GGW-H20L 6x Sled GB!!! THE EPIC GB THREAD LAWL!!!

[amkdeath]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! THEY ARE GOING FAST!

Hmmmm....  How much would 2k diodes cost? ...probably ~$80k...can't justify that cost for the hobby  

...but it would be so awesome to have 2000 diodes!!

hey ive probably spent that much so far on this hobby ;D ;D


jk

amk

 

[chopper]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! THEY ARE GOING FAST!

With 2000 you could put about one per square inch of a 4ft diameter satellite dish, focus it all on one spot and have 400W (200mW ea.) of massive bluray burning power!!
;D ;D ;D

 

[amkdeath]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! THEY ARE GOING FAST!

With 2000 you could put about one per square inch of a 4ft diameter satellite dish, focus it all on one spot and have 400W (200mW ea.) of massive bluray burning power!!
;D ;D ;D

hey good idea... *pops out 110,000 dollars worth of spare change out of back pocket*

 

[pullbangdead]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! THEY ARE GOING FAST!

The drives these sleds come from; what current, voltage and power are they set at OEM?

Me personally, i'd rather have 30mw less power for a several magnitude gain in life.

I don't want to run it at the bare minimum to get it to lase, but i don't think the OE manufacturer does either.

I guess my question is where is the middle ground; time/power vs current/power?

In optical drives, the diodes are effectively run pulsed.  Everyone here (that I know of or has been posted at least) wants these for running CW in handhelds or labbies.  The diodes being pulsed makes a HUGE difference in lifetime, and so the power they're run at in drives is pretty much immaterial to what you're doing if you're putting it in a handheld and driving it CW.  

The diodes would also be driven with constant power in the drive (probably, but haven't looked to see for complete certain that that's the case with these sleds), not constant current.  Like IgorT has mentioned, running constant current can allow the power to change, and that change in power can be very hard on the diode.  The drive would be running the diode at constant power, so if the power/current input changes, the drive would automatically change the input power to bring the power back where it needs to be.  

So basically, the testing being done on these by users here would be more valuable to you for your handheld CW laser than would the specs of what the diode does in the drive.  They are related, but it's convoluted, and you can very easily just see what IgorT and others are getting from their diodes and adjust accordingly.  In general, lower power will give you a longer lifetime, but no lifetime is ever guaranteed (especially since we don't have a data sheet). So far, IgorT seems to have a good handle on what these things are maxing out at. I imagine threshold (current where lasing starts) is at about 30mA, so basically anywhere between whatever threshold is and whatever maximum you believe to be accurate would be a viable current to run.

 

[danq]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! THEY ARE GOING FAST!

just got a blu-ray from an AMK sled installed in a Kryton Groove... went the lazy route and used a DrLava Flexdrive (since my latest and greatest is still hung up on technical difficulties)...

Diode current is set to 175mA, and measured power is 160-170mW after a plastic lense - the one that came with the Kryton.

no time for graphs just now... but I'm up next for the calibration testing, so sometime this weekend maybe.

DanQ

 

[IgorT]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! THEY ARE GOING FAST!

Well, mine is at around 70 hours now. Still alive and kicking!

Today it's putting out 152-153mW. Every day it's a little less,  but it just won't die. At this point it would probably have lived a year in the hands of an average user, possibly even more, due to the use declining with time...

With PHRs, i have a feeling, that at 110mW they can go either way - either they slowly degrade, or they COD, but the latter is rare. Usually they just degrade and degrade untill the power gets really low, but it's mostly a slow process. If you go higher than that, like 150mW, they degrade a little and then COD, lower than that, they just degrade so slowly, that you might not even notice it during normal use..

It's possible, that 150mW is similar for the 4x's. I'm surprised it lost so much power and hasn't COD'd yet. I hope i'm not just lucky with this one, and that they are all like this, because at this point i believe the 4x is not a bad diode! If it can supply >150mW and last for a year even in my hands, it's better than any PHR i have seen so far. This particular diode at 150mW so far seems more reliable than some PHRs at 100mW. Altho PHRs have much higher losses in lenses, so the same power after a plastic lens means a PHR is putting out much more raw power behind the lens. It's so many variables, that it can all get confusing!


I'm staring to think, that 100-110mW with PHRs, 140-150mW with 4x's and 180-200mW with 6x's is a similar "limit". My 6x is also slowly degrading but hasn't COD'd yet... In all cases i am talking about after lens power of course. Even tho there are different losses in the lenses even among the same diode model, there are certain averages.


A PHR driven bellow the first kink would probably live for thousands of hours. For a PHR that would be around 90mW. From what Kage described in PMs, the first kink with a 4x is at around 140mW, where the beam distorts and the power drops, sometimes even to 115mW.. Rkcstr's graph shows the first kink at just after 140mW as well, but it's not as bad as in Kage's case, altho it is possible that the current increments in that graph jumped over the worst of it.


