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FrozenGate by Avery

First build

Y

ysuhaas

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Oct 24, 2013
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So I just built a 445nm 2W with a host from Survival Lasers and an M140 diode (first laser pointer build) and other than the horrible divergence (which is probably to be expected with diodes in this wavelength) everything seems to be working fine. One thing I have noticed, though, is that it seems somewhat dimmer than videos and pictures I've seen. I can't see the beam at all in bright light, and its pretty faint in a dark room. I can sometimes see a flash of a bright beam for a second when I turn it on but it goes back to normal in a split second. I couldn't seem to burn anything either, but I haven't fully tested burning capabilities. Any ideas?
 





I'm not sure what, but something is definantley wrong. My 1.8W 445nm can easily be seen with lights on and burns anything. Something might not be soldered good and might have a bad connection.
 
theres your problem.
you need 7.2V/8.4V to drive 1.8A. get two 16340 batteries. It is basically an opinion that descides the best batteries. ultimatley in my book, it comes down to the charger. I have a $100+ balance charger that charges any battery Perfectly. if you have the option though, everyone around here likes pannasonics.
 
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oh i see. i assumed that when you put "ultrafire 3.6V 1200mah" in the singular form i assumed you were using an 18650. something is definitley defective OR you don't have anything to compare it to and thus are unable to tell if it is actually 2 watts. my suggestion:
Get a member to LPM it for you to see if you are getting the desired performance out of it.
 
SKeeZ said:
something is definitley defective OR you don't have anything to compare it to and thus are unable to tell if it is actually 2 watts. my suggestion:
Get a member to LPM it for you to see if you are getting the desired performance out of it.
Click to expand...

He said he barely sees the beam in the dark and it doesn't burn a match. There is no way it's 2W. I think something might not be soldered good enough.
 
My apologies, your laser is screwed up.
 
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SKeeZ said:
My apologies, your laser is screwed up.
Click to expand...
:cryyy:

He said he barely sees the beam in the dark and it doesn't burn a match. There is no way it's 2W. I think something might not be soldered good enough.
Click to expand...

And it would probably be a really bad idea to reopen it and try to fix the solder joints, right?
 
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no. if you are confident in your skills. you can't make it THAT much worse can you?
 
ysuhaas said:
And it would probably be a really bad idea to reopen it and try to fix the solder joints, right?
Click to expand...

Let's just say, I don't think it would be easy. There is a pretty high risk of screwing it up even more and have it not work at all.
 
If your the one who soldered it I would open it up. That's going to be inevitable anyways. Nothing about this sound like it could be fixed externally
 
All right, I guess I'll test it a bit more tomorrow and if nothing happens I'll take a look inside. I still don't understand what could cause it to shine brightly for a second and then lose power immediately. :/
 
Loose connection. Have you tried shaking it? Maybe there is a problem with the driver. It may have gotten heated to much during soldering? Just some guesses. Always hard without looking.
 
I did try shaking it, to no avail, but I'm thinking it might be a loose solder joint at this point. I'm actually just a high school student, so even with all the research I did beforehand I might have messed up somewhere in the soldering process. :p
I'll look at it tomorrow and update with pics. Thanks for the help, everyone.
 
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