Powering a 3V 50w Green with 3.7V to 4.2V

Good evening LPF,

I recently bought a couple 532nm modules to test with from Cajun Lasers (50mw 532nm green laser module [532mod50] - $24.99 : Cajunlasers Store).

Clif said the should be good where they are adjusted and probably won't take much extra voltage. Ofcouse I want more power, but want to see if anyone has tried any experimenting with these modules to see how they an be pushed.

In order to be consistent with some of my other builds, at a minimum, I wanted to power these modules with a 16340 or 14500. Has anyone tried this? Should the drive rand diode be able to handle the voltage increase? Would the increase voltage lend any benefit to playing with pot for modding power?

Any suggestions are appreciated.
Eric.

You are probably best leaving it as is. If you get any increase in power from turning up the current with a potentiometer adjustment you will likely also sacrifice some stability.

About the driver... it looks like the same type of module as the ones sold on DX. When they first arrived on the market, I tested one (200mW) and it died after short use powered by an 18650.
If you plan on using a Li-ion battery it might be best to put a diode in series with the - contact point for the driver (the spring) to reduce the input voltage.

If you want more power buy more power. The days of "pot-modding" are long gone.

Pot modding doesn't usually give you any more power, it just kills your pump diode faster. Generally when green modules are made they are binned (sorted) by how powerful they are, which is based on how efficient or how well aligned the special crystals are. They all use the same parts, and are all set to the same maximum output, so when you buy a 50mW module, you're buying one that is only capable of 50mW. If it was capable of more power, they would sell it as a higher power module, and make a LOT more money. Chinese bargain companies (who make/resell the green modules) got wise to the idea and stopped selling modules that can be pushed to high power a few years back. They don't really care if your diode dies before 5000hours any more, so there is no reason for them to throttle it back.

The extra voltage shouldn't harm it at all, just don't throw more than 4.2V at it. If you're worried you can always put a series 1N4001 diode in line with the positive wire, this will drop the voltage from a Li-Ion cell to 3.5V top and protect it from reverse polarity as well.

Edit; Bah! RA_pierce beat me to it. +1 to ya bud!

Thank you both for the quick replies. I figured as much on the pot modding, but glad to have the confirmation. These modules work great as is and are plenty bright for the money. My main concern is the driving voltage, so the diode sounds like a good, cheap solution.

I appreciate the input