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FrozenGate by Avery

HELP!!!!! Please read :'(

I'll definitely try that Bionic-Badger. And @awillis: The host I had him build me is not direct press, it is fit for Aixiz Module. Because I already had the 9mm diode in a module before ordering the host and I didn't want to try and extract the diode.
 





This can be fixed but it is extremely difficult. If the pin is broken down below 'flush' on the back of the diode, the deeper it's down in there the better. You need a 1/64" drill bit which is about as thin as the diode pin. Using as much caution as possible and very little pressure, try to drill out the top of the broken pin as much as possible without drilling into the center of the diode. You're trying to grind the pin down so there's a small hole where the pin once was - without completely drilling out the pin. This process took me about 45 minutes before, that's how slow & careful you have to be.

Once you've made that small hole that's only a few millimeters deep, get yourself a junk electronics circuit board & a pair of needlenose snippers. Looking at the components on the circuitboard, try to find something that uses pins that look similar to the diode pins in thickness. This is trial & error, it's hard to be exact - but one of the legs on a capacitor, transistor or microchip should eventually size out pretty close. What you're looking for is a replacement pin off of something, and you're going to need it to be at least an inch long. Once you find a suitable replacement 'pin' that's long enough (doesn't matter if its too long, you can cut it later) - you need to use the tiniest amount of 5min epoxy inside the hole you drilled & mount/balance your replacement pin. DO NOT use any other adhesive but epoxy! Epoxy dries with 'elasticity' that allows a little movement/flexibility after bonding, anything else & the pin will just slide right out of that microscopic hole you just painstakingly drilled.

Once you've gotten the pin balanced & bonded, you can now solder the base of the pin to the diode case. If you can manage to do this without soldering anything else on back of the diode you will have fixed your problem. Now before you try to solder a new lead on the replacement pin, you need to secure it so you can solder onto it without unsoldering from the hole you drilled. You can use a 'string thin piece' of electrical tape to wrap a figure 8 around both diode pins to secure it's positioning. You can also apply another tiny amount of epoxy in the figure 8 you made around the pins for extra securing. Once you think you've got a stable wrap around both diode pins, go ahead and try soldering a new lead on the replacement pin. If you have any methods of heatsinking the replacement pin without adding any stress or pressure to it, this is helpful too.

Every step I've mentioned above has to be done with extreme sensitivity and absolutely the least amount of pressure & stress on the new pin. This is not easy to do at all, you need to allow yourself a lot of time & patience to accomplish correctly reseating the new pin. As you can also guess, the diode connection you've made is extremely fragile. Even though it's soldered down, the bond is very weak so you cannot stress the pin at all when using the diode in your build.

I'm sorry for the long explanation, but I've painstakingly done this before & managed to salvage 2 broken pin diodes out of the 5 or 6 times this has happened. Good luck! :beer:
 
^^^ +2 for that- this technique deserves it own pic heavy thread/tut--
good post!! TY danefex:wave:

ps to be successful with that one I would try this out on some cheap diodes for the practice- extra work but in Isaacs case the diode is not just another PHR etc

GL Wanna!!:D
 
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Thanks Hak! ..and you're welcome for the explanation :)

I"ll snap the pin off a zombie soon here & document the process, pictures would definitely make it easier to do.

:beer:
 
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Unfortunately I don't have the tools to perform such a task, but thank you very much for taking the time to respond in such an in depth and helpful way. I am probably going to PM DTR and see if he would be willing to attempt a repair on the diode. Either that or I will buy a new one in a few months.

Thanks,
Isaac

PS- something weird....it is ridiculously hard to get solder to stick to the diode casing.
 
damn bro that's some bad luck! hopefully you'll make the repair. it's the price one pays tho...you're gonna kill some diodes. i blew my first 9mm diode and many 12x. live and learn.
may the great god Photon smile upon you!
 
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...He might be using the new RoHS compliant silver stuff. It's hard to get that stuff to stick to a lot of things.

@Wannaburnstuff: I'd (bit by bit) start to invest in as many tools as you can. First order of business: A pin vice. With this you can drill holes smaller than any resistor/cap lead and pretty much do whatever you want, and it is hand driven. A micro drill press would be better, but at the very cheapest a pin vice or just a single tiny bit sized just right to fix this type of problem, should cost you no more than a couple bucks and would be well worth it.

Having said that, I must comment also, that it seems weird to me that a dude would be willing to shell out cash for two 9mm 445's and won't pony up the scratch for a 2 dollar piece from the hardware store. You gotta be able to fabricate too, this isn't I.T. Still though, best of luck to you Wanna, and if you want to send it to me, I'm pretty sure I can do the fix first try. I'll do it free + shipping if DTR doesn't have time. PM me if you are interested, I have a pin vice (small hand drill mainly for PCBs) and bits that go down ot sizes that are actually difficult to see they are so small in diameter.

