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UPDATE! 12/7/13 :D 9mm 445nm Troubles

KRNAZNBOY

KRNAZNBOY

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A while back i made a 2.6 watt SAIK-305 with a 9mm diode. I used it with moderate duty cycles. (BTW the laser MEASURED 2.6 watts right after construction)

Now, recently, i have built a 1.6 watt Pman spacial laser. I decided to compare the beams, and when i did, i found that the 1.6 watt pman special laser was brighter! So i re-LPMed my 9mm build, and it only went to 1.5 watts! Then, the beam kind of flickered, and went to about 600mw! (then went back and forth) This sounds like a driver issue, but what can i do? Im kinda scared. How can i test my diode, to make sure its all right...

The driver is a super-x-boost 3 @ 2.35 amps with a single 32600 cell.

If you know what is happening, please tell me!

If you NEED pictures, i can upload them later.

Thanks!
-Matt
 
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SerpantSlayer

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

It's probably the driver. Did you accidentally put the batteries in the wrong way? Also maybe the wires shorted temporarily? Check your wiring too.
 
KRNAZNBOY

KRNAZNBOY

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

Batteries the wrong way? Nah, I'm always carefull. I'll check the wiring...
 
grainde

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

Hey I had that once with a 9 mm at 2.4 A. It was very bright and then started flickering. It wouldnt turn on and then it would, then in the end, it just died.

Check the wiring first but if all the connections are good and it is still working I would consider removing the driver and resetting it at a lower current around 2 A, if it has a pot if, not use a lower current driver. :beer:
 
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sinner

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

One thing you can do before opening the laser is to check the raw output of the diode , if it's all fuzzy then im afraid it's the diode,

My second guess is the wiring, Always use thicker wires because the 26awg's get too hot at that current draw (5A+) if its a low quality wire then it's definitely it, But it's an easy fix just get new 22awg wires atleast and rewire the whole thing from scratch.

Third step , if all fails, get the diode out on a bench psu and LPM it at 2Amps .. You'll have your answer. Hope this helps!
 
jander6442

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

Sounds like a diode issue you could tailcap a wire to bypass the switch for testing purposes.
 
KRNAZNBOY

KRNAZNBOY

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

Aw that sucks. I on a tight budget and losing money when a laser died really sucks..
(I'm not necessarily old enough to work and earn revenue to support my awesome hobby!)
The driver is heatsinked to the host.( the sxb-3 has a pad on the bottom just for heatsinking.

As for the diode, when you unscrew the lens, and get raw output, there is a normal bar, but there is a weird circle in one corner, its rather large (takes up 1/4 of the bar)

Will take pics later....
 
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Blord

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

In situation like this the bench psu and the testload is very handy. Have you a testload for testing the driver ?
 
jander6442

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

You didn't use Arctic Silver on the drivers bottom pad did you?
 
KRNAZNBOY

KRNAZNBOY

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

Why? I used arctic thermal adhesive, forgot which one... Its non-conductive
 
jander6442

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

KRNAZNBOY said:
Why? I used arctic thermal adhesive, forgot which one... Its non-conductive
Click to expand...

Just was sure Angelos said not to use the silver on the pad as it would cause a short at the juncture.:thinking:
 
grainde

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

^^^ Wasn't that Tom with the FMT V3? :thinking: :beer:
 
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sinner

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

IIRC the SXB heatsink pads are also the input terminals for +ve battery contact, That should have caused something like that, but it's still not too late to isolate the problem if you have testload and bench psu you can know for sure if the circles on the raw output of the diode are of any debris or it's degrading/zombified.
 
KRNAZNBOY

KRNAZNBOY

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

Laser died completely today. However, i snipped all the wires, and a last final check has me wondering...

I cut the copper module and diode out, and not really caring any more, i attached a 3.7v 14500 battery to the leads of my diode, and it LASED! So my diode is NOT broken! YAY!

The driver is the problem....

Obviously there is no warranty for a Super x-boost, but i dont really want to buy a new driver...

EDIT: ran some more tests with an x-boost i had lying around. The diode is indeed fine!
 
Flaminpyro

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Re: 9mm 445nm Troubles

This is why I like the Arctic Alumina and it works just fine for our purpose :)

With that said, Arctic Silver has it's place for sure.


jander6442 said:
Just was sure Angelos said not to use the silver on the pad as it would cause a short at the juncture.:thinking:
Click to expand...
 
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