help with my first build please?

hey everyone ive been lurking around this site now for about six months finding out information and expanding my knowledge i have now signed up, however i have stumbled upon something that i cannot find information on. so this is my problem.

the voltage - i have the 650nm 20x LOC diode from the SF-AW210 sled and this diode has a Vf of 2.5v. it is set up like this:

before power goes to the driver


after power goes to the driver


milliamps


as you can see from the picture, after the driver, the voltage is a little under 5v. will this blow the diode as the Vf is 2.5v? any help will be greatly appreciated

laserboystuart.

i have the 650nm 20x LOC diode from the SF-AW210

Click to expand...

Isnt this from the GGW sled?

Have you tried a test load?

I aint saying this is wrong, but not the way I have leaned to test me load before connecting my diode.

well the 20x loc diode is in the SF-AW210, LPC-815 and the GGW-H2OL sleds.

laserboystuart

If you measure the output voltage of a driver without any load, the voltage will be very high. The load will pull this down to the correct level if the current is set properly. A test load is the best, shorting is possible with a current source but puts more load than usual on the driver.