how far can i push a phr803?

Mohrenberg · Jan 3, 2009

right now i have mine running at about 112mA
exactly how far could i expect to push it before it burned out on me?

would 138mA be pushing it?

randomlugia · Jan 3, 2009

It wouldn't be imediate death, but it would last more than a couple of weeks. Like I've said before, if I want them to last, I run at 110mA heatsinked or <100mA unheatsinked. 150mA might last a week.

Mohrenberg · Jan 3, 2009

ok i'll keep it at what i got it for now. maybe play with it when i order more.

randomlugia · Jan 3, 2009

Good plan. ;D

Mohrenberg · Jan 3, 2009

but i wanna push it SSOOOoooo bad!

maxkillz · Jan 3, 2009

dave had one live at 300mA

and I've had them die at 90mA :'( every diode is different

daguin · Jan 3, 2009

Mohrenberg said:
but i wanna push it SSOOOoooo bad!

Then buy a couple of extras and have some fun [smiley=evil.gif]
Just be ready to replace your diode

The PHR diode is a strange bird. There are some out there running (for several months of regular use) at 200mA. HOWEVER, most [highlight]will not take[/highlight] that kind of current. There are many more running at 150mA. However, they will not last "forever" at 150mA. If you want it to live "forever" keep it where you have it. I can change diodes fairly easily and they cost me less than $10, in quantity, right now. It is worth the extra work and cost TO ME to be able to see the beam so nicely. You get to decide if it is worth it to you.

maxkillz said:
dave had one live at 300mA and I've had them die at 90mA :'( every diode is different

Yeah. I got almost 10 minutes total burn time of really nice violet light out of it

but is WAS cool . . . .

Peace,
dave

Mohrenberg · Jan 3, 2009

ok.....i raised it to 125mA and i'm going to keep t at that.....
but even without the heatsink it doesn't seem to heat up hardly at all...just get a little warm.
and it's bright enough for me to see the beam.
can't get the match to light though....just smokes.

jake21 · Jan 3, 2009

i always run mine at 180ma and they are still going

daguin · Jan 3, 2009

Mohrenberg said:
ok.....i raised it to 125mA and i'm going to keep t at that.....
but even without the heatsink it doesn't seem to heat up hardly at all...just get a little warm.
and it's bright enough for me to see the beam.
can't get the match to light though....just smokes.

It isn't really the heat that kills them. It is the amount of photons beating against the "mirrors" of the crystal. More mW = more photons beating against the mirrors. Also the photons being reflected back from your lens is also "wearing down" the mirrors. Heat WILL kill them, but not at these currents.

You should be able to light a match in an instant with your laser. Maybe you aren't really getting it focused well or your hand is moving too much. A well focused spot from these violet lasers is a "pinprick" in size. I was popping caps and lighting [highlight]pastel colored [/highlight]matches last night with an 85mW violet pointer.

Peace,
dave

Mohrenberg · Jan 3, 2009

hm.....
well it has great light outdoors, but i can't seem to get it focused to "infinity" with the aixiz module. i'm going to try jsut removing the little metal focus ring after i get it set into my host and see if i can screw it down farther and focus it.....
this thing is cool to shine at night so i think i will use it as a pointer instead of a burner.....

besides.....after it taking me like 6 or 7 red diodes to get it right.....i'm just happy this phr803 thing is actually working on my first attempt.

my next paycheck is going to be pretty, i'll order more then

danq · Jan 3, 2009

Mohrenberg said:
but i can't seem to get it focused to "infinity" with the aixiz module. i'm going to try jsut removing the little metal focus ring after i get it set into my host and see if i can screw it down farther and focus it.....

it sounds like maybe you don't have the diode pressed in all the way. Dave has a diagram of that somewhere...

another reason for full pressing is it ensures the diode is straight - if it's even a bit off you'll lose a lot of power. Fixing the focus and making sure it's straight may make a huge difference in your output power.

DanQ

daguin · Jan 3, 2009

Mohrenberg said:
hm.....
well it has great light outdoors, but i can't seem to get it focused to "infinity" with the aixiz module. i'm going to try jsut removing the little metal focus ring after i get it set into my host and see if i can screw it down farther and focus it.....
this thing is cool to shine at night so i think i will use it as a pointer instead of a burner.....
besides.....after it taking me like 6 or 7 red diodes to get it right.....i'm just happy this phr803 thing is actually working on my first attempt.
my next paycheck is going to be pretty, i'll order more then

You need to screw the lens "out" farther to get it to focus closer for burning. Are you using goggles? Sometimes the "blaze/glare" of the spot prevents one from "seeing" the spot well enough to get it focused down to the smallest dot possible. In response to a PM I got, I just tested a 40mW violet laser. I was able to burn through white "receipt-type" paper and light a pastel green colored match with 40mW. It took about 25 seconds to light it, but light it it did.

Peace,
dave

danq · Jan 3, 2009

Mohrenberg said:
i can't seem to get it focused to "infinity" with the aixiz module.

daguin said:
You need to screw the lens "out" farther to get it to focus closer for burning.

I just noticed that... he's trying to do 2 different things there, and my suggestion didn't catch that. He should have been able to focus close, if he screws it the right way; but even at close focus, it would be better to have that diode straight and flush.

DanQ

daguin · Jan 3, 2009

danq said:
[quote author=Mohrenberg link=1230947281/0#10 date=1230951996]i can't seem to get it focused to "infinity" with the aixiz module.

daguin said:
You need to screw the lens "out" farther to get it to focus closer for burning.

I just noticed that... he's trying to do 2 different things there, and my suggestion didn't catch that. He should have been able to focus close, if he screws it the right way; but even at close focus, it would be better to have that diode straight and flush.

DanQ
[/quote]

A misaligned diode could indeed waste so much light that it would not be putting out enough power to burn. However, he says that he can see the "beam" at night. I think he has enough power available to burn stuff. Could it be so poorly aligned that the lens wouldn't focus the light effectively enough as well?

Peace,
dave

Mohrenberg · Jan 3, 2009

well i played with it outside and i just can't get it to focus into a straight beam for long distance like a red will.
the diode looks like it is pressed in all the way, it sits just below the flush of the module.

the only to way to explain the focusing thing.... (and this is for me trying to focus it for long distance shining)

pretend that the lens is screwed out really far.....you'd have a huge dot, as you screw it in the dot will get smaller and smaller, and if you keep going it will get to it's smallest, then start to get big again as you keep screwing it in, well on mine it never gets to it's smallest when i have that little silver ring on the end of the lens.
if i remove the silver ring to screw it in more, the smallest i can get it before it starts to get bigger again is around 1 foot wide at around 50 yards away (very rough estimate)

oh, and forget the whole match thing, i got into complete dark so i could visually see the smallest part of the beam......and it lights matches pretty quickly.....

how far can i push a phr803?

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