Apparently most lasers don't have polarity protection *SOLVED*

[rhd]

Re: Apparently th Sci-Fi Lasers 501B doesn't have polarity protection

What driver does this build use? It shouldn't be hard to estimate what the reverse polarity did to the diode if we put some thought into the driver topology / schematic (if known). I also think it's potentially likely that the diode is fine.

 

[Blarg King]

Re: Apparently th Sci-Fi Lasers 501B doesn't have polarity protection

I can say with certainty that I don't posses the skills required to take the diode out and test it.

I'm talking with thejoker, I might get it repaired after all since I got some unexpected money in the mail this morning.

 

[Blarg King]

Re: Apparently th Sci-Fi Lasers 501B doesn't have polarity protection *SOLVED*

Okay talked with TheJoker301, we came to an arrangement. He truly is one of the nicest people on here.

 

[NightExplorer96]

Re: Apparently th Sci-Fi Lasers 501B doesn't have polarity protection *SOLVED*

Okay talked with TheJoker301, we came to an arrangement. He truly is one of the nicest people on here.

Good to hear!

Tons of people have had great experiences with him, and I wouldn't expect him to treat you any worse

-Alex

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

I think we are too laser-savvy to not at least have
polarity laser engraved (or some kind of engraved) on
builds we are doing for others. Heck, even a little
sticker is better than nothing. At least it would avoid
this bitching and moaning by the noobs.

 

[Deleted member 16589]

Glad you got it straight I have you one upped for Reverse Current fails.
See that 100mW 593.5nm labby in my signature well the power-supply under the driver died so I swapped it but did not watch my wiring so closely and well yea enough said :cryyy:

 

[mortuus]

TheJoker301 maybe you should print those little sticker labels as laserbtb that indicates what battery and what way its inserted possible ?

 

[ru124t]

All my lasers, except for the 532nm greenies, have batteries going in positive towards the diodes. The 532 goes in negative towards the diode. When I first started this hobby Tmack sent me an email stating this and I stickied it on to my computer. I also use a permanent ink marker and mark it inside the laser in case of brain fart! lol

 

[Deleted member 10578]

Re: Apparently th Sci-Fi Lasers 501B doesn't have polarity protection

Hi Alex,
This is Jack with Optotronics.
I don't recall any conversation with you about a failed laser due to reverse polarity.
In fact no one has ever called trying to get a warranty replacement after telling us that they put the batteries in backwards...However we would give a discount on a replacement for such abuse and with a 4 time customer especially.
I've searched my records and since the 175mw is pretty rare there have been less than 75 of them sold, only one was to the state of PA.
Please give me your order number or real name the laser was purchased under or I call BS to your claims. (if you do show me your order number/real name and you are a 4 time customer who bought a 175mw and contacted us about, the I will publicly apologize for calling BS on your claims about Optotronics.

I think you've gotten us mixed up with a different company as any of our customers know, we keep on top of things and strive to treat all of our customers as we would want to be treated ourselves. Many times I've had customers who had broken their expensive laser out of warranty and have offered to sell a replacement at a discount if the failed unit is returned...especially with repeat customers.
I'm not sure how you were able to buy 4 pointers from us for about $250 as the 175mw is just over $200 with shipping and even our 5mw are $30.
We also show in the instructions the correct way the batteries are to be inserted.
On that note I have had a few customers over the years get their laser and call telling me it's DOA, only to find that even though the polarity is shown in the instructions, they put them in wrong and in every case this has happened, when they put them in correctly the laser began to work normally. I can't say they are 100% safe if reverse polarity as anything could happen so don't try it, but in most cases if caught quickly no damage is done.

One thing to remember is always make sure the negative side of the cell is the one making contact with the spring. As far as I know this goes for all electronics that use batteries.

your not the only one. actually most company and custom lasers dont have reverse polarity protection.
i have killed a bunch of lasers over the last year by putting the battery in backwards.
300mw spartan(thankyfully they replaced it for only the shipping cost)
tmack 501b 520nm. had to pay $130 to fix that
optotroics 175mw pen (they refused to replace it not even a small discount) Iv bought 4 pens from them and all died or broke in different ways. im still pissed about that.
about a $250 dollar loss.
i also just crushed my diode on my new tmack 1w 405nm by tightening the lens to much- $90 to fix it

Im extremely careful now which way i put the battery. half my lasers go one way and the other half the other way.

its a tough hobby. these lasers are so fragile and there so easy to break even in ways not thought possible

 

[Thejoker301]

TheJoker301 maybe you should print those little sticker labels as laserbtb that indicates what battery and what way its inserted possible ?

