FS: >110mW PHR, >140mW 4x & >170mW 6x Blu-Rays

[bryce007]

So, i decided the first three 8x orders get a Keychain 6x, at parts cost!

The third goes to FrancoRob, since he was the first to order an 8x, the second should probably go to Dave. The third to Bryce.. :yh:

I love you Igor!

 

[IgorT]

Argh... Jay, you're not helping with my goal to save money... :tsk:

Ah, Traveller, i believe you should REALLY get an 8x in our Mini 8x GB.. :angel:

I love you Igor!

Well, the feeling is mutual?

So what do i do with your Ehgemus?

 

[IgorT]

LOL. Just jk.
Anyway, give me your address and I'll let rayfoss know to ship the driver to you.

Well, IF you order an 8x, i make the PHR for "free" (= at parts cost or with your parts)!

 

[FrancoRob]

So, i decided the first three 8x orders get a Keychain 6x, at parts cost!

The third goes to FrancoRob, since he was the first to order an 8x, the second should probably go to Dave. The third to Bryce.. :yh:

Oh, wow, too much post in the thread.:can:....I didn't read it till to this morning..... ... What can I say?

YAAAHHHIII!!

 

[Traveller]

Ah, Traveller, i believe you should REALLY get an 8x in our Mini 8x GB...

Well my LPF peeps,
there's nothing like adding a cutting-edge DIY lazor to one's collection, but I'm currently in the market for a "cutting-edge" Netbook and I can only afford one "toy" at a time...

Not to mention I still need to finish my last Lazor activity, desperately in need of a decent 532nm "mini" module*... :cryyy:

*No Igor, I haven't sent that p.o.s. 55mm module+driver yet, but I will...! Speaking of which, why on Earth do you want a driver from RayFoss???

 

[IgorT]

Oh, wow, too much post in the thread.:can:....I didn't read it till to this morning..... ... What can I say?

YAAAHHHIII!!

Well, you deserve it, Franco, besides, you already covered this and a 12x with your generous payment...

If you want, i can still refund the difference in PP, or i can keep making you lasers for "free", until the money you sent me is spent?

Let me know...

 

[HIMNL9]

Here is my "secret" to increasing FlexDrives to 1mA stability:
It's a very simple process of adding:
- a Y5V SMD 0805 capacitor on the input for high current ripple
- a X53 SMD 0805 capacitor on the input for a more smooth powerup
- a Tantalum capacitor on the output, to protect from abnormal driver operation, which can occur when using unprotected batteries and the voltage becomes too low, resulting in rapid pulsing of the poor diode.... (those pulses can be dangerous if no extra protection is used, this also absorbs any and all additional power-up spikes at the same time)

LOL, so, you too modify them ?

I done almost the same, when i discovered that "unsure" (scratching) connections, or bouncing switch, causes peaks on the diode side ..... i just used a ceramic 3,3uF at the input, and a 10uF at the output, just cause i already had them there doing nothing

BTW, i hear here and there about "other" boost drivers ..... not the flexdrive, i mean ..... what they are, basically ? ..... i found practically nothing, about this argument, with the search function (maybe also just cause i don't know the right terms to use for search )

 

[IgorT]

LOL, so, you too modify them ?

Yes, i modify them every single time! I once forgot to include the extra tantalum on the diode and an open can died at 341mA after only MINUTES!

On top of them i got worried, when i tested them from my PSU at first and they went CRAZY! The current was jumping up and down like NUTZ! My oscilloscope was confused! :thinking:

Then i figured out they just don't like my Lab-PSU, even tho it's filtered beyond belief! :undecided:


I always test my own boost drivers from that PSU, but my drivers like it very much it would seem! I hook them up and vary the input voltage from 4.2 down to 2.2V to make sure the current doesn't change more than 0.2-0.3mA so i convince myself the current really is CONSTANT and then they go into the laser... :yh:

Before the laser is even finished (and after), it goes through so many tests, that when all is done, i know it is well done for sure... :shhh:

I done almost the same, when i discovered that "unsure" (scratching) connections, or bouncing switch, causes peaks on the diode side ..... i just used a ceramic 3,3uF at the input, and a 10uF at the output, just cause i already had them there doing nothing

Oh, those are the worst! The imperfect connections that are created when a switch does not connect 100% immediatelly (which is almost always) can cause some bad behavior on the FlexDrives, yes!


