My new IgorT 8x BR

I kinda skipped the other posts, but just wanted to say that is one sexy laser. Congrats!

I'm saving for an 8x from Igor also. That looks so awesome!

bryce007 said:

I'm saving for an 8x from Igor also. That looks so awesome!

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I need to add you to the list. Soon i'll have an entire batch of 8x's to build!

Plotting these diodes is gonna be fun!

Otherwise, while this may not sound fair to Franco, the 8x's are cheaper now, and i can make a build with my driver for <$400 USD...


I just hope i can make Franco a 12x in the near future for the great work he contributes to this hobby!

IgorT said:

.....
I just hope i can make Franco a 12x in the near future for the great work he contributes to this hobby!

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:drool::drool::drool::drool::drool::drool::drool:

Franco, you know i'd love to, and i think you deserve it!

Just let me know as soon as someone here manages to order one, ok? :yh:

IgorT said:

Franco, you know i'd love to, and i think you deserve it!

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I have no words....it's so much...

In the meanwhile I have finished the movie about your 8x....57 MB of movie.... it's taking a lot of time to upload on YouTube!:tired:

I'll confirm the address as soon as it will be available...

Ok, it's done! It asked for some time but now, if someone is willing to see something about the first IgorT 8x BR, with the 405-G-1 lens and the Ez-Focus adapter, here is the address:

YouTube - IgorT 8x BR

FrancoRob said:

I have no words....it's so much...

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Well, your generous payment covered a few good drives, so i owe you a 12x, the first one i make goes to you after the tests.

Shogoki said:

omg! i want!! it looks sooo pretty.

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PM me... :yh:

I am murdering an 8x diode just to determine how long they can survive 300 or 400mW!

IgorT said:

PM me... :yh:

I am murdering an 8x diode just to determine how long they can survive 300 or 400mW!

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Have you decided which you will choose? I'd like to see how long it'll last at 400mW.

bryce007 said:

Have you decided which you will choose? I'd like to see how long it'll last at 400mW.

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I'll choose the lowest efficiency diode!

Freaks are always better in the long run, so i just want to establish some minumums....

IgorT said:

I'll choose the lowest efficiency diode!

Freaks are always better in the long run, so i just want to establish some minumums....

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lowest efficiency makes sense, but will you torture it at 300mW or 400mW? And are these power ratings with the diode only? or with a lens?

bryce007 said:

lowest efficiency makes sense, but will you torture it at 300mW or 400mW? And are these power ratings with the diode only? or with a lens?

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Yes, i know from experience that lower efficiency GGWs have shorter lifes, so i'm just assuming the same to hold true here.
My reasoning is, that higher efficiency implies a purer more perfect laser die....


A more perfect die will take longer to degrade, so efficiency is my way of testing these for imperfections, which spread with use and eventually kill the diode.
Now every laser die HAS TO BE near perfect to lase at high power at all, but the smallest imperfections can kill it with time...

Basically an imperfection is a point on the mirrors surface that absorbs some heat. That heat eventually FRIES that point and it stops reflecting the light, and absorbing it instead...
A result is a hot-spot, which put's "pressure" on the spots around it.. When i was explaining this to Dave, he put it nicelly - The photons "erode" the die...


That's my reasoning for chosing the lowest efficiency diode, but i expect the differences to be MINIMAL at best, i could be prooven wrong tho...



So what i'll do is make a laser out of the better ones.. And scream bloody MURDER at the lowest efficiency one.. :angel:
Since we are setting these to 400mW+ after Jay's lens, i see no reason not to do the same with the low efficiency diode, so i'll set it to whatever current is required to reach 420mW after Jay's 405-G-1 lens...



The results will tell us how long we can expect a 420mW laser to live!

To make it more realistic, my Cycler Circuit will power the laser with a one minute "Duty Cycle" inside a v3 Heatsink/Module, in a Romisen laser host....
The reason for this is that i want to learn how long a normal-use laser pointer at 420mW+ can survive in hours...


The Cycler Circuit will just turn the laser ON for a minute and OFF for a minute, while the beam will be blasting at a photo-transistor!
The photo transistor will trigger a counter, which will in effect count the number of minutes the laser survived.

When the diode goes LED the counter will basically stop reacting, so i can just let it run 24h a day, since the REAL Duty Cycle is 50% the time the laser will run in a day is 12h...


I expect it to survive anywhere between 24-150h, but again, this is speculation from my previous Cycler experiments...
I need to put the Cycler and the counter display into a nice box... :yh:

IgorT said:

Since we are setting these to 400mW+ after Jay's lens, i see no reason not to do the same with the low efficiency diode, so i'll set it to whatever current is required to reach 420mW after Jay's 405-G-1 lens...

The results will tell us how long we can expect a 420mW laser to live!

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That's what I was looking for, thanks! (done thread jacking now, I promise)