DTR Is amazing

[Giannis_TDM]

Edit: Thanks to styro and dtr for their responses that is why I don't think that the old title "problem with dtr" still applies hence the edit ill still leave the old message for you to understand.





I want to clarify some things from the get-go
1. The driver was shipped fully operational and tested with an m140 type M diode to confirm that it functions
2. I have talked to a number of people in styros discord and my theory seems to check out with all of them(they consist of at least 2 people with the "trusted user" role)
3. I don't want to bs any one of you so I will be including ALL of the emails send back and forth with dtr
4. I have send dtr a good amount of emails giving him a lots of days to respond (Last email was sent 3d ago)
This post is regarding my order of a Sharp 488nm laser diode and an LDSE500 driver(Set by dtr to 220mA because I asked him to)
The driver worked fine with the m140 diode but when I connected the sharp diode the driver was killed by it also the diode itself did not produce any light
after some help from my father(Expert at component-level repairs for tvs phones laptops ect) and the good ol people at styros discord I have concluded that the diode was sort-circuited from the factory causing the driver's Inductor to blow. I zoomed in to the laser diodes cavity and it seems like the + pins brass wire connecting it to the diodes die was blown. Again I feel like I have to point this out The diode did not produce any and I repeat any light at all further indicating a short. I also tried to test the diode with a CC CV supply and yes no current passes through.
The emails and dates I have send to dtr can be seen below from oldest to newest:

Sent at Thu, Aug 28, 5:48 pm (8 days ago) With title: Ok look

The package arrived today the driver works fine did you test the diode before shipping? It is completely dead like no current passes through it.
Please reply soon,
john

Sent at Thu, Aug 28, 5:56 pm (8 days ago) With title: Forgot to mention

I tested the driver with an m140 the first time and then hocked up the sharp diode the diode did not give any light at all and the driver died
Here are some pics idk if they will help you. Sidenote I also hooked up a lab bench psu and the diode does not draw anything

Sent at Thu, Aug 28, 6:23 pm (8 days ago) With title: Pictures

Some pics for you to understand the situation

And I want to add nothing has been soldered to the diode/driver and it was worked with properly by following ESD protection rules(Keeping me and my tools grounded ect.) and I also did not hold the bare diode at all.
(image hosted here too large for lpf https://ibb.co/HgyLWSM )

Sent at Thu, Aug 28, 6:40 pm (8 days ago) With title: Also

I will be storing the diode in an anti-static bag and the driver in the bag it came with in case you need further pic/testing done.
Also Im not the guy that burns diodes I made a m140 build with a diy driver with extra filtering caps and a Vmettre+Ampmettre and that is still going solid after a couple of months of use.
Thanks for your time and reading and sorry for the shear amount of emails
(image hosted here too large for lpf https://ibb.co/MNmZYwY )

Sent at Thu, Aug 29, 10:59 am (7 days ago) With title: Hi did you test the diode before shipping?

So lemme give you the full story for context I powered the driver and hooked up an m140 to test if the driver still works and it did but when I hooked up the sharp diode it killed itself and the driver without producing any light at all. As you can imagine that’s very weird behavior because normally when diodes die they produce a small pulse of light and then go very dim this one did not produce any light at all and just blew itself and the driver. So I was wondering if it could have been a defective diode from the get-go but I don’t really know that’s why I am asking you if you tested the diode before shipping. I am willing to rebuy because I know you are a good seller and it might have been the 1 in a 10000000 chance of a defective diode passing sharp’s QA or it may have been my mistake which is equally unluckily because I always follow ESD protection guidelines to ensure that I don’t brake anything during testing and I also did not use any solder for testing and I just hocked up the driver to a voltage/amp meter via a breadboard so not any soldering was done to any component the driver only died after hooking up the diode the diode itself does not draw anything when hooked up to an alt driver.
Thanks for reading and for your time,
John


