PHR-803t: At least 6. 1 died at 175mA because we weren't sure what to run them at yet, and I was willing to sacrifice lifespan for power. It lasted about 20min. It was very bright. It will be missed. 2 died to broken pins. They never had a chance to shine, as I was testing a homemade host, which required twisting the module head to fit it, and the driver caught on the housing, putting too much torque on the pins. One of which I soldered the broken pin stub to the case and got it to lase for a bit, though we were still running PHR's at 150+mA at the time, so it didn't live long. The other, I flubbed by using too much flux when trying to solder the pin stub to the case, and I ended up with the entire casing wicking up all the solder, it never got a chance to shine. One has died of what I'll call "natural causes", it lived a strong and hearty life at 125mA, helped me find flourescent objects in the dark, pointed at projection screens during presentations, it had a full life and it will be missed. I've had more PHR's but I can't place what happened to them.
LPC-815 Open Can Reds: At least 10. These have been troublesome for me, I've had a number of them fail for no particular reason. At least 4 have died due to me twisting the positive pin, and the microfilament wire inside breaking off. One "died" due to me trying to break its heatsink apart, it turned out to be a softer metal, so the diode came out all twisted. If anyone needs an oval shaped LOC, contact me. At least 3 have died due to overcurrent or bad drivers. They will be missed. Their exemplary output during their short lives was enjoyed by all. One died by natural causes, at least 100 hours on it, it was one of the first pointers I ever built, and it lasted the longest. 400mA, aixiz glass, no heatsinking, though I used it every day for at least a year.
More to come...
