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host/batteries

Omega

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hey everyone, im getting all geared up to build my first laser, but ive hit a final roadblock. the host and batteries.

i plan to use a rckstr driver, and have been informed i need 7v in order for it to power my 803T diode.

my problem is that im unsure of what host to buy, as most have 3xAAA, and 1.5x3 isnt quite 7...

the other option are those surefire lithium rechargeable batteries that run like 3.6 each, so only two would be fine (which is good, cause ive only seen packs of two)
however then theres a left over space in the battery holder.

even more of an issue is that i cant find any AAA sized ones with protection, which i would really prefer over 'sploding battieries.

theres also flashlights with those cr123a or whatevers, but the one i saw said not to use 3.6v ones (which ive found with protection). is that because the LED cant handle that much? but it would be fine for the laser?

can anyone help me out here?
 





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7v is sorta the minimum you want to be using with a rkcstr driver on a bluray diode... 2 or more 3.6v lithiums is completely necessary. 3x 3.6v lithiums won't be a problem since the driver can handle something like 15 volts.

As for having unprotected cells, it won't be a problem unless you drain them below some 2.8v per cell.. If you only use two cells you can start to notice the beam dim once the driver starts to fall out of regulation, otherwise you can buy little cutoff protection circuits for a couple bucks that are essentially the same circuits found in protected batteries. And BTW, if you ever need to use two batteries in a three-battery host, you can buy "dummy cells" that are the size of a battery but do nothing.

With the flashlights that you'll be thinking of using it won't make a difference if they're meant for 3.0v or 3.6v since you won't be using the flashlight's original circuitry, but a rkcstr driver instead.
 
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pseudolobster said:
7v is sorta the minimum you want to be using with a rkcstr driver on a bluray diode...  2 or more 3.6v lithiums is completely necessary. 3x 3.6v lithiums won't be a problem since the driver can handle something like 15 volts.

As for having unprotected cells, it won't be a problem unless you drain them below some 2.8v per cell.. If you only use two cells you can start to notice the beam dim once the driver starts to fall out of regulation, otherwise you can buy little cutoff protection circuits for a couple bucks that are essentially the same circuits found in protected batteries. And BTW, if you ever need to use two batteries in a three-battery host, you can buy "dummy cells" that are the size of a battery but do nothing.

With the flashlights that you'll be thinking of using it won't make a difference if they're meant for 3.0v or 3.6v since you won't be using the flashlight's original circuitry, but a rkcstr driver instead.

Got a link for those protection circuits? :)
 
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positron said:
Got a link for those protection circuits? :)

You can get them from electronics catalog sites, battery sites, and sometimes RC car sites.

Here's what I found in 30 seconds of googling "lithium protection circuit", I'm sure there's better ones available, this is just the first ones that popped up.

http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1083
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Cat=2556336;keywords=lithium protection
http://www.dualsky.com/main.asp?mainset=19

Or, if you know what you're doing, you can rip them out of protected cells and wire them into your laser, though I really wouldn't recommend it since you could end up exploding.
 

Omega

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pseudolobster: man, everyone on these forums are so helpful :D
well im hoping to get a flashlight that uses the short and fat 3v cells, that way i can get one order of 3.6v cells (which ive found with protection).
and alright, i was assuming that warning was only for the flashlights circuitry.
thanks for your help :]
 
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pseudolobster said:
[quote author=positron link=1217204185/0#2 date=1217247519]

Got a link for those protection circuits? :)

You can get them from electronics catalog sites, battery sites, and sometimes RC car sites.

Here's what I found in 30 seconds of googling "lithium protection circuit", I'm sure there's better ones available, this is just the first ones that popped up.

http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1083
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Cat=2556336;keywords=lithium protection
http://www.dualsky.com/main.asp?mainset=19

Or, if you know what you're doing, you can rip them out of protected cells and wire them into your laser, though I really wouldn't recommend it since you could end up exploding.[/quote]

Thanks for searching on my behalf, I kinda thought it might be something you already had a source for. Now I know they exist I can do some googling :). Something like these would be good if they could be integrated into the LD driver for hosts that use the 10440 unprotected cells as I don't think there are protected versions of those cells available (I could be wrong about that though).

Sorry for the threadjack Omega
 




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