THATS IT I GIVE UP!!!!

today another one of my blu-rays died for no apparent reason I GIVE UP ON BLU-RAYS I only had it for about idk 3 days with less than 10 minutes on the diode. I turned it off and set it on my desk, after I finished watching a movie I picked it up and no light came out, so I opened it up and looked inside, one of the pins wasn't connected anymore for some reason, so I de-soldered the diode from the driver board and shorted the driver board. Then, I re attached the diode in hopes it wasn't too late, still no light, not even an led :-/ if anyone wants to take a look at it or something tell me, I'll mail it out to see if it can be fixed by someone else because it would seem that blu-ray lasers hate me

maxkillz said:

today another one of my blu-rays died for no apparent reason I GIVE UP ON BLU-RAYS I only had it for about idk 3 days with less than 10 minutes on the diode. I turned it off and set it on my desk, after I finished watching a movie I picked it up and no light came out, so I opened it up and looked inside, one of the pins wasn't connected anymore for some reason, so I de-soldered the diode from the driver board and shorted the driver board. Then,  I re attached the diode in hopes it wasn't too late, still no light, not even an led  :-/ if anyone wants to take a look at it or something tell me, I'll mail it out to see if it can be fixed by someone else because it would seem that blu-ray lasers hate me  

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If the connection to the pin was loose, it probably already blew the diode. The problem with a poor connection there, is that the diode can have a momentary "disconnect" just long enough to charge the capacitor and then "re-connect" with enough of a charge stored to fry the diode.

If you want me to look at it, send me a PM. I'll give you my address.

Peace,
dave

What he said.

Do you have a switch connected? If not, you should use one. It should protect it from surges.  When you turn it off the capacitor will empty, and won't refill unless you switch it on.  Switches only cost a few dollars at Radio Shack.



Here's my old laser before I put it into a flashlight housing, with the switch.  I didn't use a capicator, though.  Just an LM317 and a resistor.

yea it had a switch which is why IDK what really happened... :-/ in fact the same one in your picture..i think

I don't think you should ditch your diode just yet... Mine had apparently "LEDed" on me but came back to life a few days later While applying power, shake it around and see if it reconnects...

digital_blue said:

I don't think you should ditch your diode just yet... Mine had apparently "LEDed" on me but came back to life a few days later While applying power, shake it around and see if it reconnects...

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it didn't LED it doesn't put anything out at all... I completely took it apart and put it all back together and still nothing :-/

Maybe it was just a bad diode.

Have you tried different batteries, etc.? Or maybe there's a short somewhere in the circuit keeping power away from the diode. That happened to me once.

Greenhorn said:

Maybe it was just a bad diode.

Have you tried different batteries, etc.? Or maybe there's a short somewhere in the circuit keeping power away from the diode. That happened to me once.

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tried several batteries, the driver is putting out 8.3V @97mA with no load so I THINK the driver and the battery isn't the problem. if it's just a bad diode that dies this fast then I have gotten several bad diodes in a row from several different people :-/ I think the laser gods hate me

I think daguin's hit the nail on the head here. The problem was the bad connection to the diode. You had said that the diode came disconnected, which left it vulnerable to a lot of things. If it disconnected while powered up,  that kills diodes instantly. Your best bet is to double- and triple-check your connections for strength and soundness. Make sure that nothing will exert too much strain on the connections during assembly. Your diode didn't blow for no reason, there was a clear reason..

EDIT: Also I think it should be stated that PHR diodes are NOT rated to run at the currents most people run them at. 60mW is their maximum rated output, anything above that and anything could happen..

ElektroFreak said:

I think daguin's hit the nail on the head here. The problem was the bad connection to the diode. You had said that the diode came disconnected, which left it vulnerable to a lot of things. If it disconnected while powered up, that kills diodes instantly. You're best bet is to double- and triple-check your connections for strength and soundness. Make sure that nothing will exert too much strain on the connections during assembly. Your diode didn't blow for no reason, there was a clear reason..

EDIT: Also I think it should be stated that PHR diodes are NOT rated to run at the currents most people run them at. 60mW is their maximum rated output, anything above that and anything could happen..

