The amazing 322mW Dilda

[Benm]

You said something like 'they could have just used a resistor', which isnt entirely the case. Lets say they did, and with 3 volts over the diode, and 6 volts supply, that would have been 10 ohms for 300 mA.

Now power this circuit with 12v, still (about) 3v over the diode, but 9v over the resistor, resulting in 900 mA current. It's not quite -that- bad, but its still a rather poorly designed circuit. Then again, as long as you stick to the specified batteries you'll get reasonable performance with acceptable risk. Perhaps they just had a whole lot of somewhat wrong drivers laying around the shop ;p

 

[lasersbee]

You said something like [highlight]'they could have just used a resistor',[/highlight] which isnt entirely the case. Lets say they did, and with 3 volts over the diode, and 6 volts supply, that would have been 10 ohms for 300 mA.

Now power this circuit with 12v, still (about) 3v over the diode, but 9v over the resistor, resulting in 900 mA current. It's not quite -that- bad, but its still a rather poorly designed circuit. Then again, as long as you stick to the specified batteries you'll get reasonable performance with acceptable risk. Perhaps they just had a whole lot of somewhat wrong drivers laying around the shop ;p

It was [sarcastic] [/sarcastic]...

 

[Benm]

Hehe... i guess so, but it seems common practice to actually 'just use a resistor' in both cheap led flashlights and even really cheap red laser pointers, so it wasn't that far fetched.

Perhaps they'll do a V2 some day with a more beefy body, CR123 cells and a properly regulated driver - the dilda seems to be a massive success in terms of sales, though that might change with the usa import regulations nowadays

 

[Crossfire]

Lighthound sells nominal 3.6V LiIon CR2's. I'm going to get a couple sets of these to see if they make a difference in my Dilda. I'm currently using the 3.0V LiFePO4 batteries DX sells.

http://www.lighthound.com/RCR2-Unprotected-Rechargeable-Lithium-Battery_p_6-1577.html

 

[Benm]

KD used to sell them as well, but now only has the 3.0 volt version.

They are also sold on ebay, these look to be the same as the ones use in CR2 powered green lasers:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ultrafire-Recha...attery-x6_W0QQitemZ330264070808QQcmdZViewItem

Same company also sells a set of 4 with a charger for $23 and free shipping: http://cgi.ebay.com/Ultrafire-CR2-C...photoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

I don't know this particular company, but those ultrafire CR2's work fine from me - i doubt mine are different than the ones sold here.

 

[Yellowsierra]

I found some rechargable 3.6volt Cr2 batterys on ebay. There are made by Juice. There only $1 a piece and are in the US. I just ordered two so I will let everyone know how good they work. When you go on ebay just type " Juice CR2" on the search bar and they will come right up.

Justin

 

[lasersbee]

I found some rechargable 3.6volt Cr2 batterys on ebay. There are made by Juice. There only $1 a piece and are in the US. I just ordered two so I will let everyone know how good they work. When you go on ebay just type " Juice CR2" on the search bar and they will come right up.

Justin

You will be amazed at the increase in power....

 

[Yellowsierra]

You will be amazed at the increase in power....
[/quote]

Can you explain how you made the external power source. I have a 3-cell lipo that puts out 12.6 volts. It is 1800 mah so it should last forever. Do you have any pictures?

Thanks

Justin

 

[Benm]

A lab power supply isnt usually something you make, but buy. It delivers an ajustable voltage with adjustable current limitation, making it very suitable for these experiments.

It is possible to make one yourself ofcourse, but that doesnt seem feasible if your electronics experience doesnt include actually using one.

Also: dont connect that 12 volt pack to the DX200, that's almost certain to fry it one way or another. Get a couple of these 3.6 instead of 3.0 volt batteries - you'll be giving it 20% extra juice that way, more than enough without any further equipment to verify what you are actually doing.

Also, i plan to swap out the existing driver for a 350 mA regulated one... once i do, i'll drop a thread on this forum with results and howto (if it works, that is )

 

[lasersbee]

You will be amazed at the increase in power....

Can you explain how you made the external power source. I have a 3-cell lipo that puts out 12.6 volts. It is 1800 mah so it should last forever. Do you have any pictures?

Thanks

Justin[/quote]

It was a 1amp Adjustable Supply that goes from about 3 volt to 25 volts... that I had built around an
7805 TO-3 positive regulator from an application circuit about 10 years ago...

It has a large analog 0 to 30 volt meter and an analog 0 to 3 Amp meter.
It is controlled by a single turn Coarse adjustment Potentiometer and a 10 turn Fine adjustment
Potentiometer...
Doing a quick Google search... I found this circuit.....

http://www.elecfree.com/circuit/power-supply/dc-power-supply-5-22v-by-7805/

You would only need to add a Voltmeter and Ampere meter to the output to get basically the same
Variable Power Supply that I use..

As Benm says... maybe start by changing the batteries to 3.6 volt units...


Jerry

 

[Crossfire]

I have tried the Lighthound 3.6V LiIon in my Dilda.  Even though I don't have a meter I did notice some effects, mainly an increase in burning power.  It's only slightly visually brighter and you will not notice the difference unless you know your laser well.  However, the laser body heats up much more quickly.  I'd strongly recommend a duty cycle of 30 sec. on/30 sec. off at most.

If I want to burn, I'd use the 3.6V batteries.  But for "workhorse" applications, the 3.0V work nicely. In short, this durable, versatile laser now has limited variable power control!

When I get a meter, I'll post a more scientific recap of the results.

 

[fatboyslim]

OMG. That is definitely a Diode Miracle

 

[lasersbee]

Well I finally got some 3.6V CR2 rechargeable batteries to
use in my DX200 Red Dildas...

Here are the results.........

http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1232483122

Jerry

 

[rangedunits]

I tryed uSing 3 cr2 and using my 10 neodym magnet as switch i can see a difference with 3 and/or 4.they are 3V

 

[Smeed]

Overlclocking lasers Fun stuff. I ordered a dilda and some extra batteries from DX. I wasnt paying attention to the voltage but it looks like I got ordered the 3.6v type. Awesome mistake on my part.

 

[lasersbee]

Overlclocking lasers   Fun stuff. I ordered a dilda and some extra batteries from DX. I wasnt paying attention to the voltage but it looks like I got ordered the 3.6v type. Awesome mistake on my part.

More like... OverDriving....

There are no Oscillators in the DX200 Red "Dilda" Laser.... ;D

Jerry