In the meantime, I would recommend one of those Aixiz 30mw greens they have on ebay right now. I bought 2 of them and they measured *considerably* higher than they were marked. I may be doing a review of 4 or 5 new Aixiz lab modules I recently purchased pending a reply from Chuck on some missing specs.

But if you did buy an inexpensive lab module, you could figure out how to power it via battery (or switch to a small driver), remove the module from its sink, then build into a host of your choice. You could display the beam to your friends, and have all the fun, without spending much over 50 dollars in many cases (not including the host) esp. if you build an LM317 to power the thing.

I'm all in favor of freedom and everything, but a 1w 445 as a recommended 1st build. Bizarre. I'm glad I followed the learning curve and have non-perforated retina as a result.

Cheers,
-Brett

Building lasers for science education and intellectual thrills (and not external validation/praise) since 2005.
 
Brett, I see you've been a member since 08 while this might be the first time I've seen your posting I might just say and I understand freedom of posting so this is nothing more than a statement, but the last sentence in you post sounds very harsh if directed at the OP I feel it as a boast in your level in this hobbie if not I apologize if so then as a long time member maybe your pin vise advise should have already have been made long ago it would have proven fruit for us novices who would like to pursue different avenues than your most righteous ambitions.

My point is wanna has been contributing and he as a new member has been reading and helping here so please take it easy I sure he feels bad enough I know I feel bad for him so no need to kick him in the nuts while he's down Ok.
 
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jander6442 said:
Brett, I see you've been a member since 08 while this might be the first time I've seen your posting I might just say and I understand freedom of posting so this is nothing more than a statement, but the last sentence in you post sounds very harsh if directed at the OP I feel it as a boast in your level in this hobbie if not I apologize if so then as a long time member maybe your pin vise advise should have already have been made long ago it would have proven fruit for us novices who would like to pursue different avenues than your most righteous ambitions.

My point is wanna has been contributing and he as a new member has been reading and helping here so please take it easy I sure he feels bad enough I know I feel bad for him so no need to kick him in the nuts while he's down Ok.
Click to expand...

No one kicked him in the nuts, relax. Wannaburnsomething: If that post offended you, PM or publicly let me know and I'll delete it. Its sole purpose was to talk about the situation which inspired you to author this thread, and offer multiple suggestions and ideas. I will even fix your diode here in my lab if your other offers are too expensive and/or don't pan out. I will do so for free.

If either one of you guys are still mad/upset, try this exercise:

Grab a sheet of paper: Draw a vertical line down the middle. Next write positive on one side of the line and negative on the other. Re-read my post and list any ideas I had for Wannaburnsomething on one side and anything that is offensive (and not harsh reality statements like, "People should follow the curve." because that's just a truism.

If you are still mad after that then just PM me and I'll get out of that thread, get rid of the post, etc.

-Brett

PS: Last time I checked Digikey, they stocked a pin vise. It may have been a fallacious assumption I made a long time ago, but I thought everyone who had worked with circuit boards knew about those (but then again I am thinking through hole, not SMD). I found it peculiar that you'd ask why I didn't reveal some arbitrary piece of knowledge about a tool at some arbitrary point in the distant past. Whaa? Then a person would ask why I didn't mention it on a BBS in 1987. Well, actually I think I did do that several times. A person could then complain that I didn't clue them in in '77....and on and on and on until the big bang reductio ad absurdum. At what point does a person have to take responsibility for not finding out about (and how to safely use) all the tools we use in this trade/hobby/science, or any of them? Because I've found that doing my own research is rewarding, as is (later on) replicating the work of others once I have served my apprenticeship -- esp. in a dangerous/semi-dangerous hobby. Not dissin' you dude, just thinking about stuff.
 
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Thank you all for the offers of help, I will be sending a few PM's tomorrow after I get a few good close-ups of the diode so yall can know what you're looking at.

To Brett: I absolutely did not take any offense whatsoever. To be honest, when the diode broke I had been trying for about 20 minutes to attach a lead to the copper module the diode is housed in so I probably ha my guard down slightly which is how my hand slipped and broke off the pin. I am very grateful for your offer of fixing my diode, and if it comes to that point I will definitely take you up on it(as long as now that you know I wasn't offended the offer still stands :p )
 
WBS, were you able to figure out your issues with getting solder to stick to the diode case? What solder do you use? Do you use any kind of flux?

Also, hope this goes well for ya. It sounds like you have some damn good people offering up their services to fix it for you so hopefully it ends well.
 
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Wannaburnstuff: Of course the offer still stands. The wrist straps are in the drawer waiting, if you want to send them to me, but then again...DTR and many of the others have a lot more experience working with and/or repairing those particular diodes. Still, I would love to give it a try, and I have a hunch I could quite likely get the job done. Good luck with whatever happens.

-Brett
 
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