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FrozenGate by Avery

How far can PHRs be pushed?

o0ICE0o

o0ICE0o

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Jul 26, 2009
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120mA?
130?
About how long will they last?

They are so cheap now...I want to know how long I can drive one like this.

Thanks.
:)
 





o0ICE0o said:
120mA?
130?
About how long will they last?
They are so cheap now...I want to know how long I can drive one like this.
Thanks.
:)
Click to expand...

You can drive it at those currents for as long as it lives. There is no formula to use for this. You are pushing it past its intended power levels. Some will live a long time at those currents. Others will blow immediately. Others will last for awhile and then blow.

When you move into the realm of "pushing" diodes, you are in completely experimental space. You get what you get and nothing more.

When I push a diode I do so knowing full well that EVERY time I push the button might be the last time I get to light that diode.

Peace,
dave
 
didn't you ask this same question 5 weeks ago or something?

search the forum for the answer. Its here, in many places.
 
PHR's are very random. Some die at very low currents, some can go pretty high.
My first one died at 120.....
 
I have seen people push theirs to around 150ma!

All the luck of the draw!
 
My PHR now running on 140ma.. for more than 2 months with no problem..
 
I have one PHR that only puts out 80mW at 120mA. I consider it to be a weak example of this diode. I have another PHR driven at 180mA and putting out 185mW. Most lie somewhere in between. Safe current is 120mA max, better 100 to 110mA if you want to ensure that your diode will live for a while. Use one of the special coated lenses to up your power output.
 
I had my first set at 150ma. It lived for about two months; I finally killed it by trying to pop a balloon from across the room. I got it popped, but the set-up took longer than I expected and I went beyond my 1 minute duty cycle. The next time I hit the button, it LED'd :(
 
Only overdrive it if you have spare diodes sitting around. There's just no telling when it will finally give up. My 185mW has less than five hours of on-time and I know that it will not last long. I once cranked a PHR up to 300mA drive current in my test setup late one night, just let it run in a big heatsink. It died in less than 30 minutes, but they were a fun almost 30 minutes !!!
 
I believe it was once said here on the forum, that the PHR is a 60mw CW diode.

I would give it 55mA if you want nothing but a violet pointer that lasts.

If you want a burner (the PHR probably wasn't meant to be one), then the typical recommended current is about 120mA for reasonable life.
 
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