Well, i had a large selection of capacitor from when i was stil developing my driver, so i went trying out different combinations.

My driver also needed a large input tantalum (47uF) and a GND bypass X5R (1uF) to reduce the noise to 5mV PTP...
I also use a triple output cap, a 10uF, 47uF for diode and a 1uF on top of the 47uF (later next to it when i made the diode pads more roomy) for higher frequency ripple.. This is how i reduced the ripple to barelly noticable on my scope...

BTW, i hear here and there about "other" boost drivers ..... not the flexdrive, i mean ..... what they are, basically ? ..... i found practically nothing, about this argument, with the search function (maybe also just cause i don't know the right terms to use for search )

Yes, i have observed abnormal FlexDrive operation (rapid pulsing) when the uprotected batteries went too low.. This worried me enough that i thought it's slow start-up might malfunction and blast the diode to rest in pieces, since it's output caps are only 20uF...

That's why i usually add a 47uF tantalum on the diode directly, and a 10uF and a 1uF on the input of a Flex....

I noticed this also improoves the current stability, usually from 3-4mA drift to 1-2mA max, less if i find a really good Flex (some drift less than others - "tighter" component tolerances)....


So i know how to make it stable enough, but i normally use them for reds only. I pick out the more stable ones for BluRays, where i want the current to remain more stable over the Li-Ion voltage range...


In my oppinion drivers are supposed to keep the current CONSTANT over the entire battery voltage range. The power should be the same every time you turn the laser ON, regardless of the battery state, right until it's empty!

I was used to less than 0.2mA drift from my boost drivers, so i was quite shocked to discover a 4-6mA drift on v2 FlexDrives, where cheaper, Y5V capacitors were used!

Later versions used beter capacitors, but the feedback loop between the op-amp and the synchronous buck/boost IC must be flawed in some way... If it was my driver, i'd probably use a Zetex current sensing IC... Kage had good results with Zetex, but only for current sensing, their drivers are horribly unstable as they are made for cheap LEDs, where a few mA up or down doesn't matter.


I should try to put a 1uF cap in parallel over the ****** ******** of the Flexy.... :evil:

 

[cappernicus]

Thanks again IgorT!! The diodes arrived in great condition, clean and well packed. And as far as I can remember that was the fastest international shipping I've ever had, even if you mailed it earlier than you said you would!

P.S. Are your v3 heatsinks available for purchase by themselves? How much?

 

[HIMNL9]

@ IgorT: i noticed that current "shift" (instability) also, doing experiments with some of the boost IC's in commerce, but, being sincere, it can also be due to my "all-except-that-perfect" boards ..... i don't have industrial equipment, so all my tests are "hobby style" types ..... i made in the past some experiments with Linear and TI chips, and these days just got some Maxim samples that i requested weeks ago, so probably in the future, some other tests (also if, actually, i'm sticked on flexdrive or homemade LDO drivers only)

But units like TPS63010, used in flexdrive, are really far from my test possibilities ..... solder SMD is not a problem, when components pins are at least visibles ..... but, i already have difficult soldering TDFN packages at hand (one time, frustrated, i soldered one of them REVERSED *aaargh*) ..... manage a 20 pins BGA in this way, is simply impossible, for me.

BTW, i'm trying to obtain a decent boost driver that can manage over-5,5V limit of Vout ..... not for the market, cause i don't have time for this, just for personal use (and, if i reach to obtain some decent result, for share it) ..... max668 and max608 datasheets are promising, also if they require an external mosfet ..... especially the 608 ..... i got also 8815, but is limited to 5V ..... max8715 instead, is indicated for a 12V max out (and have a comfortable 3x5mm package with EXTERNAL pins ..... but i really doubt i can fit it in a 9x17mm pcb like my LDO) ..... but need time for do experiments, and, between work, life, and other assorted problems, i'm starting to forgot what the words "free time" means (not speaking about "sleep" )

 

[IgorT]

Thanks again IgorT!! The diodes arrived in great condition, clean and well packed. And as far as I can remember that was the fastest international shipping I've ever had, even if you mailed it earlier than you said you would!