Sent at Mon, 2 Sep, 12:27 pm (3 days ago) With title: About the diode and driver that i got from you

Last week I had received a sharp 488nm diode and a LDSE500 laser diode driver from you. The driver worked fine but sadly the diode was defective it couldn’t have been damaged in shipping as your packaging was more than enough to protect the diode. After I connected the diode to the driver it killed both and after some investigation I found out that the diode must have arrived defective because the diode did not produce any light when connected and must have been a dead short to kill the driver. I also found out that the component damaged in the driver is the inductor and that made the driver draw 1.25A under no load. When I looked inside the diode cavity I also saw that wire of the + pin going to the diode die is burned up. I can repair the driver by changing the inductor on my SMD hot air workstation, the diode is completely dead though
I’m gonna buy one of the pre made 12mm modules with driver and diode from you hope it works correctly also could you please me a discount for the price of the defective diode I revived?
Thanks for reading and for your time hope to hear from you soon,
john

that is it folks feel free to correct my shitty eng and grammar because im not a native speeker and also feel free to point me out as a stupid idiot but i wanna hear your reasoning for that.
Thank you really really much for reading

 

[BowtieGuy]

I may have missed this point in all that text, but did you happen to short the drivers output after you had disconnected it from the powered up M140, and before soldering it to the 488nm diode, if not, this may have killed the diode before you even had a chance to power it up.

 

[Giannis_TDM]

I may have missed this point in all that text, but did you happen to short the drivers output after you had disconnected it from the powered up M140, and before soldering it to the 488nm diode, if not, this may have killed the diode before you even had a chance to power it up.

Not any soldering was performed to the diode and the driver was not shorted after the m140 run the sharp diode was connected on the breadboard
Edit: I used a breadboard for that exact reason to not perform any soldering and possibly damage the diode or the driver
Edit2: The point of this is to get some attention because as you can see I have not heard from dtr for 8d

 

[BowtieGuy]

My point wasn't that the soldering would hurt the diode, but that there may be a residual charge in the driver after having been powered up; this has killed many diodes.

I understand that you want a response from DTR, and I'm sure he'll respond, I'm just offering some possible causes.

 

[Giannis_TDM]

My point wasn't that the soldering would hurt the diode, but that there may be a residual charge in the driver after having been powered up; this has killed many diodes.

I understand that you want a response from DTR, and I'm sure he'll respond, I'm just offering some possible causes.

Hm seems plausable as an explanation but the prob is that this specific diode must have been defective because as I mentioned the driver was damaged specifically its inductor and it now draws 1.25A without a load.

 

[Encap]

My point wasn't that the soldering would hurt the diode, but that there may be a residual charge in the driver after having been powered up; this has killed many diodes.

I understand that you want a response from DTR, and I'm sure he'll respond, I'm just offering some possible causes.

Exactly.
This is the kind of immature whining post you get from a 14 year old and one of the many reasons you must be 18 or over to use the LFP web site.

Edit2: The point of this is to get some attention because as you can see I have not heard from dtr for 8d

All you can do is wait for an email from DTR and sort it out with him.
He is sometimes not around or available but he will undoubtedly get back to you when he gets to it.
DTR's reputation is beyond reproach on LPF.

If you want attention, whine to your mother or your father about no reply email yet. Would be a whole lot better and more productive than posting a huge waste of bandwidth bunch of emails here.

What do you expect anyone on LPF to do about it?

So far you have misrepresented yourself/lied twice about your age---from your 'Welcome" post you say you are a 14 year old in Greece
violating of the LPF Terms of Use which specifically say:
1. "3. Eligibility
You must be the age of majority as that is defined in your jurisdiction to visit or use the Website in any manner. You represent and warrant to Laser Pointer Forums that You have reached the age of majority in your jurisdiction, and that You have the right, authority and capacity to agree to and abide by this Agreement. You also represent and warrant to Laser Pointer Forums that You will use the Website in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws and regulations."
That means 18 yrs. old in most places, Greece included See: https://laserpointerforums.com/help/terms/

2. DTR's web site says " By purchasing diodes/modules here you are agreeing to the following.- You are over 18 years of age .

