WTB: Laser diode sockets

Alright im tired of accidentally burning my diodes with a soldering iron so i am willing to buy laser sockets just name down a price.

goninanbl00d said:

Sorry to break the news, but they don't exist as far as I know

Someone may be willing to make you some, but they'd be hard to make and would have connection problems.

Soldering diodes isn't hard, but it takes a lot of practice. Get old IR diodes, and solder them until you get the hang of it. Remember, the solder and hot iron must not touch the diode for longer than one second. Leave at least 30 seconds between soldering each pin to be safe.

Hope this helps,

EDIT: Pontiacg5 beat me to it. They do exist.

Click to expand...

They do exist, but it is best to solder them if possible. A diode disconnecting then reconnecting while lasing can kill it.

They do exist such as the one Pontiac just posted but here is the thing i would buy from thorlabs but they dont except paypal and im only 14yo and i do not have a credit card if you guys can get them ill pay you via paypal just name a reasonable price.

Pontiacg5 said:

They do exist, but it is best to solder them if possible. A diode disconnecting then reconnecting while lasing can kill it.

Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, it kills it due to the circuit driver most likely using a capacitor at the diode's end, correct - not due to quick disconnect and reconnect of the diode's insides, right? I only mention the difference because, I personally have a few host which use 3x LR44/AG13 batteries and have a 2-pin socket end where the LED was. I replace the LED with a red laser diode and direct drive it (which is safe since the batteries can't supply enough current to burn out the diode) and thus I build myself cheap burning laser keychains at a very low cost.

Edit: truly though, it would be best you learn how to solder. It is a very helpful tool, and I learned it probably just a bit younger than you, also working with lasers. I broke diodes as well due to my bad soldering skills, but you practice and practice and you'll get better. Read up, there are lots of tutorials online about soldering. There are videos as well as detailed descriptions and pictures - take a look at instructables.com. If you wish to continue the laser hobby, you will need to have soldering skills.

Alexizupinhea said:

If I remember correctly, it kills it due to the circuit driver most likely using a capacitor at the diode's end, correct - not due to quick disconnect and reconnect of the diode's insides, right? I only mention the difference because, I personally have a few host which use 3x LR44/AG13 batteries and have a 2-pin socket end where the LED was. I replace the LED with a red laser diode and direct drive it (which is safe since the batteries can't supply enough current to burn out the diode) and thus I build myself cheap burning laser keychains at a very low cost.

Click to expand...

Yeah, thats what kills them. You need an output capacitor on any laser driver and that cap will charge up in that second its disconnected and the second it reconnects it will overload the diode and kill it.

You might be able to find a third party to help you buy them, but I suggest just asking your parents for help. Either that or get a prepaid credit card from a walgreens or something and use that.

Ard i wish this was more simple cause i have no time to practice even now i have homework cause im goin to an academy in the summer but i will try and practice on the millions of dead diodes i have

Soldering is best, but if you're still hell-bent on "sockets" read here about machine pin headers.

I'm currently using them on my 445nm, with some hot glue on it for some extra reinforcement. Not sure what the long term durability of these pin headers are, but no problems so far.

Soldering diode pins takes a fraction of a second

Pre-tin BOTH the pins and the wire or solder pads

Use a small bit of flux on BOTH the pins and the wires/pads BOTH for the pre-tin and the final solder joint

I don't care if you use rosin core solder. USE THE FLUX!

Use a set of "extra hands" to align the pin with the wire/pad.

Make sure that they are side-by-side, touching, and secure

Get a small bit of solder on the tip of your soldering iron

"Touch" the melted solder on your iron to the pin to wire/pad joint

The solder will all flow together in a fraction of a second.

I recommend that you also use some shrink tubing to protect and reinforce the joint



You DO NOT "heat the joint" as with other solder jobs
You DO NOT place the solder source anywhere near the solder job

Only the melted solder on the tip of your iron should approach the pin to wire/pad joint

Get yourself an old PCB and some scrap wire (etc.). Practice the above procedure until you can get a good solder in a fraction of a second.

ONLY then should you move on to your first (cheap) diodes to practice with

Peace,
dave

I've tried some sockets from Roithner and they are not a great solution for a number of reasons. First, they do disconnect with slight movement; second, the pins can be pushed into the teflon body exacerbating the disconnection problem as the contact is minimal and; third, and most importantly, the diodes we use are more often than not harvested and the legs are not long enough to make an adequate contact even if the first two problems were not there. I've installed a diode in one and watched as it slowly popped out of it's own accord due to this. 445nm diodes have much longer legs though.

There's no short cut in my opinion to getting the soldering right and Daguin's step-by-step above is the way to go. You'll be glad you did.

Happy soldering.

M

In trade school, soldering is first practised on a square frame (app. 30 by 30cm) wrapped with steel wire.

The wraps are like 1 cm apart and both ways, it gives a lot of crossing wires to practice soldering on. It something you can make yourself relatively simply.

I learned how to solder when I was 13. It's not impossible buddy! The experience comes with time and practice.

Sockets for Laser Diodes = another possible variable to blow your LD
Good Solder joints = elimination of the variable above...


Jerry

Thanks for the tips and i will try to make time to practice but it will be hard with academy but for now i bought some of those female headers and see if it cant help