Building my first bluray flashlight.

[buster7467]

I just received my order from hightechdealz.com. I bought the 100mw bluray module and driver installed. I hooked it up to a 9v battery and it works great. I also bought the mdxl flashlight to install the laser in but am having trouble finding a step by step instruction on how to install it and get it wired up to the flashlight. If anyone can give me a link to some good instructions that would be great. Thanks

 

[buster7467]

Well i found some instructions and just tested the module out in the mxdl host with 3 aaa batteries in it. The laser lights up but not very bright at all. I thought i could use this flashlight with just regular AAA's but i guess not. When i hook up the module to a 9v battery it is really bright and will light matches really fast. I just want to get it installed in the mxdl host and get it to work like it does with a 9v battery. And tips you can give me would be great.

 

[FlightLevel350]

The rkcstr driver has a voltage drop of around 2.25 volts. Since the diode requires around 5 volts, the total input must be at least 7.5 (these numbers could be off, correct me if I'm wrong). 3 triple-A batteries only have a combined voltage of 4.5, which is too low for the diode. You could get a flex drive, which would work in the host you have, or get a different host that uses higher voltage batteries. Jayrob has several mdxl hosts that use 2 RCR123 batteries which would work fine with your driver.

 

[buster7467]

Thanks for the info. I will look up jayrob and check out his hosts.

 

[buster7467]

I am deffinately going to have to find some 10440 batteries so i can put this module in the host. Right now i just have the module hooked up to a 9v batt and i am able to light some box matches at around 3-4ft. And i am more than happy with this 100mw module. This is the first laser other than the cheap little pointers that you can buy all over the place that i have owned. I have been interested in these higher powered lasers for awhile now. I also have an extra driver just incase i ever wanted to build a more powerfull laser than this 100mw one. And i may buy another laser module to put in a lab style heatsink for some experiments and maybe a projector. I am going to go ahead and mount this module in the mxdl host and order some 10440 batts and charger for them this evening. But i will probably end up playing around alittle more burning stuff before i get it installed. LOL

 

[Meatball]

If you are going to use the rkcstr on your next build, I might recommend trying a Long Open Can diode for the next build, especially if you want it to be battery powered. Hightechdealz has them, Modwerx has them, and Scopeguy has them. You may be surprised with it's burning power once you set it to 420ma. It should equal about 245mw after your lens!

 

[buster7467]

Now i am having a little trouble with my new laser. I woke up this morning and got the laser and was trying to light matches and for some reason i cant get it to focus. I have no idea what would cause this to happen. I guess i will have to buy a couple more aixiz modules so i can see if it is my lense that is messed up but i really dont know how the lense could go bad after just one days use. I will probably send hightechdealz.com an email asking them what could be the problem.

 

[buster7467]

I went ahead and placed an order with modwerx.com and ordered some 10440 protected batts and a charger for them, 2 aixiz modules, and a glow in the dark dust cap for the lens. I hope that the new aixiz module will fix my focusing problem.

Would anyone know how long you can expect to run a 100mw bluray laser off of a 9v duracell battery. Maybe my 9v is getting a little low and that is why it is not burning. I can get a tiny dot focused but it just does not burn. Anyway i guess i will have to wait to get my order before i can figure this out.

 

[buster7467]

Now i dont know what to do. This laser is one day old and it quit working altogether. The diode will not even light up. I tried 2 new 9v batts and it just wont work. I sent hightechdealz.com an email explaining what is going on with it. I have another driver that i could probably try on the diode but i dont want to mess with it until i hear back from hightechdealz. Has anyone else experienced a 100mw bluray that only lasted like 15min total use on it before it stopped working?

 

[buster7467]

Well i went ahead and ordered a new bluray diode in the aixiz module from hightechdealz. I already have another rckstr micro driver already set to run the bluray diode so all i will have to do is solder the diode to the driver and be back in business. I just hate that i paid 59$ for the bluray that only lasted 15minutes of use. I hope the next one will last longer than that or i will be getting out of the laser hobby. Wish me luck. I just wish there was a way to check the diode or the driver to see which one is no good. If it was the driver i would just put the other new one i have on it and be back in business but i dont want to ruin the new driver if there is a problem with the diode. Should i try it or just wait until i get the new diode sometime this week?

 

[buster7467]

I should have my mxdl 3405 host built by the end of the week. I just ordered one of jayrobs' 3405 V2 heatsinks. So i should get the new batts, diode, aixiz modules and the heatsink in a few days. I will update when all parts come in.

 

[buster7467]

I was just messing around with my dead diode and a couple rckstr micro driver V3's. I wanted to check the current settings on both just to see how close they both are to 100ma. The one that i got from hightechdealz was set at 98ma and this is the one that had the diode that died after 15min of use. The other driver is one that i ordered from rckstr and it was set at 101ma. I am not going to mess with either one. They are close enough to 100ma for me. This is my first laser and i can already tell that i am going to want to build a 200mw or even a 300mw one day.

 

[buster7467]

Got my order from modwerx this morning. I got my protected 10440 batts and charger, 2 aixiz modules, and 2 gitd lens caps. I hope to recieve the diode and heatsink tomorrow. I will post pics of my build as soon as all parts get here.

 

[kingdave2357]

Wait, you were running that module without a heatsink for an extended period of time? if so im pretty sure thats why your laser stopped working, though please correct me if im wrong.

 

[buster7467]

I was running the rkcstr driver at the preset mA of 100mA. I only used the laser for a minute at a time because i knew that without a heatsink that it would probably not last very long. But it still died after 15min of use. Well, i just got my new PHR diode in the mail this morning from Hightechdealz. I will solder it to one of my drivers to see if it works. I also will be putting it in my host with heatsink to see if it lives longer than 15min.

 

[buster7467]

IT'S ALIVE!!!!

I finally got the PHR diode installed on the rkcstr driver and it works. It is not as powerfull as the last PHR diode but this one has a really bad artifact in the laser dot. I will try to take a pic later this evening and post it. If i turn the focus out so the dot is really big at say 10ft, you can see an artifact that actually looks like a fly in the center of the dot and it is big. It is not my aixiz lens because i just put a new one on the diode and i still see the same thing. I have the driver set to 98mA and it wont lite a match or flashpaper. I may set the driver to 110mA and see if it is better.

I guess i was wrong. I just messed around with it alittle more and i was able to lite a match and set off some flashpaper with it. It is still not as powerfull as the last PHR that i had but i guess since i have a couple more PHR diodes on order, i may turn the mA up to 110-120mA and see how it does. I really want to get this one to lite a match at 4 ft like the original diode i had.