adjusting the power of a green module

[hugo999999]

hi,
i need a way to adjust the power of a green laser module for my upcoming build of an RGB. is it possible to simply add a potentiometer between the modules driver and the power source to adjust power? or will i need to make a ddl driver for it (if so how much should say- a 50mw green be run at)?
thanks for your help, Hugo.

Edit:
perhaps if i desolder one end of the resistor on the driver board and solder a potentiometer to this end, and solder the other end of the potentiometer back onto the driver board in place of where the resistors second lead would have gone, i could adjust current?

 

[qumefox]

If it's a 50mw, it should be run at as much current as it takes to get 50mw.... How much that is depends on a LOT of factors with green. There is no easy answer.

If you want more power, buy a higher powered module. Too much current through a lower power laser = dead laser, not a high power laser.

 

[hugo999999]

sorry, you don't understand me i'm perfectly happy with 50mw, i would just like to be able to adjust the power of it to even less then 50mw with a potentiometer so i can reach the right colour mix. i do not want to overun the diode, but underun it by adding more resistance in series with the resistor that already exists on the driver board. do you think this would work?

 

[Gryphon]

^ your not looking to pot mod for more green photons but rather pot mod for the right color blend. I suppose you could go about
making a DDL driver and set it up so that the max of the DDL matches about what the current driver is supplying the module with
to produce the 50mWs its outtting out now, that way you can't risk overpowering your diode when you make the driver swap.

 

[hugo999999]

i was going to do this originally but my multimeter does not seem able to test the amount of current going through the driver its worked fine all the other times i have tested current on DDL drivers etc. basically when i put it onto the green module, the green module turns off completely and the multimeter shows 0ma....

 

[Pontiacg5]

What module are you using? Most green modules (the ones worth messing with at least) have a pot on the board already. You could turn that pot down to get a better blend.

How exactly are you hooking up the multimeter to read current? Most meters have a separate probe plug location for reading current, are you using that plug?

 

[hugo999999]

What module are you using? Most green modules (the ones worth messing with at least) have a pot on the board already. You could turn that pot down to get a better blend.

How exactly are you hooking up the multimeter to read current? Most meters have a separate probe plug location for reading current, are you using that plug?

it is just a cheapy dX module lol, also i would like to be able to have a large potentiometer that i could adjust from outside the laser case (not the onboard one if possible).

also with the multimeter i am using the current plug, but as soon as i touch it to the running laser, the laser shuts off (as if the multimeter is taking all the power from the batteries and the laser cannot get any?) and the multimeter shows zero

thanks, hugo.

 

[qumefox]

To measure current, the meter has to be in SERIES with what your trying to measure. To see what the driver is putting out to the IR diode, you'd have to unsolder one leg from the driver and put the meter between the diode and the driver. the length of the leads can cause a problem though. It's safer to substitute a 1 ohm resistor in place of the meter, to keep wire distances as short as possible, and measure mV across the resistor. Or better yet, do the same thing with a test load so you don't risk the diode at all.

 

[hugo999999]

ok then thanks qumefox, ill have a go soon