I just finished a "diode analyzer" yesterday, so i will be able to test the remaining 4x's in much greater detail than so far. Let's see what the others are like... I have 12 more to test, but it probably won't be destructive testing...


Mophead: Look at Rkcstr's graph to see where 130mW is with an AixiZ lens. That could bring you life in the order of a thousand hours, or more. But even if it was "only" several hundred, the diode would probably outlive your interest in it.

Just make sure the beam profile is not distorted, because that would mean you are in the middle of the kink. If you project an enlarged spot on the wall, and the light is not evenly distributed, but "bent" off to a side, reduce the current a little until the spot is even. That would probably give you what you're looking for. Even if you don't have a meter, you can find the first kink this way, and adjust the diode slightly bellow it. But if you adjust it to just under the kink, when it's warm, the diode will drop back into it as it cools off, and the efficiency is higher! So for maximum life it should be under the kink when cold.

The power would be no higher than with many PHRs, but the life would be much longer. But like PullBangDead said, there are no guarantees. All the suggestions are just certain averages. For 8000 hours, you would have to drive it at 105mW before the lens = 85mW after the lens. But none of us really needs 8000 hours....

 

[IgorT]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! THEY ARE GOING FAST!

Diode current is set to 175mA, and measured power is 160-170mW after a plastic lense - the one that came with the Kryton.

It's strange that everyone needs more current to reach the same power i got at 150mA. I will recheck the driver just in case, altho i have set it to preciselly 150mA on the dummy load.


But the diode i am testing did not come from this group buy. I have not yet tested one from the GB. On one hand i would be surprised if they were not the same.. But i was talking to Jayrob, and he also thought it was weird. 164mW at 150mA would be more like a 6x. :-? Even weirder is, that i got a less flat beam than expected...

It's unlikelly, but i will compare the two diode batches carefully, just in case. If it was so, it would explain why it's not dead yet, altho i would not expect a 6x to degrade this fast at only 150mA. If this one survives 120 hours, i will set it to 200mA just to see what happens...

 

[amkdeath]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! THEY ARE GOING FAST!

Yup, I think Round 4 might bring this close to a close, the supplier said he is running out fast. If he finds there is enough interest, he will do the 2000 unit order for these. EDIT: SCRATCH THAT! NEW UPDATE FIRST POST!! LIMITED SUPPLY! I am trying to convince him to do the GGW's instead... hes not listening    

Yea, I still have my diode, I have disconnected it from the duallase, and from that AMC driver (thanks Igor!!). I am STILL waiting for my 2 krytons and a flexdrive!!

regards,

amk

 

[daguin]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! THEY ARE GOING FAST!

[quote author=danq link=1223438970/760#772 date=1226486371]
It's strange that everyone needs more current to reach the same power i got at 150mA. I will recheck the driver just in case, altho i have set it to preciselly 150mA on the dummy load.

We might also be dealing with a potential issue with the V2 flexdrives. At least one other person has noticed the same thing I am experiencing. The output drops as the batteries wear. I'm sure that your power source is giving a steady full voltage. The output in our hand helds may be lower because the current from the V2 driver is dropping with voltage drop. It may have been 210mA when I put it together, but three days of burning later it most certainly is no longer putting out 210mA.

Peace,
dave

 

[daguin]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! THEY ARE GOING FAST!

EDIT: SCRATCH THAT! NEW UPDATE FIRST POST!! LIMITED SUPPLY!

FIRST! I want 5 of them

Peace,
dave

 

[jayrob]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! Supply is almost dry! Hur

Amk, I've already paid for the batch 3 sleds...

But if your are talking about the GGW 6X sleds, put me down for 4 of those as well!

I wasn't sure from your last couple of posts whether or not your are getting the GGW sleds now...
Jay

 

[daguin]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! Supply is almost dry! Hur

Amk, I've already paid for the batch 3 sleds...
But if your are talking about the GGW 6X sleds, put me down for 4 of those as well!
I wasn't sure from your last couple of posts whether or not your are getting the GGW sleds now...
Jay

The "update" in the first post looks like he is talking about the end of the supply for these sleds from, at least, this supplier.  However, his post on this page looks like he is talking about the H2OL sleds.  That's why I did what you did, just in case

Peace,
dave

 

[treb76]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! Supply is almost dry! Hur

if it's the 6x for realz, i want one

 

[IgorT]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! Supply is almost dry! Hur

I would also like 6 more 4x's...


And a truckload of 6x's please.. :

 

[amkdeath]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! Supply is almost dry! Hur

no garuntees on H20L yet, still trying to convince the supplier ;D

and yes the H10L is coming to the end of its days.

 

[jayrob]

Re: 6x Blu-ray SLEDS GB! Supply is almost dry! Hur

Ok Amk, thanks for clearing that up...

I'm good with the 4 GBW sleds that I have coming from batch 3 for now... but I'll be watching for the word to order the GGW sleds!
Jay