DIY driver not working :(

Hey guys, so I finally registered to the forums and decided to start tinkering with the rest of you... But I'm getting stopped up on the very first phase:

I followed Daedal's tutorial on making a DIY Laser Driver ( laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1185701612 ), but mine doesn't work, even when set up EXACTLY like his. I've found that if I remove the wire that connects to the left side of the LM317T, the circuit seems to work fine (tested with a 9v battery and a xmas bulb)... Any help for my issue? I'm afraid to start hooking lasers up to something thats missing a wire.....

Thanks
-Shammi

Can you post a picture?

He needs 10 posts....

@ shammakazie. Put some clear pictures of the driver up on photobucket then give us a link with "." replaced by the word "dot" we can then fix it for easy access.

Regards rog8811

Hey,

Just took a bunch of pics of my DIY circuit, still don't know whats wrong with it...  Also took some pics of a greenie I tore apart in my boredom, and some lenses from an old mac I found lying around...

Take a glance through these pics and let me know what I'm doing wrong - My circuit is laid out the exact same as his, but wont work when that one wire is in there...

Sorry for low quality, btw...  Don't have a real camera, was using the one in my iPhone.

s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd98/Shammikaze/Laser%20Stuff/

---There is no www b4 the url

-Shammi


::EDIT::
I guess I should add that I just purchased all the fixings for one of them Dorcy Blue Ray DIYs....  I also grabbed a couple extra "empty" sleds (which still have red and IR diodes in them) so that I can practice harvesting...   Im hoping to get my DIY driver working and hooked up to one of the red diodes just so I can have a basic understanding of how all this crap works.  We never learned circuits in my school - just barely touched it in physics way back in high school and now I'm wishing I knew it...

More questions to add:
- Do I absolutely NEED to have a diode in an Aixiz module before connecting it to the driver?  I'm cheap and lazy and just wanna connect the red diode straight to the driver without buying extra modules.  Is this dangerous?  I don't have goggles yet.

-What am I really going to want to watch out for when making my Blu Ray Dorcy?  What do I want to be really really careful with so I don't waste a ~$100 investment?  Obviously I hope to have a bit of practice first.

http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/...?action=view&current=CircuitBoardStuff002.jpg

I am having a look....

Regards rog8811

It's possible the diode across the output is backwards. I can't tell from your pic, but the striped end should be toward the positive side of the driver..

ElektroFreak said:

It's possible the diode across the output is backwards. I can't tell from your pic, but the striped end should be toward the positive side of the driver..

Click to expand...

The side with the stripe on it is in fact on the positive side of the board.

I was going to suggest the diode ...but I cannot see what you are using for a load on the driver, 1N4001 diodes?

It looks to be wired correctly....can you measure 1.25 between the out and adjust pins on the LM317?

Regards rog8811

You could try swapping that LM317 with another. From what I can tell (which is a little limited by image quality) everything is hooked up correctly. Also, there could be a problem with your breadboard (although this is doubtful). If you could post a close-up of the circuit itself, it might help..

rog8811 said:

I was going to suggest the diode ...but I cannot see what you are using for a load on the driver, 1N4001 diodes?

It looks to be wired correctly....can you measure 1.25 between the out and adjust pins on the LM317?

Regards rog8811

Click to expand...

-Yes, 1N4001 diodes...

-Measure 1.25 what? and how?        Not exactly sure what you need from me here >.<



@ElektroFreak ->     Breadboard has to be working fine - I'm able to light a xmas bulb if I remove that one wire from the  adj  side of the LM317...  But as soon as the wire goes back in, no more light.  See the above link to my photobucket for pics.

Thanks
-Shammi

Measure voltage as shown below.

Regards rog8811

Just tried a bunch of readings around that area... none gave me any voltage.

I think your LM317 regulator is faulty..

ElektroFreak said:

I think your LM317 regulator is faulty..

Click to expand...

Don't be too sad.. it's an easy fix. I'm not 110% sure that that's the problem, but we're running out of other possibilities.

Just a thought, you have checked that your test load is the right way round? Is the battery near new (check voltage under load)
If that is right, remove the reverse voltage diode, if it still doesn't work remove the capacitor, if it still doesn't work replace the LM317.

Regards rog8811