 

[Giannis_TDM]

Exactly.
This is the kind of immature whining post you get from a 14 year old and one of the many reasons you must be 18 or over to use the LFP web site.


All you can do is wait for an email from DTR and sort it out with him.
He is sometimes not around or available but he will undoubtedly get back to you when he gets to it.
DTR's reputation is beyond reproach on LPF.

If you want attention, whine to your mother or your father about no reply email yet. Would be a whole lot better and more productive than posting a huge bunch of emails here.

What do you expect anyone on LPF to do about it?

So far you have misrepresented yourself/lied twice about your age---from your 'Welcome" post you say you are a 14 year old in Greece.
The LPF Terms of Use which specifically says:
1. "3. Eligibility
You must be the age of majority as that is defined in your jurisdiction to visit or use the Website in any manner. You represent and warrant to Laser Pointer Forums that You have reached the age of majority in your jurisdiction, and that You have the right, authority and capacity to agree to and abide by this Agreement. You also represent and warrant to Laser Pointer Forums that You will use the Website in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws and regulations."
That means 18 yrs. old in most places, Greece included See: https://laserpointerforums.com/help/terms/

2. DTR's web site says " By purchasing diodes/modules here you are agreeing to the following.- You are over 18 years of age .

Exactly.
This is the kind of immature whining post you get from a 14 year old and one of the many reasons you must be 18 or over to use the LFP web site.


All you can do is wait for an email from DTR and sort it out with him.
He is sometimes not around or available but he will undoubtedly get back to you when he gets to it.
DTR's reputation is beyond reproach on LPF.

If you want attention, whine to your mother or your father about no reply email yet. Would be a whole lot better and more productive than posting a huge bunch of emails here.

What do you expect anyone on LPF to do about it?

So far you have misrepresented yourself/lied twice about your age---from your 'Welcome" post you say you are a 14 year old in Greece.
The LPF Terms of Use which specifically says:
1. "3. Eligibility
You must be the age of majority as that is defined in your jurisdiction to visit or use the Website in any manner. You represent and warrant to Laser Pointer Forums that You have reached the age of majority in your jurisdiction, and that You have the right, authority and capacity to agree to and abide by this Agreement. You also represent and warrant to Laser Pointer Forums that You will use the Website in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws and regulations."
That means 18 yrs. old in most places, Greece included See: https://laserpointerforums.com/help/terms/

2. DTR's web site says " By purchasing diodes/modules here you are agreeing to the following.- You are over 18 years of age .

You are right but I did not purchase the diodes my dad did as a legal adult for me and he is fully aware of lasers and the safety precations you have to take with them and he actually owns some lasers of his own

 

[Giannis_TDM]

Exactly.
This is the kind of immature whining post you get from a 14 year old and one of the many reasons you must be 18 or over to use the LFP web site.


All you can do is wait for an email from DTR and sort it out with him.
He is sometimes not around or available but he will undoubtedly get back to you when he gets to it.
DTR's reputation is beyond reproach on LPF.

If you want attention, whine to your mother or your father about no reply email yet. Would be a whole lot better and more productive than posting a huge waste of bandwidth bunch of emails here.

What do you expect anyone on LPF to do about it?

So far you have misrepresented yourself/lied twice about your age---from your 'Welcome" post you say you are a 14 year old in Greece
violating of the LPF Terms of Use which specifically say:
1. "3. Eligibility
You must be the age of majority as that is defined in your jurisdiction to visit or use the Website in any manner. You represent and warrant to Laser Pointer Forums that You have reached the age of majority in your jurisdiction, and that You have the right, authority and capacity to agree to and abide by this Agreement. You also represent and warrant to Laser Pointer Forums that You will use the Website in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws and regulations."
That means 18 yrs. old in most places, Greece included See: https://laserpointerforums.com/help/terms/

2. DTR's web site says " By purchasing diodes/modules here you are agreeing to the following.- You are over 18 years of age .

