27000 Hours

[icecruncher]

Re: 44000 Hours

I think I remember one of the first times you mentioned this. Thanks for posting again on this, it is good to know.

The 5000/10000 hours is probably like MTBF on hard drives.

Three years and a month ago, I hooked up a Sure Electronics 5mW red laser module up to a 4.5V wall wart power supply to do a longevity test.

Link to module: 5mW 650nm Red Laser Module Metal Body (DC-LP001)_Laser Pens and Pointers_LED Components_Display and Lightings_Sure Electronics' Webstore

The module has been running nearly continuously for 27000 hours now. The only times that it has been turned off was during power outages.

Pretty cool to see first hand how long these things can last!

EDIT: This laser is still running as of May 2014! That's over four years!

EDIT 2: Still going 5 years later!!

 

[TheDukeAnumber1]

Probably my favorite thread on the forum. Thanks for sticking in there with the updates.

 

[Bionic-Badger]

Holy mother of god...

I wonder how much it has cost to keep running electricity wise? I mean I know low powered diodes don't eat up much, but it adds up...

Well, if the laser ls like Aixiz's, it probably targets about 20mA of power to run at 3.2V. That'd be (3.2-2.2)V/0.02A = 50ohm, which will probably end up as a common 47 ohm resistor since the operating current is actually 25mA.

At 4.5V the amount of current used in the circuit would be (4.5-2.2)V/47ohm = 0.0489A ~ 50mA. At 4.5V that's about 0.225W of power. Assuming no efficiency losses in the power source 0.225W x 1 year = 1.97230787 kWh. Kilowatt hours worth of electricity go for different rates, but $0.15/kWh is nearing the higher end across the US. So ~2kWh/year x $0.15/kWh x 4 years = $1.20.

So not too costly.

 

[ultimatekaiser]

Well, if the laser ls like Aixiz's, it probably targets about 20mA of power to run at 3.2V. That'd be (3.2-2.2)V/0.02A = 50ohm, which will probably end up as a common 47 ohm resistor since the operating current is actually 25mA.

At 4.5V the amount of current used in the circuit would be (4.5-2.2)V/47ohm = 0.0489A ~ 50mA. At 4.5V that's about 0.225W of power. Assuming no efficiency losses in the power source 0.225W x 1 year = 1.97230787 kWh. Kilowatt hours worth of electricity go for different rates, but $0.15/kWh is nearing the higher end across the US. So ~2kWh/year x $0.15/kWh x 4 years = $1.20.

So not too costly.

yes, now imagine if it was an Argon laser :tinfoil: this is why labs are going solid state...too darn expensive to keep gas around unless you gotta have it!

Diodes are cheap to own!

 

[H2Oxide]

yes, now imagine if it was an Argon laser :tinfoil: this is why labs are going solid state...too darn expensive to keep gas around unless you gotta have it!

Diodes are cheap to own!

Good for us hobbyists.

 

[styropyro]

Re: RIP 52000 Hours: April 15, 2010 - March 28, 2016

As of March 28, 2016, this experiment has come to an end. I woke up that morning and no longer saw that familiar red glow on the wall. The transformer still works and the diode is outputting a tiny bit of red light. This was a cool experiment!
April 15, 2010 - March 28, 2016. 52000 hours

 

[Rivem]

Re: RIP 52000 Hours: April 15, 2010 - March 28, 2016

As of March 28, 2016, this experiment has come to an end. I woke up that morning and no longer saw that familiar red glow on the wall. The transformer still works and the diode is outputting a tiny bit of red light. This was a cool experiment!
April 15, 2010 - March 28, 2016. 52000 hours

That's still crazy impressive though. Over five times the typically quoted lifespan of a laser diode!

 

[BowtieGuy]

RIP little Red! :beer:

 

[GSS]

Re: RIP 52000 Hours: April 15, 2010 - March 28, 2016

As of March 28, 2016, this experiment has come to an end. I woke up that morning and no longer saw that familiar red glow on the wall. The transformer still works and the diode is outputting a tiny bit of red light. This was a cool experiment!
April 15, 2010 - March 28, 2016. 52000 hours

Did you try diode CPR or just let her rest her weary head? This was like opening a time capsule Styro thanks for this as I can't imagine it was all easy as it might seem. It sure was a treat

 

[Razako]

Dang that's a long life. Seems about on par with LEDs.

 

[RedCowboy]

187200000 seconds , you nay have spend over a dollars worth of electricity

 

[Pman]

^ Good thing he wasn't running an entire bank of them!

 

[ultimatekaiser]

Rest in peace. Not bad for a little basic red laser module. not that it probably ran under huge stress...wonder how much longer it'd have lasted running with a peltier to keep it at a set low temperature. probably would last even longer!

 

[FireMyLaser]

Your brain probably got used to the dot and just filtered it out subconsciously.

 

[diachi]

Did you try turning it off and on again?

 

[Grix]