M140 Build issues?

Hey guys,

All my parts for my build finally arrived, but I'm not getting anywhere near the results I expected.

Here is the parts list that I used : http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/check-over-my-parts-list-91553.html#post1330308

And here are some images of what I'm getting

The driver was reading at 1.4A on my multimeter before soldering everything up.

The brightness and spread across the room is garbage regardless of what I do with the lens. My batteries are fully charged and reading 8.2v when stacked. What could be causing it to be this dim? I used a static strap when handling the diode leads. What went wrong here, and how do I fix it? Also it's brighter for a very small fraction of a second before getting dim.

Thanks!

Can you take the lens off and get a photo of the raw output? From photo #2 it looks like it's under the current threshold for laseing and/or gone LED.

Sorry, should have mentioned that #2 was without the lens. I know that's not the best of photos either. When looking at it I can see lines on the side.

Looking at the raw output, is it a mostly full circle, or is there a significantly brighter bar in the middle?

There is a line in the middle but it's not significantly brighter. Less than double the intensity of the outside.

zimm3rmann said:

Sorry, should have mentioned that #2 was without the lens. I know that's not the best of photos either. When looking at it I can see lines on the side.

Click to expand...

Wow...if #2 is without the lens, something is definitely wrong. An M140's raw output should be shaped like this. (Pay no attention to the washed out center, my phone camera hates this color, in reality it's only a little brighter toward the center).




It should definitely not be round.

-G

Dang

I don't think I messed anything up either, and the driver seems to be outputting the right power. Could a shock or something cause the diode to output a circle like that, or is it a faulty diode?

Did you follow a tutorial to put those parts together? I only ask because if you didn't perform one particularly important step, you likely turned that diode into a pricey LED.

Did you short the LD+ and LD- of the driver before you connected the diode?

(edit - and looking at pic #3, you should definitely be able to see that beam indoors, but there's no sign of it in the pic)
(another edit - if you got that diode setup from DTR, the chances of it being defective approach 0%)
-G

Did you short the driver before connecting it to the diode? I didn't on my build but I heard that if you don't it can damage the diode.

Just saw this. Noted that you said you tested the output of the driver on a DMM. Switching drivers don't like being powered without a load attached which a DMM is not. It could damage them. Do you have a test load? As mentioned by 3pig did you short the output leads of the driver before attaching to the diode? If it was run without a load that can leave the output cap on some drivers charged up and will spike a diode when connected.

Do you have very little power coming from the diode? If you do and the module is producing a lot of heat then the diode is probably damaged. It is hard to tell by your pictures how much power it is putting out but if the raw output without a lens is near perfectly round and faint on the wall(as in not blindingly bright) and the module gets warm quickly this is probably the case.

As shown above the raw output of the diode should look like this(the one labeled M140) when powered correctly.


If you want you can send the module over to me and I can test it for you. Worst case if it is damaged I can pull the old diode, mount a new one and add leads back for the cost of a bare diode to help you out since you still have a good module and glass lens.:beer:

Did you take proper ESD precautions?

DTR said:

Do you have very little power coming from the diode? If you do and the module is producing a lot of heat then the diode is probably damaged. It is hard to tell by your pictures how much power it is putting out but if the raw output without a lens is near perfectly round and faint on the wall(as in not blindingly bright) and the module gets warm quickly this is probably the case.

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Sounds exactly like the issue I'm having. I'll get it mailed out Monday. Is your return address the same you ship from?

Thanks!

zimm3rmann said:

Sounds exactly like the issue I'm having. I'll get it mailed out Monday. Is your return address the same you ship from?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Yep same address.:beer: