Looking for an equivalent driver to the X-drivers

So the guy that makes the X-drivers hasn't been on here for awhile now and Im looking for an equivalent driver that is as reliable to the x-drivers.

Can anyone point in the right direction that is an all around good driver that can stay on for 12hours at a time?

I need 8 of these pretty quick

I believe Flaminpyro still has x-drives for sale.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/x-drive-x-boost-88589.html

Alright well now I need some that are cheaper because I aint paying that much for them.

Well, good luck. You arent going to find anything cheaper unless you get some crappy Chinese drivers.

When your diodes die from the bad drivers you buy, the good drivers suddenly look the cheap route. Buy quality so your tech will last. You buy rubbish for the things you don't care about. Shell out the extra 5 bucks per for the things you give a shit about.

Pi R Squared said:

I believe Flaminpyro still has x-drives for sale.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/x-drive-x-boost-88589.html

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But his stock seems to be dwindling. I wonder if he's still in contact with the maker? If not then the OP's question still stands. " What next"? :undecided:

I wonder if someone has the schematic to the x-driver? Id just make it my self

I have one I nicked with my dremel. I'll send it to you if you pay for shipping. I don't support someone profiting off of someone else's designs but if you are just making one for yourself I see no problem.

Also, the ic's names are sanded off, so good luck guessing which to use :/

irishluck said:

Alright well now I need some that are cheaper because I aint paying that much for them.

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If I had to guess, this ^ mentality is a large part of the reason we don't see more people manufacturing drivers.

Do the math. For a seller to list them at $20, they probably need to buy them from whomever is making them for under $15. Whomever sells them for $15, probably has to buy parts for $5 to $10, and then has a time investment in reflowing them. There's almost no margin here, and that's pretending there are no upfront $ or time investment in designing the driver itself. Plus, as demonstrated above, people are already complaining about the $20 price tag.

You should be happy that someone will make drivers, and someone else will then sell the drivers, all for an end price of around $20. I say "you", not to point a finger at you specifically - I mean the forum as a whole. I'm blown away that both Lazeerer and Flaminpyro are willing to continue doing this. In my opinion, it's a gift to the forum, moreso than anything else. I cannot imagine that either of them are making money (or any signficant amount) selling buck drivers.

That said, if you don't like paying $20+ for a buck driver (and I'm in that boat with you - I don't usually buy drivers) then your option is to create your own. Consider it an extension of the hobby. Build your own buck driver. There's a learning curve with switching drivers, but it's not an impossible task (as many used to claim). As long as you don't mind spending a couple hundred dollars on parts, iterating a design, investing the time, and reading a LOT, there's no reason you can't pull it off (even coming from a starting point of having zero familiarity with the basics of switching regulators. Oshpark, Digikey, and datasheets are your friend

RHD has a very good point. The price point on drivers is not ridiculous at all, and if you aren't willing to DIY just be happy they exist. Without them standard handheld builds would be nearly impossible.

@rhd: +4 rep, welcome to 400

IsaacT said:

RHD has a very good point. The price point on drivers is not ridiculous at all, and if you aren't willing to DIY just be happy they exist. Without them standard handheld builds would be nearly impossible.

@rhd: +4 rep, welcome to 400

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rhd does make a good point. I doubt anybody is getting rich off driver sales. I've been researching building my own boost drives and buck drives. Like rhd said plan on spending a LOT of time. I personally don't mind the $20 price of a good reliable drive and the peace of mind it brings.
It's like rhd said, I consider it an extension of the hobby, another step to master.
I have no desire to produce drives for anything but my own builds. It's just a goal I set for myself, to be able to produce the entire laser except for the diode myself.
It's really a pretty stupid goal. By the time I figure in the number of hours, the cost of parts, the frustration factor. I probably could have bought 5 years worth of drives.
But I wouldn't have learned a thing. It's a hobby

I also have a problem with the complaint about the price. It is what the market here has set it at. But, that being said, the only reason for Lazeerer to go out of the way to obscure the details of his designs is to protect his ability to sell drivers. That's not a "gift" to the forum by any stretch. He found a niche, filled a need, and could make some money doing it - more power to him (I have been quite impressed with his drives and am willing to pay for them because I feel it's worth it). We are now faced with looking for alternatives since Lazeerer has gone MIA. My suggestion to the OP would be to take advantage of the stock that Flaminpyro still has, or to take advantage of the lack of supply of quality drivers and get into the business of building and selling them.

That's what I try and do. Stock up when they are available. I have never got a bad drive from him.
I know what it's like for life to get in the way. Hopefully things calm down for him.
I got a drive off flea bay someone had posted a link to. I figured it would be good for a laugh.
I've had it for two weeks and can't even get time to test it.

Just an FYI Lazerer popped in to say he hasn't disappeared. He is just busy per usual.

IsaacT said:

Just an FYI Lazerer popped in to say he hasn't disappeared. He is just busy per usual.

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Now there is some good news ! Thanks for the info ! I had saw a thread he had posted in a few days ago. Sounded like he was hoping to be back around in a week or so. Maybe he has some new goodies :drool:
Or heck, even the old goodies are pretty nice