newbie phr trouble

Ey was wondering if any one could help me, just bought a PHR n rkcstr driver.. according to my multimeter i have it set to 102mA unless i am measuring wrong, but i was wondering if any 1 has had a problem with the diode not being quite a laser.... it turns on if u look into the lens diagonally you can faintly see the blue its just not dot or even a light when shone on any thing, been reading round but i cant seem to figure it out.

cheers heaps, dan

sounds like it turned into a LED

dose dosnt it ahaha any ideas what it could b or just some thing stupid iv done to kill the diode some how,

also it doesn't actually shine its weird the only way i can tell its actually on is by looking diagonally down the module lens

Theres a few things that can go wrong, starting with the driver, did you use a dummy/test load to measure the current?

Are you using a power supply of at least 9v?

Next, the diodes are very sensitive to ESD, did you use any sort of grounding procedure during extrcation or mounting of the diode?

Heat, laser diodes are sensitive to heat, is it adequately heatsinked, did you leave the soldering iron on the pins too long?

These are some of the most common ways to kill a diode.

Now go back to the beginning and try again!

Good luck.

jaycey said:

Now go back to the beginning and try again!

Click to expand...

This was my laser mantra when I started building

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

This was my laser mantra when I started building

Peace,
dave

Click to expand...

This was a trunk full of diodes ago I'm sure.

thanks every one, and ahaha =( and no i didn't use my dummy... i used a multimeter and just set the mA directly not accurate i know but i thought it'd b accurate enough... also no i didn't use any grounding procedure or anti static while extracting (nor soldering), just read a couple tutorials n watched a couple vids on it, probably 1 of those 2 i guess.. damn i got a 9V batt and also im about 80% sure i didnt fry the diode with heat, think ill buy a new phr sled soon... this time might actually ask a couple questions rather then just reading,

thanks heaps, Daniel

Im actually a apprentice electrician, man i should know this ahahaha thanks again,

and if any one who reads this and are in Australia/melbourne... and would like to make a bit of money off me... PM me =D little scared now lmfaooo some thing about failing miserably with out having a clue lol