Help! Did I kill my diode?

[electricmonk9@aol.com]

Yesterday I built my first laser- a phr-803t @ 120 ma using a flexdrive. At first it wasn't working but I used new batteries (alkalines ) and it did. After about 5-10 minutes of intermittent use the output dropped dramatically, from a bright dot w/ visible beam in the dark to a barely visible dot at 3 feet. I changed the batteries (more alkalines ), and it stopped working totally. Did I kill my diode somehow? If I did, how? The module has very little heatsinking but it didn't seem to be getting very hot. I'm pretty sure the diode is genuine since it came still in the correct sled, and I got the flexdrive preset.

 

[styropyro]

Sorry, it sounds like a dead diode. Most likely a connection broke and reconnected and zapped the diode.

Was the diode pressed in to the Aixiz module completely?

 

[electricmonk9@aol.com]

Well, I have to admit my work was pretty sloppy and it might not have been pressed in all the way. I'm just going to buy a new one and try again.

 

[rog8811]

I killed my first 2 PHR's trying to drive them at 120ma, the ones I have built since have survived so far at 110ma.

Regards rog8811

 

[Ryo]

Can't be slop with the wiring.. Mistakes are costly.
I even epoxy the soldering joints to prevent shorts or wires breaking off and damaging either the diode or the driver board.