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Dan39

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whats up folks

nice looking forum.

trying to build myself a cheap 405nm laser... not going as easy as i thought lol. crappy o-like driver(think i burnt it up already) :( trying to look for a better driver which is not too expensive.


some more about me:

computer geek. linux, torrents, hardware(a lil). the usual.
 
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DTR

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You have lot of options but I will suggest two that would be dependent on what type of battery configuration your host is set up for if you have chosen one yet.

If you are planning on using a single 3.7V Li Ion battery you can use a microboost drive $26 shipped. It will give you quite a range of currents that you can choose from.
http://hacylon.case.edu/ebay/laser_diode/Micro_BoostDrive.php

If you are going to use 2x3.7V Li Ions in series you can use a Groove 2 $16 shipped. This also has a range that will cover most of the settings that any of the 405's will run.
http://hacylon.case.edu/ebay/laser_diode/Groove_2.php

You can also get either of these two drivers with the current preset for $4 more. No messing around with testing on a load or soldering jumpers to get the proper range.

There are also other choices as well. I do however like the quality of Drlava's drivers and can definitely recommend:beer:
 
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Dan39

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thank you very much for the awesome reply. those actually were the 2 drivers i was looking at getting :)

but... i planned on just using 2 or 3 AAA batteries, will that work with their of them?
 

DTR

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3XAAA's or 3X10440's.

AAA's are 1.5V Not sure what fully charged maybe 1.7V for a total of 4.5-5.1V so not the grove(since it cannot boost voltage) with those but the microboost should be fine.

10440's are 3.7V and 4.2 fully charged giving 12.6V which is .6V over the stated input voltage for the Grove V2 but some have stated no problems when going slightly over and with 10440's they would drop the .6V rather quickly to be in spec. But I certainly would until somebody with more experience with the groove can chime in recommend 2X10440's in series for 8.4V to be on the safe side.
 

Dan39

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allright so 2x 10440 with the groove 2 should be perfect i think... maybe ill just do that, and they are same size as AAA it looks, so i can use the regular AAA holder...

or would that be too much voltage? will the groove 2 drop the voltage enough... 2x of those batteries will give about 8 volts, and the groove 2 says 1.2v dropout... that's around 6.5 -7 V, which is lot higher than the 4-4.5 recommended for diode. or does the diode only really cares about current?
 
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DTR

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allright so 2x 10440 with the groove 2 should be perfect i think... maybe ill just do that, and they are same size as AAA it looks, so i can use the regular AAA holder...

or would that be too much voltage? will the groove 2 drop the voltage enough... 2x of those batteries will give about 8 volts, and the groove 2 says 1.2v dropout... that's around 6.5 -7 V, which is lot higher than the 4-4.5 recommended for diode. or does the diode only really cares about current?

The driver will buck the voltage down to what the diode needs. The voltage supplied from the batteries just has to be 1.2V above the voltage of the diode.
 

Dan39

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ordered it all up :)

and now i think this groove 2 will fit in the aixiz housing. the o-like wouldnt.


and wow... it actually has 2 solder points for battery, and then 2 for diode. not some f'ed up stuff like on the o-like. who the hell designed that thing...

at least i got to practice my soldering on the crappy $10 o-like. was first time using my new soldering iron, weller wlc100. use to use some cheapy like 30w thingy i got from a truck stop. lol


now im going to order them batteries... and charger i guess lol


o and another thing... anyone used on of these $10 150mW 405nm diodes? i figured it would be powerful enough for me, where i could at least see the beam at night. i figured i would because i had one of those $7 ebay "<5mW" blue laser pointer pens, and that thing i could see the beam at night. lost it tho.
 
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Morgan

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The driver will buck the voltage down to what the diode needs. The voltage supplied from the batteries just has to be 1.2V above the voltage of the diode.

Hey DTR,

The Groove is actually a linear driver. It doesn't buck the voltage down, (much more efficient), it just dissipates the extra power as heat, (not so efficient). It will still work for this application but there is a definite distinction between linear and buck drivers. Just one for the old memory banks... ;)

M
:)
 

DTR

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Hey DTR,

The Groove is actually a linear driver. It doesn't buck the voltage down, (much more efficient), it just dissipates the extra power as heat, (not so efficient). It will still work for this application but there is a definite distinction between linear and buck drivers. Just one for the old memory banks... ;)

M
:)

Thanks. I was not making that distinction when I read the user manual.:beer:
 




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