Tried a new LPC-826 build and works great.

So, I had one more LPC-826 left today and no appropriate driver to run it where I wanted to with a single 10440. Started looking through my stuff and happened across a few Fasttech 532nm drivers that come on their 532nm modules that I had saved when I screwed something up or blew the diode.
Testing showed that with 4.2V it was outputting 3.6V and I could set it anywhere I wanted for this diode so I was one happy Pman. Ended up setting to about 620mA which should give me between 350 and 400mW.

Remember that the LPC-826 is case negative so I had to find a way to isolate it during the build. Here's the driver after I got it set up for the length of spring I needed and so the switch would be jumped for always on:




Diode pressed in, soldered and heat-shrinked:


Actually triple heat-shrinked


Problem with the back piece of the module is that it sticks out too far for the rest of the host to screw on:


So, cut down the length:


To prevent any continuity between the host cap and the module we need a couple of o-rings:


You can see the front o-ring with the module in place:



wrapped the module with thin cellophane tape:


Also for a bit of added protection added a bit of Artic Alumina to both the front and back of the module:




Took a piece of heat-shrink tubing and made a hole in it and put the positive wire through as this is going to be wired case positive:


soldered the wire to the driver positive and also soldered a piece of solder tinned thin copper sheeting to the other end:




Used my dremel steel brush to clean out the inside of the host so that when I pressed in the driver assembly the copper would touch conductive metal to grab the positive:


Soldered the diode connection to the driver and pressed in the driver section:


This was taken after some testing so the battery was a bit lower as the original reading with a 3-element was over 335mW and with a G hit 380mW:


It looks weird in this pic but the label is not crooked:








Last 2 taken through a bulb and onto my home theater screen:


Looks like a diving fiery bird to me:

Wow great build.
My first few builds I had little knowledge of case wiring and were wired case pos with only aluminium anodized heat sink so isolate it. Hasn't blown yet some how.
was that bulb just a regular bulb? you need to find a way to very slowly spin the bulb to create a lumia effect.

Thanks. I've come a ways in the last 3+ years.
No, it was a Lumia bulb. I have had Lumia stuff for a couple years now If anyone wants to know the bulb type let me know as Hak/Len found them a long time ago and they are cheap. Come in an 6 pack. Believe I bought them at Lowes.
Actually, just looked and they are Sylvania 60w B10 bulbs. Numbers on the package are 60B/10C/CRYSTAL/DL/BL/6
Also see a X23356

Taking apart and swapping that Fastech module driver with the pot was awsome:beer: Lets hope you didnt disect an "abnormal" like Frankenstien's Brain...

318mw is not bad at all, how's the far field dot?

You get a pretty nice far field dot. Looks defined well but dang bright to look at.
That was 318mW on the low end as a fully charged 10440 with the 3-element is about 335mW and about 380mW with a G. Remember this is set at about 620mA. I don't care what the graphs show, you can hit over 400mW with these as I've done 10 times over. I believe these have been updated from the old graphs. My understanding is there was an updated version but I think there was another after as they go higher than all those old graphs show.

Wow great job and ingenuity Pete! I hope to someday be able to take a table covered in parts and make something like this instead of just putting stuff together now like I do!

Nice cherry colored laser. Nice little build

Thanks. I just keep throwing stuff out there in the hopes of helping others tackle their build problems. I simply refuse to fail and force myself to figure out a way around a problem. It all gets a lot more interesting finding a little nice looking flashlight (those are $6 AR home Depot by the way) and using what I happen to have on hand to make it all work.
I know some like to hide what they do especially if $ is their goal but that's never been me. I do realize that there are many who would never tackle the pain in the butt small builds like this but I'm not too much into just connecting 2 wires together anymore. I do still buy a complete module with driver and lens here and there but the fun is over too quick that way. Need to challenge myself a bit and pen builds are challenging and more time consuming and for now my hands are still steady enough to do it although my eyes don't always cooperate.
Oh yeah, that's not a table covered in parts. That's the washing machine next to the dryer which are my build stations A bit harder to build when they are running.

Good work on overcoming the case isolation issue here!

Pman said:

......
Oh yeah, that's not a table covered in parts. That's the washing machine next to the dryer which are my build stations A bit harder to build when they are running.

Click to expand...

Lmao! One can only imagine!

Pman said:

So, I had one more LPC-826 left today and no appropriate driver to run it where I wanted to with a single 10440. Started looking through my stuff and happened across a few Fasttech 532nm drivers that come on their 532nm modules that I had saved when I screwed something up or blew the diode.
Testing showed that with 4.2V it was outputting 3.6V and I could set it anywhere I wanted for this diode so I was one happy Pman. Ended up setting to about 620mA which should give me between 350 and 400mW.

Remember that the LPC-826 is case negative so I had to find a way to isolate it during the build. Here's the driver after I got it set up for the length of spring I needed and so the switch would be jumped for always on:

Diode pressed in, soldered and heat-shrinked:

Actually triple heat-shrinked

Problem with the back piece of the module is that it sticks out too far for the rest of the host to screw on:

So, cut down the length:

To prevent any continuity between the host cap and the module we need a couple of o-rings:

You can see the front o-ring with the module in place:

wrapped the module with thin cellophane tape:

Also for a bit of added protection added a bit of Artic Alumina to both the front and back of the module:

Took a piece of heat-shrink tubing and made a hole in it and put the positive wire through as this is going to be wired case positive:

soldered the wire to the driver positive and also soldered a piece of solder tinned thin copper sheeting to the other end:

Used my dremel steel brush to clean out the inside of the host so that when I pressed in the driver assembly the copper would touch conductive metal to grab the positive:

Soldered the diode connection to the driver and pressed in the driver section:

This was taken after some testing so the battery was a bit lower as the original reading with a 3-element was over 335mW and with a G hit 380mW:

It looks weird in this pic but the label is not crooked:

Last 2 taken through a bulb and onto my home theater screen:

Looks like a diving fiery bird to me:

Click to expand...

Very nice and clean build :topic:

Hi P,
Looks like one of a defiant pen hosts i made a short while ago. The one i built is case Neg- with a PLTB450B diode set to 1.2 mA. I bought 4-more at a Home Depot. These are nice pens to build with at 5 1/2" x 1/2" size for the pocket.
There's a solid clicky switching the back with a pocket clip to. Nice build buddy glad you like the pens, there very sturdy and all aluminum.
Bowtie sand blasted his a custom look which is really sweet ...

Rich

Nice detailed build tutorial Pete. Good job on tackling the isolation issues!
All these 826 build threads remind me that I've got to get around to building one of my 826's that I got from you!
:gj:

Thanks guys. The ones that look like the one I posted are not the same as Bows one. His were on a super clearance and the ones I am using are still there as far as I know. May have to pick up a couple more now that I have multiple ways of building them even if the diode isn't case neutral. I did make another 380mW one of these where I removed the anodizing with a dremel steel brush but it's nothing like how nice Bows come out with the sand blasting.

the Pen Mann got bitten by laser Bug...