Boost LED driver for a 445 works with 1 X 18650 @ 1A

*Will update with pictures tonight as my camera is at home*

*edit* i put a link to the driver page at the bottom

I wasnt sure if this was the correct forum to post this (maybe experiments/tutorials) but i just wanted to let the community know that i have successfully powered a 445 with a LED driver.
I know others have done so before, but the special case here is that this was a boost driver capable of 1 Amp of power that is very very stable and requires only moderate heatsinking.














best part was it came faster than a microboost i ordered at the same time, and it was substanstially cheaper (will delete this if someone takes offense to it, sorry didnt mean to). SHIN and lazerer i believe has buck LED drivers from DX and kaidomain work but this one was from the sandwich shoppe. it costs a bit more than the DX driver but still very cheap for a boost driver capable of a stable clean 1 Amp. I just ordered a slighltly more expensive one (+$4) that is buck/boost, capable of 1.5A from the sandwich shoppe and will post with results.

LINK TO DRIVER PAGE

DISCLAIMER
I dont mean to hate on anybodies drivers here, but i was hard pressed to find a boost alternative capable of running a 445. Just wanted to inform the community of the options available to them and proof that it works. pics at 9:30PM!!!!:na:

Nice work!
Saving money is a must for this hobby!
This probably should have gone under reviews and with a review of the host/driver/diode and where you got them from.

+rep for you

hey thanks man, im kinda new to this stuff and it would be cool if we could check out each other's collection. i would have 7 lasers but thanks to learning i now have 3... hahaha

oh yea if anybody in wondering, the last pic is to show the aluminum star i cut in half and thermal expoxied to the 2 chips on the driver for heatsinking. wish i had a lpm to test for long term stability.

An lpm is on my long list of stuff to buy. Lol
And fried parts? I know how you feel. I blew 4 flexdrives in a day. $100 I could just flushed down the toilet.
I love the aluminum star idea! very inventive.

steviedezie said:

hey thanks man, im kinda new to this stuff and it would be cool if we could check out each other's collection. i would have 7 lasers but thanks to learning i now have 3... hahaha

oh yea if anybody in wondering, the last pic is to show the aluminum star i cut in half and thermal expoxied to the 2 chips on the driver for heatsinking. wish i had a lpm to test for long term stability.

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steviedezie;

Good review on the Sandwich Shoppe driver.

Their drivers have been used for several years on flashlight builds with good results.

LarryDFW

thanks im new to posting reviews and whatnot and i really am willing to learn so any of you more seasoned members are welcomed to critique with whats good/bad/needed
theres so many random custom stuff i've been doing but just been lazy to take pics to make a good review thread.

LarryDFW said:

steviedezie;

Good review on the Sandwich Shoppe driver.

Their drivers have been used for several years on flashlight builds with good results.

LarryDFW

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I wanted to try this over a year ago but was told that LED drivers and lasers didn't mix. Seems somebody was full of it. The question is, will this work with high powered greens and reds? Maybe I'll start a thread and ask

heres the thing, these are boost drivers and the Vf of red's and greens (IR pump diodes) are lower than the voltage of the battery so you would go into direct drive mode. if red and green is your intent then this thread here will interest you. 5 dollar drivers that can run red or IR (green) that will run from plain NIMH's. LINK

blasterman said:

I wanted to try this over a year ago but was told that LED drivers and lasers didn't mix. Seems somebody was full of it. The question is, will this work with high powered greens and reds? Maybe I'll start a thread and ask

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Gotcha. I started a thread on this, but perhaps I didn't phrase it correct. What I'm trying to do is build inexpensive *fixed* lasers using this method - no batteries. I'm familiar with boost drivers and use them with portable LED rigs, but trying to determine if a boost driver is required for laser use, or any low voltage buck type driver will work as well. Non boost / buck type LED drivers capable of a stable 350mA or 1000mA with a 12 volt input cost me a $1.00. S'pose I should just buy some greens and test it I guess.

I've tested 2 LOCs with a single amc7135 chip. Both seemed to work extremely stable, but I didn't have a good switching mechanism. It could also do with some caps, I reckon. Datasheet shows good places for 'em that won't affect operation. They both stopped working and I have yet to test further as to why exactly that was. It was more an experiment than anything else, and it could have been anything from dust in the system to poor electrical connection to bad driver. Really, I just need to get a scope so I can get proper readings.

Anyways, have fun!

Oh, and welcome to LPF! Have you found a new addiction?

Hey Blasterman:
I chimed in on that other thread too, but didn't realize you were looking to run fixed lasers.

With that in mind, if you don't need a boost driver, you're 100x better off wiring your own circuit with an LM317 or LM338.

Honestly, if you grabbed an LM338, TO220 heatsink, 2W+ resistor, and a couple good ceramic caps, you'd have a rock solid driver if you followed the DDL design.

I think you could probably run that driver at 1.5A non-step. Your LD on the other hand, still needs a duty cycle

rhd said:

I think you could probably run that driver at 1.5A non-step. Your LD on the other hand, still needs a duty cycle

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not if he uses a bigass heatsink with TEC cooling . but seriously... a fixed laser should have an unlimited duty cycle with active cooling and ran at a conservative current which should be easy since size and power requirements will be more flexible.