Well, i hope you have fun with them. Since you only need 50mW the efficiency doesn't matter, and i didn't need them anyway..


Otherwise, when did i ship them? I was very busy the last few weeks, going back and forth between Ljubljana and Maribor... I really don't recall what day i shipped them.

But if you take a look at the white label on the envelope, you should see a date there, altho it's reversed from what you're used to in US. Day first month later...

How fast did they come? And did you have to sign for them?!?

I'm starting to think that thinner envelopes travel faster...

P.S. Are your v3 heatsinks available for purchase by themselves? How much?

They are, i'm just not advertising them (yet)...

You have mail...

 

[cappernicus]

You mailed them the 16th and they got here the 21st, so 5 days. Usually international packages take at least a couple weeks for me. And no, I didn't have to sign for it.

 

[IgorT]

You mailed them the 16th and they got here the 21st, so 5 days. Usually international packages take at least a couple weeks for me. And no, I didn't have to sign for it.

Ah, that explains it!

When a package is shipped with regular Priority, it comes MUCH faster, because it doesn't have to be scanned at every single step...

Registered on the other hand, is more protected (can't possibly get lost), but due to all the precautions they take, it takes longer to arrive...


So i use regular Priority for cheaper things, and Registered Priority for lasers and more expensive things... They need a little longer to arrive, but so far not one ever got lost! (while i had two bad experiences with regular Priority once!)

 

[IgorT]

Otherwise, i have to leave for two days, i'll be back late sunday night...

Too many exciting things going on here all at once! I almost wish i didn't have to go... Afraid i'm gonna miss something important! :undecided:


EDIT: Nah... I'll just take the computer with me just to make sure the most important things are taken care of, emails answered, threads replied and so on... :angel:

 

[electron]

Ah, that explains it!

When a package is shipped with regular Priority, it comes MUCH faster, because it doesn't have to be scanned at every single step...

Registered on the other hand, is more protected (can't possibly get lost), but due to all the precautions they take, it takes longer to arrive...


So i use regular Priority for cheaper things, and Registered Priority for lasers and more expensive things... They need a little longer to arrive, but so far not one ever got lost! (while i had two bad experiences with regular Priority once!)

As I pointed out before, that is exactly how the process works in the USA, all registered items get scanned every-time someone needs to process or transport them. They are kept in a locked wire cage that the supervisor or above must unlock each time for processing, which it gets scanned and put back into a locked cage again, and scanned as such. They always know at any moment who/why/where the item is. Its the only legal way through the Post Office that is to not break the chain of custody for items that need such attention. Most people know IF you get a registered letter, its usually bad news; because the person/company sending it want to prove in court that you got the document, etc.

Even the final mail carrier must scan that they have the item in their possession while attempting to deliver it. If your not home, its scanned again that your not home and the carrier has it with them. When they then get back to the Post Office they must scan the item back in with their supervisor and it goes into the locked cage again.

While you can't get all this info online, you can get it by going to the Post Office itself. I done so once when I had an item that appeared lost that was international. At first they weren't much help, but after talking with them and explaining how long it really was, they finally let me go in the back with them and they brought it up on the computer and showed me the info that I needed for peace of mind. IF one was to get lost, there is an internal investigation that gets initiated by the postal inspector's office, and you don't want to be the one that "lost" it I'm told; postal workers know *not* to mess around with registered mail, its very, very serious, they do know who & where it was.

That is why its called registered mail, and its much more expensive in the USA than say mailing something that has "signature required", delivery confirmation etc, those methods are much cheaper within. They get scanned in when you dropped it off, then scanned when delivered; no lock cage etc.

 

[cappernicus]

Interesting.... I've never heard that before, but it makes sense... Of course, none of the international packages I've had were registered.