Also for the immaturity thing I have seen way more immature and just disgraceful 18 year olds than me. Also I don't really see a the problem about my age I have helped countless of people over at styros discord and Im not telling you that I am the "master of lasers" and that "I know everything" I surely have much more to learn about this wonderful hobby. Could you please elaborate on "whining post" I find it a very logical thing to do since dtr has a very active account on this forum and I thought that I could get his attention that way. finally calling me immature without context and just from 1 post that i think that you may have not read fully I think, is a bit of an overreaction.
Thanks for reading hope this clears up the things a bit,
John

 

[DTR]

Sorry I have not had a chance to go over it all with you as there were quire a few things that I was going detail about your setup and what you have experienced. I am guessing you did not notice that I did send you a credit for the diode which was your main request as you were going to just get a unit in module with driver and were hopping I could help out with a credit for the diode which was no problem as stuff happens specially when new.

Check your paypal there is a credit in there which I sent as you are right I have not had the time after going out of town for the holiday weekend(parents are in west palm).

I was hoping to get though the bulk of my messages including yours tonight but it might have been tomorrow for all I wanted to go over and won't here in the open forum but to address a few points which you have already noted here. I know you thought it was better that the you had not soldered anything just clamped the driver to your breadboard and pushed the diode pins into it but that is where I am betting the point of failure was. You had previously just used a linear on your breadboard to power the M140 but when using switching(buck, buck/boost or boost) drivers a secure soldered connection is required to prevent any kind of disconnect while the driver is powering the diode. The driver can not be powered without a load which on a boost usually after a few seconds will pop it. Any disconnect which power is flowing into the driver and a buildup in the caps which are needed to clean up the output on switching drivers(specially on any boost type) will blow the diode in a fraction of a second. One example is you said you had used connectors to connect the driver to your breadboard and you powered the M140 which worked, If any disconnected before powering down like say pulling out the diode while it was still powered or even just a nudge and the output caps on the driver can charge. The moment the next diode is connected without shorting the output it will blow the diode just as you had described with all the bond wires melted. That is a pretty extreme electrician event to blow those bond wires which can probably take few amps even though diode would COD long before. When diodes get spiked these events happen in milliseconds so no you would not perceive a flash of light.

Anyway let me get though a few more things and I will get back to you tonight with more as I am going to fast just to try to get something up here for you. We can go over it all here on the forum or via email. Whatever you prefer. I am never concerned with assessing fault but give advice to rule out any most common issues. I was happy to help you out with just a diode as I prefer people not get frustrated at the inevitable losses early on(learning experiences) and give up. Check your paypal and let me know if you did not get it but it should be there. I will check as well here shortly and sorry for the long time to get back to your messages but I had figured you saw the paypal refund which was the solution you had wanted..


EDIT

That makes sense that you did not see it as my site requires the payment be via an adult account so I bet your dad got the email notification of the credit.

 

[styropyro]

First off everyone should cut this kid some slack on the age thing. I'd argue that the majority this forum's founding members were under 18 when they signed up. I was 14 when I joined and this site was incredibly helpful to me as I learned about lasers/electronics. Gianakakis seems to be a creative tinkerer that handles his lasers responsibly and is open to learning. I mean any kid can buy a fully built 1W+ 445nm laser online for $40, yet Gianakakis wants to make a much lower powered (but still obviously dangerous) 488nm build. That alone should say something about his responsibility.

That being said, DTR had no obligation to give a refund for this. It is typically assumed that laser diodes are a non-refundable purchase due to the sensitive nature of them. All of the big science retailers that sell laser diodes are like this, and the same thing even applies to ordering direct from Nichia. For some of the more sensitive laser diodes a tiny bit of static is enough to fry them so there's a good reason seller's don't give refunds for these, even if they did send out duds. DTR is great though so he was nice enough to issue a refund anyway.

Gianakakis I'll just send you a 488nm diode no cost if you want one but it'll likely be a couple weeks before I get it out. I'm about to configure my spectrometer and plan on doing a batch test of these diodes so I can cherry pick the outliers, and I'll have many extras in the middle ground that I won't need. There's no need to overdrive it to 220mA though.

 

[DTR]

Styro I could not have said it better. I would never want anyone to feel discouraged about sharing their experiences about anything as that is the value of this community. Even if it is when I drop the ball which I do occasionally. It happens to everyone and I believe when it does it is all about owning it and using feedback to better understand a perspective other than my own and use it to improve myself.

I had a lot I wanted to go over with him but knowing it would take a bit I prioritized getting more of the less time consuming messages knocked out first. My error was in assuming he would have seen the PP note with the credit for the diodes and that a long winded message with info and suggestions for his setup and the processes that he had used could wait. So I understand the frustration from his perspective.

On the diode I usually will help out in situations like this with a first failure as it can be an expensive hobby and something as small as a $30 diode could be the difference between a life long hobby, maybe even as a foundation to a carrier or just throwing in the towel. There are enough sellers out that run people off being all about the transaction not working toward cultivating long term relationships.

It is the small things. I am only here by some random email from a friend 10 year ago that caught my attention.

EDIT

I got a spectro now as well. Actually had it a few weeks but have not had the time yet to even take it out of the box but looking forwadrd to adding spectro data to my threads.

Styro are those diodes the new batch that are the 490mn-495nm range? If they are of a new batch would be interested in also getting the code off the top or side of the diode.

 

[Giannis_TDM]

First off everyone should cut this kid some slack on the age thing. I'd argue that the majority this forum's founding members were under 18 when they signed up. I was 14 when I joined and this site was incredibly helpful to me as I learned about lasers/electronics. Gianakakis seems to be a creative tinkerer that handles his lasers responsibly and is open to learning. I mean any kid can buy a fully built 1W+ 445nm laser online for $40, yet Gianakakis wants to make a much lower powered (but still obviously dangerous) 488nm build. That alone should say something about his responsibility.

That being said, DTR had no obligation to give a refund for this. It is typically assumed that laser diodes are a non-refundable purchase due to the sensitive nature of them. All of the big science retailers that sell laser diodes are like this, and the same thing even applies to ordering direct from Nichia. For some of the more sensitive laser diodes a tiny bit of static is enough to fry them so there's a good reason seller's don't give refunds for these, even if they did send out duds. DTR is great though so he was nice enough to issue a refund anyway.

Gianakakis I'll just send you a 488nm diode no cost if you want one but it'll likely be a couple weeks before I get it out. I'm about to configure my spectrometer and plan on doing a batch test of these diodes so I can cherry pick the outliers, and I'll have many extras in the middle ground that I won't need. There's no need to overdrive it to 220mA though.

Thanks a lot styro I'm sure that you have seen me quite often in your discord helping other people out I am
Giannis_TDM on there and also thanks a lot for your will to ship me a diode but ill re buy from dear DTR as I am 100% sure it was a 1 time mistake. You cannot grasp how happy this response for you makes me!

 

[Giannis_TDM]

Sorry I have not had a chance to go over it all with you as there were quire a few things that I was going detail about your setup and what you have experienced. I am guessing you did not notice that I did send you a credit for the diode which was your main request as you were going to just get a unit in module with driver and were hopping I could help out with a credit for the diode which was no problem as stuff happens specially when new.

Check your paypal there is a credit in there which I sent as you are right I have not had the time after going out of town for the holiday weekend(parents are in west palm).

I was hoping to get though the bulk of my messages including yours tonight but it might have been tomorrow for all I wanted to go over and won't here in the open forum but to address a few points which you have already noted here. I know you thought it was better that the you had not soldered anything just clamped the driver to your breadboard and pushed the diode pins into it but that is where I am betting the point of failure was. You had previously just used a linear on your breadboard to power the M140 but when using switching(buck, buck/boost or boost) drivers a secure soldered connection is required to prevent any kind of disconnect while the driver is powering the diode. The driver can not be powered without a load which on a boost usually after a few seconds will pop it. Any disconnect which power is flowing into the driver and a buildup in the caps which are needed to clean up the output on switching drivers(specially on any boost type) will blow the diode in a fraction of a second. One example is you said you had used connectors to connect the driver to your breadboard and you powered the M140 which worked, If any disconnected before powering down like say pulling out the diode while it was still powered or even just a nudge and the output caps on the driver can charge. The moment the next diode is connected without shorting the output it will blow the diode just as you had described with all the bond wires melted. That is a pretty extreme electrician event to blow those bond wires which can probably take few amps even though diode would COD long before. When diodes get spiked these events happen in milliseconds so no you would not perceive a flash of light.

Anyway let me get though a few more things and I will get back to you tonight with more as I am going to fast just to try to get something up here for you. We can go over it all here on the forum or via email. Whatever you prefer. I am never concerned with assessing fault but give advice to rule out any most common issues. I was happy to help you out with just a diode as I prefer people not get frustrated at the inevitable losses early on(learning experiences) and give up. Check your paypal and let me know if you did not get it but it should be there. I will check as well here shortly and sorry for the long time to get back to your messages but I had figured you saw the paypal refund which was the solution you had wanted..


EDIT

That makes sense that you did not see it as my site requires the payment be via an adult account so I bet your dad got the email notification of the credit.

Sorry to be honest I should have waited a little longer considering that you were so friendly and helpful the first time responding to my previous email about shipping and thanks a lot for the refund I'll buy the pre made module if that ok with you? I just want to minimize the chances of me making a mistake also I'll prob build this one in a SL s4 host build.
I'm very thankful for your response and understanding have a great day,
John

 

[Giannis_TDM]

I have to say it again IMO IM SO DAMN THANKFUL FOR BOTH DTRs AND Styros RESPONSES YOU MADE MY DAY, HELl EVEN MY WEEK.
Cheers!
John

 

[ArcticDude]

I have to say it again IMO IM SO DAMN THANKFUL FOR BOTH DTRs AND Styros RESPONSES YOU MADE MY DAY HELL EVEN MY WEEK.
Cheers!
John

Gotta love LPF, nice people around here

 

[Giannis_TDM]

Ah also i want to add regarding to this specific point of styros answer"Gianakakis seems to be a creative tinkerer that handles his lasers responsibly and is open to learning. I mean any kid can buy a fully built 1W+ 445nm laser online for $40, yet Gianakakis wants to make a much lower powered (but still obviously dangerous) 488nm build. That alone should say something about his responsibility. "
like you said in a recent vid of yours I rarely use the 2.2w m140 build cause of that exact problem lasers above 0.5w can cause eye damage from just staring at the spot on the wall so I want to build a couple of lasers in the 50mw-300mw range additionally I want to add that i actually organized a presentation at school with the 2w build and some history about nichia I also put up some rules there bc I did not have googles for the whole school the student chairs were located 10m away form the very matte black absorbent i had for the beam and also I only fed the m140 0.2A of current making it a sub 0.5w laser furthermore I secured it in a large piece of wood with bolts to hold the module stable and then gave a demonstration of its uses, also gave a speech about laser safety and at the end turned the diode on for about 20 sec pointing it at the black light absorver that I made. That landed me with a grade of 20/20
Edit: about 60% of that presentation was about safety and as en exaple of high powered laser eye dmg I used some articles about some boys in Greece wich sadly had significant damage done to their eyes from the common 303s and it came to me as a big surpize that some students actually had some 303s at home and they didnt know this could happen.