300mw LOC hotlight Tutorial (Pic Heavy)

[Wolfman29]

Yup. But I may actually replace that driver with another driver that is buck set to around 400mA so I can run it off of a single 18650... that may be my project for the day.

EDIT: Dangit. The driver I have isn't continuous on the negative rail. Shame. And I don't want to have to do the whole insulating thing.

 

[LaZeRz]

Unfortunately (lol) i cant be bothered buying a lens holder i just hold a magnifying glass over the stuff that im soldering although i can solder wire to diode pins fine without one

Also its not so much about getting solder on the tip tip, i just mean getting solder to stick anywhere on my iron is a chore...

@Wolfman29

I first was worried when my cells did'nt fit but I kept trying to mod it until i came up with this you should try it, its not that hard

THE LASER IS WORKING AGAIN!

The contact point for the batteries on the switch got bent so that the little button top on the cells wouldnt make contact with it but the switch was just touching the flat area around the button top so i said to myself "why not make the battery contact point wider?" so to do this i got a piece of metal from a spring, placed it over the bottontop cell so that the contact point would be widened and then i put some tape around it to hold it in place, all is good again and I recieved my @-140 diode today from Glenn so I will soon have my <1.3w or >1.3w build finished using the same mod as done in this hotlight

To answer your questions Kucito

1.) yep a LOC diode

2.) what do you mean focused beam or line? if you mean a focused dot then yes

3.)The lenses are pretty good, they give a clean output and give more power too, they give a 10-15mw increase over coated aixiz glass lenses

4.)I can smoke and burn stuff with a slightly unfocused (like hardly) dot but im kind of over driving this diode so i wouldnt be surprised if it died in the next few months...

 

[LaZeRz]

This thing just LED'ed on me, I hadnt turned it on for a while and when I went to burn some stuff today I turned it on and guess what? Its weak....

Why do lasers have to go LED, I want LED's to go laser!

Oh well, I messed up my 445 and now this.... Im practically laserless except for my few greenies

 

[kucito]

Unfortunately (lol) i cant be bothered buying a lens holder i just hold a magnifying glass over the stuff that im soldering although i can solder wire to diode pins fine without one

Also its not so much about getting solder on the tip tip, i just mean getting solder to stick anywhere on my iron is a chore...

@Wolfman29

I first was worried when my cells did'nt fit but I kept trying to mod it until i came up with this you should try it, its not that hard

THE LASER IS WORKING AGAIN!

The contact point for the batteries on the switch got bent so that the little button top on the cells wouldnt make contact with it but the switch was just touching the flat area around the button top so i said to myself "why not make the battery contact point wider?" so to do this i got a piece of metal from a spring, placed it over the bottontop cell so that the contact point would be widened and then i put some tape around it to hold it in place, all is good again and I recieved my @-140 diode today from Glenn so I will soon have my <1.3w or >1.3w build finished using the same mod as done in this hotlight

To answer your questions Kucito

1.) yep a LOC diode

2.) what do you mean focused beam or line? if you mean a focused dot then yes

3.)The lenses are pretty good, they give a clean output and give more power too, they give a 10-15mw increase over coated aixiz glass lenses

4.)I can smoke and burn stuff with a slightly unfocused (like hardly) dot but im kind of over driving this diode so i wouldnt be surprised if it died in the next few months...

10x for the info man :beer:

 

[Elektrotechniker]

Can someone tell me if the old LOC diodes are capable of ~300 mW? btw nice build there bud, really like the modification and beamshots

 

[Kevlar]

Re: 300mw LOC hotlight!

Thanks Danefex! :beer:

I dont think i will be upgrading my soldering iron any time soon unless i find a nice fine tipped one for under 15 dollars

Il go check out my local electronics shop to see what they have in stock

Here is the same soldering iron I use. Weller 40-Watt Soldering Iron Kit - SP40LK at The Home Depot. Weller is a good brand. Some prefer the 25W model but I prefer this one. It takes less time to solder. You only have to touch it to the pins for 1 sec to get a good, solid soldering joint. Plus it comes with 3 tips, one of them is a very fine, pencil tip. And, replacement tips are easy to find and cheap.

The key to keeping your soldering iron tip in good working order is to always tin it. That is, when your not using it, make sure it is covered with solder. When you ready to use it, wipe off the solder on the sponge and put fresh stuff on for any work you want to do. When in between soldering joints, wipe it off, then add some more solder. Continue and repeat as necessary. I actually use WAY more solder just keeping my tip tinned than I do for actual soldering!! :beer: I've had the same tip since I bought it almost 2 years ago.

 

[LaZeRz]

These LOC's are capable of over 300mw's with those red acrylic lenses if you get a beast diode so ovbiously over 300mw's with a 650-g-1

Thanks for the tip Kevlar Im actually going to buy some new tips of DX for my 25watt iron

if they dont work that good il buy a whole new iron

 

[LaZeRz]

Okays, Thanks to Fiddy the hotlight has been resurrected! Thx bro

Pics:

I put some artic thermal glue around the diode slot for maximum heat transfer and I might of put a little much Although, now the whole thing has thermal contact with the module.

Two 16340's with their PCB removed fit perfectly.

beamshot:

RGB:

 

[Fiddy]

Yay! good to see shes going again!

 

[LastAce]

Hey! Nice Build man!

I'm kinda new to laser DIY and want to start my own LOC Project
Could you please make a list which exactly parts you used?

Heatsink, laser module with lense.. and I'm still searching for a good host :undecided:
Btw, which laser googles did you chose?

I want to get this as cheap as possible and i hate those 5$ item bought, 15$ shipment prizes :S