Testing a newly received laser diode

Hey fellas,

Just wondering. I have received my new laser diode, but I don't have the regulators yet to start building a proper circuit. But I do want to test if the laser diode is functioning or not.

I have tried hooking up a normal LED to a multimeter with the multimeter set on looking at the resistance, and I was able to see the reading on the multimeter, plus my LED lights up. Is that safe to do with the laser diode as well? Or am I courting trouble?

Many thanks to LPF and its members.

If your not prepared to loose it, wait until you get a proper driver.

I'd agree on that.. you could test it with not-so-good driver (battery and resistor) if you stay well within specifications, but there always is the risk of static discharge and such while messing with it.

The multimeter will not work on a laser diode - it might light up very dimly, but the sample current is so far below the threshold that there is no chance it will lase.

Many thanks for the input fellas.

I think I will wait for my AMCs to arrive before I start toying around with it.