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1000mw laser not working

T

thomas88

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My 1000mw green laser pointer was working fine. I charged the battery and slotted it in I think the wrong side and then the laser is no longer working.

I dismantle the whole thing to check and couldn't figure what is wrong. Could some expert here please teach me where should I check to see if the resistor or whatever is needed to know what is wrong.

20120223_203619.jpg
 





Hmm, your description is very vague, I doubt anybody will know how to help you.

If you can, please provide this info:
-where did you buy the laser from (link),
-picture of your battery also (could be crappy battery),
-Pictures of both sides of driver

And be prepared to use a digital multimeter and soldering iron if you're lucky.

If you're not, be prepared to buy a new laser... sorry but that's also a possiblity.

Also, from the looks of this one picture, it looks like a green module, 12mm diameter kind pressed in a heatsink used in some CR123 or 18650 torches commonly found around... I will assure you right now, there is no way in hell that laser was ever outputting 1000mW of green. It was never outputting 300mW of green, because if it was capable of outputting 300mW of green, internal construction would be totally different.
 
Looks very much like "Transformable" series from O-like and various other merchants.

Driver looks like a generic one too... hmm I never reversed the polarity on one so I don't know what exactly goes wrong when doing that, it could be any number of components, from 8pin DIP package chip on one side to the small transistor on the other, and finally laser diode itself could have been damaged...

My bet is on laser diode, and that's impossible to replace without replacing everything else.

Figuring out if the diode is still OK would require desoldering it from the board, and powering it with a stable current source (we usually use something from LM317 or same family of regulators) and see if it lases.

If it does, it means the driver is shot and needs replacing, and that could prove difficult. If it doesn't, you need a new laser.

You feel like giving it a shot?
 
Yes, I'll do anything since there's no other choice but I don't understand your statement by "powering it with a stable current source (we usually use something from LM317 or same family of regulators) and see if it lases."
 
You still have not supplied a link of your Laser or
where you purchased it...

@EUD... it would be dangerous and almost impossible
for him to see the output of the 808nm LD...

Jerry
 
Last edited:
lasersbee said:
You still have not supplied a link of your Laser or
where you purchased it...

@EUD... it would be dangerous and almost impossible
for him to see the output of the 808nm LD...

Jerry
Click to expand...
It still has the crystal attached to it, you can see it glued on at the top, there.

@ Thomas,

Well, you need to construct a constant current source - also known as "driver". It basically drives your laser diode with stable current, where as powering it with constant voltage source (for example batteries) would result current being all over the place and destroying the very, VERY sensitive and fragile laser diode.

You can google some current regulators, like LM317, or LM1117, which are most widespread around here.
 
Thx Eudaimonium.....I'll try to google and see if I can find the required stable power source in the next few days.
 
Sure, let us know how it goes, and if you need any further help, feel free to shoot me a Personal Message.
 
Try googling "constant current power supply" not just "stable power" because you can have stable voltage and that is NOT what a laser needs.

Good luck with repair, my bet is on the SMD transistor or IR Laser Diode.

Ditto on the output, they put those stickers on anything and avertise it as 1000mW. It was probably putting out around 150mW based on the heatsink size.
 
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