Which driver is better?

I'm doing my first build soon, a Blu-Ray in a Dorcy host and I need a driver, but I'm not sure which one I should get, one from DrLava or this one:
Micro Laser Diode Driver Board, 0-500mA 10mmx20mm w TTL - eBay (item 180369692918 end time Jul-16-09 10:59:35 PDT)
After shipping and the extra $5 for having it preset, it would cost about $27.63. Will this work as good or should I just spend the extra money and get the one from DrLava? Or will the cheaper one work just as well?

Welcome to LPF you have already done research niceee!! !

You will need the dr.lava driver because of it's size and because it is a BOOST driver oh and you better have good soldering skills and a small soldering tip because flexdrives are TINY!

The search button is your friend.
-Lasersbee

Thanks, I guess quality over cost. Might need help with the soldering though.

get the Rkcstr driver it rocks i have used about 30 so far A#1

if you want the laser to be small, flexdrive, if you can use 2 batteries then rkcstr

Yeah, just saw Rkcstr's post for pre-orders, so I'll put it to a vote, DrLava or Rkcstr?

EDIT: Will the Rkcstr work for the Dorcy Jr. host? What about the Ultrafire Cree C3 (Silver host from Dark Horse)? Also, does anyone know if the 'problem' for Dark Horse with these be resolved soon, or if it already has?

No, you need a flexdrive !

Vbatt <= (Vlaser + 2V) --> Get Flexdrive
Vbatt > (Vlaser + 2V) --> Get Rkcstr or Flexdrive

If you get a Flexdrive, make sure your input battery voltage does not exceed 5V. If it can or does, put some rectifier diodes in series with the input to the Flexdrive.

if you are using a dorcy jr as a host you have to use Dr. lava's flexdrive because that host will use cr123 batteries that has a capacity of 3V to 3.7V in which the flex drive input has to be from 2.25-5V.

Those drivers are the cheapo useless ones from o-like or qualifound... they're like 2 for $3.

Apparently they're boost drivers, and they can be used, though several people have said they suck.

I am equally pleased with the performance of the rkcstr and flexdrive v4 but I wouldn't buy an off-brand cheapo.

GET BOTH!

Eku said:

Welcome to LPF you have already done research niceee!! !

You will need the dr.lava driver because of it's size and because it is a BOOST driver oh and you better have good soldering skills and a small soldering tip because flexdrives are TINY!

The search button is your friend.
-Lasersbee

Click to expand...

Yes they are very small! Thats how I messed up my Dorcy build! The laser still works, it just doesn't burn and also lets off a high pitch. Now I've learned my lesson and bought a better soldering iron and solder with much smaller diameter.

Ok, flexdrive it is, but it'll be for something else entirely, for now the PHR build is on hold, as I'm not going to be using a Dorcy, I've found something else I can use, just not at the moment. I am going to be needing a driver soon though, so flex drive it is.

Flex drives allow you to use smaller hosts as well, because they only need 3.0volts. not 6volts like an rkcstr driver. the best aplication depends on the host. i presonaly dont like using flexdrives in a 2 battery host. for EG/ mohrenbergs machined hosts take 2x CR2 batteries, and supplies 6Volts to the driver. the best choice for this host would be the rkcstr driver for somplicity. if you were to use a flexdrive with the mentioned host, you would need to drop the voltage to at LEAST 5.6volts for it to not kill the driver.

Rkcstr's are easier to work with, they have larger parts to solder too, but the tradeoff is the 6volts of input power required.

The flexdrive v4 uses micro surface mount components, and utilizes a BUCK/BOOST feature. meaning if your only inputing 3volts, but your using a blu-ray diode, it will require 5-6volts to the diode. in order to achieve this the BOOST cuircut comes into play, and boosts the voltage to a higher level than can be achieved by the battery alone. The trade-off is this driver is VERY SMALL, so working with it may be difficult to the inexperianced solderer. also this driver requires you to set the "range" of the driver by bridging a specific few resistors on the board. this can also be difficult as these pads are smaller than the input/output pads.

I hope this information proves itself usefull, and good luck! Welcome to LPF!

Dark

has any body actually had a sucessful phr build with a rkcstr driver with only inputing 6 total volts? in my experiences this is not possible. but maybe i read this thread wrong?