I always send a manual with the laser that states how to insert batteries

Putting a sticker is a bit of a problem. I can make stickers for very low costs. But not everyone will like a sticker on their laser. I really think a manual is enough. From that point , when the customer get the laser , it is his decision of how to remmember / make sure he will insert them right.

:beer:

 

[trencheel303]

Re: Apparently th Sci-Fi Lasers 501B doesn't have polarity protection

Well if its such a heartbreakingly difficult thing to put polarity protection into a driver, then clearly someone was an idiot at some point when they first designed diode drivers, or people now arent trying hard enough.

Honestly, the more learn about and experience diode lasers, the more I feel like they are inherintly flawed and just a general pain to work with. They need so many things to be perfect with little margin for error just to spit out a bit of coherent light.

They're a specialist bit of kit though, lasers. Much like the sodium and mercury lamps I love playing with. When I started researching them, I thought I could just buy one and stick it in to an ordinary light holder. Obviously, due to my nature, I researched the buggery out of it and one of the first things I learned is that would not work, the lamps can't run at that angle and without a ballast it would die pretty quickly. The lamps I run require special control gear, capacitors and electrical understanding that your average person on civvie street would have no clue about. Lasers are much the same except for us they're put conveniently in tubes whose original design was to hold a bulb. I think this can trick people into thinking it's just a toy when really it's a piece of lab equipment that's found itself (to many people's annoyance) filtering into the consumer market.

That's all I have to say on the matter, but I'm not going to take the piss.

 

[Marco Polo]

[QUOTE="ARG]That's just silly considering majority of lasers sold here on LPF do not have reverse polarity protection.[/QUOTE]

That's very good information to know; I had no idea. The one laser I bought from a member uses the Flexdrive, which is protected, as are all my Skylasers and 301's, so I was under the impression that most lasers sold here would have reverse protection by default.

As I said, I'm fine with it if I'm buying a laser if the builder is clear that it doesn't have reverse protection. I'll definitely ask about it if/when I buy another laser. Lacking reverse protection isn't a deal-breaker by any means; I would just want to know about it in advance so that I could properly mark the unit to avoid damaging it.

In any case, reverse protection or lack of it is a detail that's important enough that it should be mentioned prior to any sale being made, especially since a lot of the lasers we see here (flexdrive/microboost lasers, Skylasers, etc.) *are* protected. I've been a member here since late 2012 and I had no idea that most member builds don't have reverse protection, so the expectation / idea that most lasers are protected is definitely out there. Maybe it's worth putting into one of the stickies that advise new members; it could save somebody some trouble.

 

[mortuus]

I always send a manual with the laser that states how to insert batteries

Putting a sticker is a bit of a problem. I can make stickers for very low costs. But not everyone will like a sticker on their laser. I really think a manual is enough. From that point , when the customer get the laser , it is his decision of how to remmember / make sure he will insert them right.

:beer:

yes i know, i have one laser from you :beer:, but to me manual you dont have on the laser like a sticker, its always there so i prefer the laserbtb hosts best if forget to check manual anyway if unsure..

 

[Thejoker301]

yes i know, i have one laser from you :beer:, but to me manual you dont have on the laser like a sticker, its always there so i prefer the laserbtb hosts best if forget to check manual anyway if unsure..

I will take your advice. And as soon as I can I will add some stickers on my custom lasers like the Arcane 2.0 and more upcoming custom designs I will try to design them in a way they will not be too annoying.

:beer:

 

[BowtieGuy]

I always send a manual with the laser that states how to insert batteries

Putting a sticker is a bit of a problem. I can make stickers for very low costs. But not everyone will like a sticker on their laser. I really think a manual is enough. From that point , when the customer get the laser , it is his decision of how to remmember / make sure he will insert them right.

:beer:

I agree with you joker, I personally don't care to have stickers on the outside of my lasers, especially the custom ones.

I do make polarity stickers for my lasers, but I always attach them to the inside of the battery tube.
It's always the first thing you see when you remove the tailcap!

 

[Thejoker301]

I agree with you joker, I personally don't care to have stickers on the outside of my lasers, especially the custom ones.

I do make polarity stickers for my lasers, but I always attach them to the inside of the battery tube.
It's always the first thing you see when you remove the tailcap!

Awesome Idea ! :beer: