Finished my diy red

[paper183]

I've not been on the forums for a while and i had 2 senkat diodes ready to be installed in a flashlight but the flashlight i had kind of wouldn't work with what i intended to do and my first diode died so my interest for lasers temporarily faded as i put my diy idea in a box, but now i'm back and decided to finally finish my diy red.

Its not in a flashlight as i intended to do first but i'm still quite satisfied with the result. I used the case that came with my DX 30 mW to mount the red laser in it. I'm feeding the diode 250ma from 4xAAA (might change cause I've read the 6 volts kind of fade fast) and there's a security switch inside the box so it cannot be turned on by mistake. From hemlock mikes post with senkat diodes power curve i could say its around 175mW but i have never used any lasers with more power than 30mW so i could not compare, i can see the beam in mid air when there are almost no lights around (not as bright as my 15mw green tho) and when focused onto black plastic it smokes instantly, i have no matches to try burning some right now but ill get some soon, it pops a dark balloon from 10 feet easily when focused. Now the fun part: pics !!

Now ordering parts for a Bluray one, just cant wait bought a nice flashlight host this time.

 

[SargeMX5]

Nice work. Is that using the DDL driver? Also how much did you get the diode from senkat?

 

[paper183]

Yes this is DDL driver with the LM317, i got the diodes from one of the first group buys senkat did back in july.

 

[SargeMX5]

What type of pot did you use? Ive built one of those DDL drivers and cant seem to get it working the way it should. Which diagram did you follow exactly?

 

[Gazoo]

Good to see you back here..hopefully your laser will get you interested again and you will have the "bug"

Your laser is good but like you noted it will run much better from 6 cells, preferably nimh.

You will be amazed with the color of the blu-ray.

 

[paper183]

I don't really want to make it run from 6 cells so I was thinking about 2 cr123a which would be around 7.4 volts, I hope that'd be okay.

 

[Gazoo]

I don't really want to make it run from 6 cells so I was thinking about 2 cr123a which would be around 7.4 volts, I hope that'd be okay.

If you mean RCR123's, then yes...meaning rechargeable.

 

[paper183]

yeah i was thinking of getting these:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3273
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.936

 

[Gazoo]

You will be OK with that combination...

 

[member02]

I have that charger and those batteries from Dx, they work just GREAT, the charger only charges when BOITH batteries are plugged in, and it has a auto-off to prevent over-charging.

the only problem is, when you are powering your diode with 340ma's these batteries just don't last long, luckily they recharge within minutes for another few minuites of use.

 

[paper183]

I have that charger and those batteries from Dx, they work just GREAT, the charger only charges when BOITH batteries are plugged in, and it has a auto-off to prevent over-charging.

the only problem is, when you are powering your diode with 340ma's these batteries just don't last long, luckily they recharge within minutes for another few minuites of use.

Well I'm feeding the diode 250ma not sure how much the whole circuit draws though. I'm pretty sure 6x AAA nimh would last longer but it would be so long to charge since i only have a 4 places charger.

 

[Gazoo]

It's the same amount of current going in, that comes out, since it is a linear regulator. If you measure 250ma's between the diode and output, your measurement will be the same between the batteries and the input of the circuit.

I know what you mean about only being able to charge 4 cells at a time. Another very good regulator is the AMC7135. I don't recall if you saw my review of it but here is the link.

http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1191898669/0

 

[paper183]

It's the same amount of current going in, that comes out, since it is a linear regulator. If you measure 250ma's between the diode and output, your measurement will be the same between the batteries and the input of the circuit.

I know what you mean about only being able to charge 4 cells at a time. Another very good regulator is the AMC7135. I don't recall if you saw my review of it but here is the link.

http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1191898669/0

Nice ! I am definitely looking into this regulator, thanks !

 

[Gazoo]

The only downfall is the ground that goes from the regulator to the diode, is not the same as the ground it is powered with.
So if you were to mount it in a flashlight, you would need to isolate the laser module. Other than that, it's a great little regulator and very easy to work with. If you have any questions after you read my review, just ask..

 

[paper183]

ok well i was looking for using it in my bluray but i think it would waste too much current... but then again i don't want to use lots of cells for my bluray big choice to make there

 

[Gazoo]

The AMC7135 doesn't put out enough voltage for a blu-ray. The easiest thing for that is the 317. Just throw a 33ohm resistor in between the adjust and output and it will supply ~38ma's to the diode. But you will need 9 volts to power it...so one of those standard 9 volt batteries would work good since the current being drawn from it is low.