HELP!!!!! Please read :'(

At the tail end of building my first handheld, I was trying to connect the V- lead to the module for the final connection and the pin on my 100 dollar diode broke off! What the hell can I do?! That was basically all the money I'll have until January and if I cannot fix it it is just another 100 dollars wasted trying to build my first laser.

I am so overwhelmingly frustrated right now I just don't even know what to do with myself. First I had a diode+driver and the host was bad. Now I get a new host, and new batteries for the new host and my diode breaks. I cannot keep this up. I work at a minimum wage job trying to earn money to pay off my car and go to college and I have a girlfriend whom I love and I am trying to build a laser so I can be somewhat satisfied for the time being until I can get an actual career underway.

I no longer know what to do. This hobby is wonderful, but it is very expensive. If 130 dollars can just disappear into thin air because a tiny piece of metal breaks then I have no idea how to keep enjoying what I love.

I sold off so much stuff just to get the extra bit of money to gather all the parts for this laser, and the world has just slammed the door in my face.

I hope there is some possible way that a pin broken off can be fixed, or something but right now I am just resisting the urge to put my fist through a wall.

If anyone actually read through that, then I appreciate it. I don't know who to talk to to rant about this and the only people I know of who give a rat's ass about lasers is everyone here at LPF.

-Isaac

Sheesh, how hard were you handling that diode for a pin to break off?

If you can put a solder blob over what's left of the pin and onto the case you can use the case to get a wire in there.

I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!! I have done this to. To both a positive and negative lead. I have had tons of luck with the negative, I did just what ARGlaser suggested and it works everytime. As for the postive, thats more difficult. I had some luck using a piece of electrical take over the broken pin, then I take a blade and scratch through the tape just exposing the end of the broken lead, I then tin a piece of wire with and touch it to the lead when it's still molten. That has worked a couple of times. I still have a PHR running like this. Patience. I just fried a driver for my 445 that's barely 2 weeks old. Stay positive bud! It's a hard hobby but I believe it litteraly makes you smarter in everyday life.

Thank you for the responses! If I do that method you described, it would make my 9mm diode be case positive...so would I need to isolate the diode from the host?

wannaburnstuff said:

Thank you for the responses! If I do that method you described, it would make my 9mm diode be case positive...so would I need to isolate the diode from the host?

Click to expand...

Yup, you would have to electrically isolate either the module or the heat sink from the rest of the host.

I would thinks so. I don't enough about these diodes. I know with the other diodes I've used they are already case negative, that is why I had to use the electrical tape method. Hopefully somebody with more experience answers you. I'm going to follow this thread. I feel bad for you man! Let us know how you make out.


ARGlaser answered you just as I was typing. Dudes fast! Well there's your answer bud.

I attempted to salvage the diode, however there wasn't enough of the pin left for me to put solder on(it is below flush).

I honestly don't know what happened. Like I was holding it trying to get the wire to go to the casing, and then the diode just popped off the driver, leaving the majority of the neg diode pin.

I feel like this is one more 445 diode that won't survive my hands. I just want to have ONE laser that I have built that I can show people. That's all.
Isaac

:cryyy: Sorry to hear about the 9mm. i think next time you should just buy the diode in the module with leads already attached. probably would have not have had happened.

I did. But I got the driver separate from the diode due to issues with the host I was using. Once I had built it though, the host had terribad heat dissipation so I scrapped it and saved up the money for an ehgemus host and high quality 18650 batteries(the new host is a double 18650 battery host). Now that I got it I had everything but the connection to the case done and it snapped while I was soldering onto the module.

So you where soldering a connection from the case to the module? Do you mean you where soldering the driver lead to the diode negative?

No, I had the diode pins soldered directly to the diode pads on the X-Drive. I had the pos input lead from the ehgemus host going to the V+ on the driver. And I had a lead coming from V- on the driver that I was trying to solder onto the module to get a solid connection for the V- from the battery.

You probably could have just taken the negative lead wire and placed it in threads on the host for the ground. I'm not sure exactly how that host goes together but I've done this a bunch of times.

There are no threads on the host. Apart from the tail cap it is all one giant tube. Apparently Ehgemus makes them like that now.

that sucks-- maybe a member who has made this fix before could try for you- I would have no choice- I have seen several posts form vets who have done this trick- ask Jordan- (DTR) or Blord- good luck- hk

If only the tailcap comes off the how do you get to the diode area? As I assume his host takes a direct press diode. I'm sure its Beautiful host but maybe not the easiest to build for a first handheld.

Please next time use a more descriptive topic such as "Help! The pin on my diode broke off!" That way we can better identify if we can help.

Something else you can try: cut a chunk of a pin from another laser diode and push it down that hole to try and make contact with your inset pin. Then try to solder the pin to the case to keep it in position. Make sure the chunk of pin is long enough that you can give it some pressure so it can push onto the busted pin. If you plan on testing this before performing the soldering, you need to make sure you don't accidentally cause a momentary disconnect which will destroy the diode.

You could also just try blobbing the solder so it might go down that hole, but no guarantees that it'll actually go down.

This kind of thing is why I solder wires to the diode and hot-glue things down, like the driver to the host head.