I killed a micro flexdrive...

Hi Guys.

I broke the pot on a micro flexdrive today. I didn't realize it was a single-turn, and I over-rotated because I didn't feel any resistance. The top piece came off. Crap.

Any suggestions about how I could salvage it? If I put pressure to hold it down, it can still be turned to make adjustment, but it falls off again without pressure and reverts to the baseline current.

Also, I couldn't/can't seem to get it past about 1A. The jumpers are set according to the 500mA - 1.5A in this document (far right configuration): http://hacylon.case.edu/ebay/laser_diode/MicroFlexDrive_V5_manual.pdf I'm using 6 1n4001 diodes and a 1Ohm 3Watt resister as a test load.

Was I maybe sold a V4 flexdrive?

I did that once and contacted Dr.Lava about it just to get the part number to buy it myself. The good doctor was gracious enough to send me a replacement pot (yes, that absolutely tiny thing) so I could solder it on. He's really a champ.

I don't know about the 1A limit you have. It might be a problem with the battery. You could post a photo to have someone photo-identify it.

Since you'll need to replace it anyway, just desolder it and measure the resistance.
Almost any pot with that resistance will work. They're noncritical components.

If your looking for max output you can just jump the pots tabs with solder.

Woh, thanks for the help/insight guys.

@Badger

a. Is Dr. Lava the dude that makes these things?
b. I'll see if my crappy camera can take a decent enough picture of the little guy.
c. The batt is a new AW 10180 currently putting out just over 4V. However, the charger is a cheapo and I honestly don't know how long to charge the thing until it's full. Can it be overcharged? I think I let it go for about 1-2 hours before testing voltage.

@Cyaragon

Sounds about right. However, I'm not sure how to measure the thing! I know potentiometers adjust resistance from a min to a max, but it has three pins... :thinking: (surprisingly, Google hasn't helped on this one)

@ cd520

I'm thinking of trying to find/buy a larger pot, wire it in with 26/28GA, find the resistance I want, and then replace it with a dedicated resistor instead. But I donno, lots of options. I suppose if I were able to identify/find the original pot, I would have to by hundreds of them at a time!

Thanks

Measure between the two pins that are not the wiper. If you're not sure which one is the wiper, measure 1-2, 2-3, and 1-3. The largest value of the three is the one you want.

Awesome, willdo

i snapped the wiper of one of my pots on a V5 flexdrive (stupid pots are sooo small), when i tested it with a test load, it was in a good range for a LPC-815 diode