Re: GGW-H20L 6x Sled GB!!! THE EPIC GB THREAD LAWL
danq said:
Igor, these are the 4x diodes we payed $45-55 for a month or so ago, right?
These are 4x diodes, yes. It says so at the top of the graph..
danq said:
I don't remember the thread where it's discussed, but I thought several-to-many people were running them at 170+mA and getting more than 150mW ?? including me - have one in a purple Kryton Groove that's at 175mA, been running for several weeks, sometimes for 10+ minutes constant.
Well, people also think, that PHRs can survive 150mW and more! :-?
You'll find the answers to why, and why not, in the first thread i'll post after many months, once i finally have some time (and finish the last experiments = murder the last diodes).
As for the 4x's.. I barelly had time to read the forum for months now! But i read this thread
very carefully. And i talked to some people in PMs.. I remember every 4x that died, and what power it died at. I remember those that died at "low" powers even better! (ask Kage)
There are more reasons for my fears, than just the graphs. The graphs just told me they are more inconsistent than i hoped, and that some have low kinks and low differential efficiency. There is a good reason i ended those graphs at 170mA.. Those diodes were not all mine. I'll only torture the ones i have left over.
The very first 4x i tested lasted for
137 hours at 150mA putting out >150mW for most of the time. It did this below the kink, and dropped in only after degrading a lot. If they were all like that, i'd be jumping from joy!
I also have a 4x in a personal laser, putting out 154mW at 160mA. If it can survive that as long as the first one, or at least half as long, i'll be VERY happy!
But at the same time, the "12x" is also seemingly surviving 193mA, putting out 156mW with this incredibly round beam, pretending to be the best 405nm diode ever. But the question is, "
how long?"...
Don't underestimate the fake toughness of 405nm diodes. It has deceived all of us!
405nm's are NOT like 660nm diodes! 660nm diodes at least had the decency to die if you killed them!
405nm's are like cockroaches. They keep crawling around for a while after they are dead. Sometimes long enough to hide under a cupboard and make you think they survived...
danq said:
Your graph shows most or at least many of the diodes on a linear upward trend when you cut them off at about 165mA - so I don't see that the data matches a pessimistic conclusion.
I emphasised, that i'm NOT concluding anything just yet. Just that i have a bad feeling (based on my tests and some reports), and need to do more testing.
My hopes for these were, that i could get 130-140mW out of them consistently,
below the first kink! And those hopes were shattered by the graphs. There are many diodes i will have to push above the kink, and i don't yet know how long that will last, so i wasn't able to use those for lasers i make for other people.. I will have to test how long they last above the kinks..
Otherwise, Dan, i HOPE i am wrong. I WANT to be wrong. I would PRAY to be wrong (if i wasn't an atheist). Just like i wanted to be wrong about PHRs not being able to survive >150mW for more than 20 hours at best...
When i first read about Kage losing two 4x's in a row, at only 140mW, i was hoping he is a beginner, doesn't know what he is doing and cap-zapped them or something (sorry Kage :-[). But then i talked to him, and realized he knows more about electronics than me..
Again, i'm not saying anything for sure just yet. I am in the middle of a big project at work, which i need to finish two weeks ago, so i won't be able to do the testing for a few more days. A week after that, i will know for sure - a week if my fears are ungrounded, that is.. Much sooner, if they are correct.
