here ist the Link to it

http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1237901022

I tested it with my CNI LPM too and i am never under 130 mw