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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Diode Dead?

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Nov 25, 2009
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Ever since i finished soldering my first diy laser together.. i only soldered the lead wires to the rckstr driver.. it was functioning fine until i saw it dimming.. i'm using a 3405 host.. i kept on turning it on and off... but suddenly it just completely died and i saw a white dot while it died..did my diode die?

PS: Keep in mind that these are new batteries 10440 that i got from dealextreme and i haven't charged them yet since i'm waiting for my charger.. also i'm using the 3405 host from jayrob

EDIT: IT CAME BACK TO LIFE.. but still starting to dim after a while? Any answers?
 





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Feb 28, 2008
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It sounds like possibly a loose connection on the diode's pins to the driver, that would cause the on/ off flickering effect. This is very bad for the laser diode and could potentially kill it.

Best way to figure out what the problem is would be to eliminate different components and test them with out known working parts, but it sounds like you don't have other 3405 lasers...

if you have a multimemter you should check the voltage on the batteries to see if they are still good. I'd check that first.

then open it up if its still not working and check the connection between the laser and the driver, and the driver to the batteries, both need to be good connections so it doesn't turn on and off.

-Kendall
 
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Feb 21, 2008
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Is there any chance that you ran the laser long enough to run down the batteries? When it died, and came back to life, perhaps it was long enough for the batteries to regain some life? I just received 6 x 10440 from DX today, they were not fully charged upon arrival. Chances are your batteries need charging. As nearly all 10440's are unprotected, do not run them down below about 2.8V so as to avoid damage by overdischarge. As Kendall said, measure their voltage if you have a DMM available.
 
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I have protected 10440's so i'm not much worried about running them down all the way, but if i do then the driver will get messed up so i'm not going to do that.. I got my complete module from mohrenberg.. i didn't do any soldering to that... it might be the batteries though i'm going to check
Well it's still flickering i think the batteries are fine i checked the module everything seems to be together..
 
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Joined
Dec 14, 2009
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if i was you, before jumping to conclusions, i would test the battery output powers. i would also test the diode in other hosts (like a simple mag lite). Other than that, i wish the best of luck to you.

Thanks!!
Timmy
 
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Feb 21, 2008
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Is there then perhaps a contact problem relating to the battery holder or its' contacts? A bad spring or iffy contact to one end of a battery in the holder could cause flickering and low power. Since you've measured the batteries and they are fine, perhaps check for bad contact or looseness. Mohrenberg builds good stuff, but if the postal service battered it around, perhaps something is not connecting fully.
 
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See if there are any plastic tabs preventing a good connection between the batteries and the contact points in the battery holder.
 




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