How do I tell if I overheated my diode?

[lazyazzz12]

EDIT: N/M still works.

 

[pullbangdead]

Turn it on.

I kid, but then again, I'm serious. There's no way of knowing if it's broken or not without turning it on. I keep a test power supply nearby when working on diodes, so I can make one quick solder and immediately make sure the diodes still lases (it's just an LM317 driver with a 9V battery set at ~50mA, so it'll make pretty much every diode I work with lase, but it won't kill any of them) before I do anything else.

 

[lazyazzz12]

Turn it on.

I kid, but then again, I'm serious. There's no way of knowing if it's broken or not without turning it on. I keep a test power supply nearby when working on diodes, so I can make one quick solder and immediately make sure the diodes still lases (it's just an LM317 driver with a 9V battery set at ~50mA, so it'll make pretty much every diode I work with lase, but it won't kill any of them) before I do anything else.

Well then I must have killed it :\ then oh well good thing I got 2. I know the diode is dead I just wanted to know how it died cause I dropped it too.

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

One way I start analyzing an unknown diode is to use the diode test feature of a DMM. It will tell you the polarity and a rough starting voltage range. Some diodes will actually light up (LED style) with the very low power. I have never damaged a diode doing this.

HMike

 

[Laserz4sale]

If you dropped the diode, that might have damaged it even more. Be careful when soldering. use around 240 C dont go any higher and dont touch the diode with the solder for more than 5 seconds and constantly blow on it to cool it down while soldering