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FrozenGate by Avery

635nm 300mw-500mw Laser Diode Driver






I've bought from qualifound and they are good folks to deal with, but personally I would not use that driver.

I just did not like the way the specs read: IE, it's pretty large in size and might be difficult to make room for in a handheld, and I didn't like the explaination for this: constant current at 6.5V input, but later states recommended voltage to be 3.7V, so what's the current at a 3.7V input?

Then again, I'm not an electronics engineer or even a tech, and it might be perfectly acceptable to the other members here.
 
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It is... a bit big, but looks like a buck driver to me.
BTW, nice avatar, Mark.
 
8-pin IC: check.
big transistor: check.
big schottky: check.
three caps: check.
potentiometer paralleled with a smaller resistor: check.
OVP zener + resistor: check.
6.5V input: check.
poorly designed driver board: check.

diagnosis: a cheap chinese buck driver.
 
I'm pretty sure the inductor is that big white resistor looking thing... The way it is connected corresponds to it.
 
Johnyz said:
I'm pretty sure the inductor is that big white resistor looking thing... The way it is connected corresponds to it.
Click to expand...

That big white thing is a Resistor Flip Upside down.:)

If you scroll up to the main Picture next to the Price you can see it.:)
 
1R0 could mean 1uH... there are inductors made in 1206 or 0805... But even if it's not a coil, that would mean it's some weird design and not a switched one... But why the schottky and transistor then?
 
Yup, it doesnt look like any buck driver ive ever seen?
 
Seems like we have a couple of options here.
  • Weird switched design that doesn't have an inductor
  • The inductor is hidden somewhere (the big "resistor"?)
  • Weird ULDO linear design that uses schottky and transistor
 
Guys, this is a regular old linear driver. Where's the mystery?

That white thing IS a resistor, there's no ambiguity on that point. No inductor, so not a boost/buck. It requires 6.5V input to drive an LD with a Vf of 3, so it's a step-down, and a fairly inefficient one.

This is linear. Why they need 3 ICs to accomplish this is beyond me.
 
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Wait! Maybe it's just the LM317 type regulator, built without the IC? That would explain the 8-pin(op-amp) and the transistor. Then we could just call the diode a protection diode, and it would be all explained.

There's one IC... The DPAK type is marked Q1, thus it is a transistor of some sort, and that small little three pin thing is marked D, so it is a (double) diode, possibly used for making the 1.25V ref voltage.
 
midias said:
probably just an opamp comparator switching a fet.
Click to expand...

Again, a fairly poorly designed one if it drops 3+ volts. Given that, I don't know why they wouldn't have just used an LM1117 instead of the complexity they went with.
 
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