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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

F&A Cotton

Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Messages
7
Points
3
I finished my first 405nm laser today. Not my first laser but I'm still all giddy.
Ultrafire c308 housing
Microflex v5
S06J
2 Cr123A batteries
AR Coated Three Element Glass Lens
Some BS China heat sink

I think it came out pretty good. Let me know what you think. I kinda forgot to get pics while I was building it, oops... Next time.
 

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Joined
Feb 18, 2012
Messages
796
Points
28
I finished my first 405nm laser today. Not my first laser but I'm still all giddy.
Ultrafire c308 housing
Microflex v5
S06J
2 Cr123A batteries
AR Coated Three Element Glass Lens
Some BS China heat sink

I think it came out pretty good. Let me know what you think. I kinda forgot to get pics while I was building it, oops... Next time.

Nice, looks very clean.

Interested in where you set the current at, and also how'd you get a Chinese heatsink? LOL
 
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Messages
479
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0
BS china heatsink? It 1/2 thick or made out of plastic? Clean looking build though, nice beam shot. That BS china heatsink looks pretty shinny.
 
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Messages
7
Points
3
I only say China due to the fact I do not know of its origin. The shiny is a washer I got from Lowes. I will break the laser down later today and get some better pictures.
I'm running it at 500ma roughly, I haven't measured it but I will later.
 
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Messages
7
Points
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Here you can see the heat sink (found on ebay, the package it came in was straight from China), the washer I used and the pill. The driver is beneath the makeshift battery positive contact I made inside the pill.
I used a DMM I have for auto mechanics, it measures down to micro amps, but for some reason in the milliamp range I only measures at 305mA. However the power output was noticeably reduced.
I didn't want to adjust the driver because when I removed the meter from the circuit there would be a large increase in current and possibly kill my diode.

I am kinda unsure now on how to measure driver output since I can't trust my ammeter. I guess with a different meter... Idk.
 

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Joined
Mar 29, 2011
Messages
1,056
Points
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doesn't the v5 max output voltage is 5.5 (possibly 6)?

If running a 500mA on s06j it would require somewhere around 6.1V
the driver will regulate itself until it reaches those 6V output and lower the current appropriate for that voltage

so it might be possible that you are running it around 450mA-470mA ;)
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Messages
7
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doesn't the v5 max output voltage is 5.5 (possibly 6)?

If running a 500mA on s06j it would require somewhere around 6.1V
the driver will regulate itself until it reaches those 6V output and lower the current appropriate for that voltage

so it might be possible that you are running it around 450mA-470mA ;)

Yeah that fact seemed to escape me last night, it's so clear to me today. Well I'm rather satisfied with the output. Now the next thing I need to do is build a LPM... Along with a few more laser :D
 
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
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Cool build. Very resourceful.

My curiosity has gotten the better of me and I have to ask.... what does "F&A Cotton" mean?
 

Hiemal

0
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
Messages
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doesn't the v5 max output voltage is 5.5 (possibly 6)?

If running a 500mA on s06j it would require somewhere around 6.1V
the driver will regulate itself until it reaches those 6V output and lower the current appropriate for that voltage

so it might be possible that you are running it around 450mA-470mA ;)

I'm pretty sure that flexdrives are buck boost drivers. They'll either lower or increase the voltage depending on what the laser diode needs. :)

Just need to make sure the battery has ENOUGH voltage to begin with though, otherwise it'll be out of regulation.
 
Joined
Mar 29, 2011
Messages
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I'm pretty sure that flexdrives are buck boost drivers. They'll either lower or increase the voltage depending on what the laser diode needs. :)

Just need to make sure the battery has ENOUGH voltage to begin with though, otherwise it'll be out of regulation.

believe me my fmt drive is buck/boost too but as the flex v5 it has internal limitations you can't boost to more than 6V tops! you can't have 6.1 or 6.5V output even if the diode demands it. It will just lower the current so it boost to 6V ;) all tested btw ;) I set the current to 500mA hook up a load that demands above 6V. It boost to exactly 6V and lowers the current to 470mA ;)
 
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Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Messages
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believe me my fmt drive is buck/boost too but as the flex v5 it has internal limitations you can't boost to more than 6V tops! you can't have 6.1 or 6.5V output even if the diode demands it. It will just lower the current so it boost to 6V ;) all tested btw ;) I set the current to 500mA hook up a load that demands above 6V. It boost to exactly 6V and lowers the current to 470mA ;)

Oh, so I guess it would have been ok to crank it up to 11. I was just unsure what would happen if I increased the current while my meter was hooked up, because the output was noticeably dimmer but only wih the dmm hooked up in series.

Cool build. Very resourceful.

My curiosity has gotten the better of me and I have to ask.... what does "F&A Cotton" mean?

Its an expression used to convey excitement or disbelief. I guess technically it's effin' A. (See Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story)
 
Joined
Mar 29, 2011
Messages
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Oh, so I guess it would have been ok to crank it up to 11. I was just unsure what would happen if I increased the current while my meter was hooked up, because the output was noticeably dimmer but only wih the dmm hooked up in series.

Um, I am not sure what are you talking about :D what 11?
yeah dmm in series would either increase the current draw at the input or decrease the output.
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
10,662
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I will shoot you a +rep for the nice pics and good job.. two questions tho... what is F&A Cotton?? (I know now--sorta)and why did you double post--the 'edit' button needs to be used if you want to add another comment - also plz post a link to your source on that HS looks nice to me & you should enjoy a long run(duty) w/o heat issues before you need to shut it down (rest) especially if you have it set at a conservative mW.. did you beat the HS up a little?? looks like it got ran over--lol

Len
 
Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
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A 12x diode running 500mA with a 3 element lens, you're looking at an output somewhere around 680-710mW ~700mW. Add 30% when you use a 405 G1 lens. +900mW.
 




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