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it might have came loose when I set it on the desk thus why it didn't put out any light at all. the strange thing is, even with all the diodes I've killed none have produced the "led effect" I have yet to see that in person. maybe when I flipped the switch to on it reconnected and fried, who knows

BTW it was set at 97mA so not too far above what it was rated for

maxkillz said:

today another one of my blu-rays died for no apparent reason I GIVE UP ON BLU-RAYS I only had it for about idk 3 days with less than 10 minutes on the diode. I turned it off and set it on my desk, after I finished watching a movie I picked it up and no light came out, so I opened it up and looked inside, one of the pins wasn't connected anymore for some reason, so I de-soldered the diode from the driver board and shorted the driver board. Then,  I re attached the diode in hopes it wasn't too late, still no light, not even an led  :-/ if anyone wants to take a look at it or something tell me, I'll mail it out to see if it can be fixed by someone else because it would seem that blu-ray lasers hate me  

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I got as frustrated as you when I was building my first red. Either bad LD's or just goofy mistakes on my part that could have easily been corrected if I had just double checked everything.
Don't give up on blu's dude. Just put it away for a while and then go back and start over. You'll get it.

maxkillz said:

[quote author=ElektroFreak link=1228016015/0#8 date=1228031191]I think daguin's hit the nail on the head here. The problem was the bad connection to the diode. You had said that the diode came disconnected, which left it vulnerable to a lot of things. If it disconnected while powered up,  that kills diodes instantly. You're best bet is to double- and triple-check your connections for strength and soundness. Make sure that nothing will exert too much strain on the connections during assembly. Your diode didn't blow for no reason, there was a clear reason..

EDIT: Also I think it should be stated that PHR diodes are NOT rated to run at the currents most people run them at. 60mW is their maximum rated output, anything above that and anything could happen..

Click to expand...

it might have came loose when I set it on the desk thus why it didn't put out any light at all. the strange thing is, even with all the diodes I've killed none have produced the "led effect" I have yet to see that in person. maybe when I flipped the switch to on it reconnected and fried, who knows

BTW it was set at 97mA so not too far above what it was rated for[/quote]

maxkillz,

We've all been there (or at least most of us). The PHRs are easy to overload and the open-can reds are easy to murder during extraction. I myself have killed-
2- short open-can reds by overdriving
2- long open-can reds extracting
1- long open-can red overdriving
2- PHR803Ts overheated trying to desolder the ribbon connector. (Both times the positive pin fell out of the diode after the insulation melted.)
2- PHR803Ts overdriven, both died on cold start up after running the current warm no-prob.
1- PHR803T with a bad connection to the driver. (The same thing you just experienced)

As for the 'LED effect' That only happens when the diode is overdriven mildly. If you bomb it with current the leads from the pins to the semiconductor melt and it goes totally black. But if you only pump 200mA into it the leads are fine but COD kills the laser, turning it into an LED...

At any rate, don't give up. Most of the diodes I've killed were during a 4 week period right when I was starting to build lasers. Honestly I've built 8 in a row now without killling one diode, knock on wood.

What I learned from all of that was-
1. Never force anything! If the diode won't com out of it's heatsink, get a file not a hammer. If it won't go in, get a c-clamp, not a hammer. In fact when it comes to lasers, hammer==BAD.
2. Solder carefully and use flux. Bad solder joints kill diodes.
3. Double check everything. Diodes are expensive. It sucks to replace one because of an obvious mistake.
4. Only solder your diode ONCE.
5. Never disassemble a working laser just to ***K with it.
6. When frustrated, take a break, walk away, whatever. This is when mistakes happen. Problems that seem huge when you're tired or angry can become trivial when viewed with calmer eyes...

Hope this helps.

cheers,
kernelpanic  

I notice in the picture with the 9V clip and toggle there is shrink tubing on the wire. If you use shrink tubiing on the connctions to the diode pins, you should be assured they will never come loose

kernelpanic said:

when it comes to lasers, hammer==BAD.

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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Truer words were never spoken
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I think we need a T-Shirt  

Peace,
dave

I didn't run it too high @ 97mA (I don't think thats too high :-X) one of mine looked like it caught fire when I opened it up, another looked fine but didn't produce any light, one of the windows shattered and the diode stopped working after a while, this list goes on :'( I seem to have bad luck with PHR803T diodes. Maybe I should move on to reds or attempt a DIY green :-/

Sorry man, I've been there too, felt the exact same thing when both my blu-rays failed at the same time.  :-/

But never give up, never let it down, bla bla bla, Rick Ashley. [smiley=vrolijk_1.gif]