How many diodes have you killed?

[Gazoo]

I accidently hit an open can red with 1.5 AMPS !!! That diode was a brute !! I never saw the flash, It just became an LED.....
Mike

I just hit one with 1 amp...same thing..no flash..it is a nice LED. That makes a total of 15 for me.

 

[a_pyro_is]

NOOoooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Just killed my last diode, I was messing with my new LDO circuit on a protoboard when out slipped the Pos wire from the batt pack and Zap, 6V at whatever current the AAs could source. Instant LED :-[ :'(
At least I have 4 more on the way... Time to order more... I hope these "PHASER" diodes pan out, I need more POWER!

 

[Gazoo]

I feel your pain.. :'( No matter how careful we are something always happens to take out the poor little diode.

 

[a_pyro_is]

It had been a good one. I was running it at about 260mA and it was going strong...probably more than 15 hours runtime at that power. I still wasn't able to light red matches though. But that's a topic for another thread.

 

[izzy007]

killed 5 good 18x and 20x dvd burner ones
maybe 3 laser pointers <3mw
another 5mw aixiz one

 

[BlueFusion]

i wanna change my vote...
I just killed another one today... My 2nd GB diode. Got all the parts for the LM317 circuit from city, put it all together got it happening... just poof... only 30mA, i had a DMM in circuit... guess it was a bad diode
They were like $17 to me each, but now like $20 for me to replace. SenKat better have more damnit!
And I had it all ready.
Did have one other issue tho... got what the box said was a 100 ohm pot, turned out to be a 1k... little high, and it is stuck. Doesn't change no matter how far either way it's turned. I think it died... Any aussies would know, came from dick smith electronics, not as good as jaycar but closer for me...
Not a good day for me and lasers. I hope my BluRays (next project) will go smoother.

edit: detail

 

[o_DEATH_ANG3L_o]

Blue you remember my post titled "3 IN A ROW GONE." Well I figured out the problem. When I read that you had a DMM in the circuit, it dawned on me. Every freaking diode I tried went poof at very low current. What I was doing was putting the DMM in series with the LD before power was connected. Bad idea!! I dont know why but every single freaking diode went poof on me when I did it that way. So what I did was use a 1 ohm "sense" resistor across the laser diode and put your DMM on voltage setting. Then measure it that way. While I am typing in this topic titled "How many diodes have you killed?" I might as well state my death count. 12. :-[ I know I hate myself. But I think I have gained so much more knowledge since then. All of them were just stupid mistakes on my part.

 

[Things]

well DA, now you know! ;D but 12 is not to bad!lol i think mike has killed like 20 of them!

 

[Gazoo]

What I was doing was putting the DMM in series with the LD before power was connected. Bad idea!!So what I did was use a 1 ohm "sense" resistor across the laser diode

So the capacitor wasn't discharging on it's own...were you discharging the capacitor before you connected the diode?

Also, if you were connecting the diode after power was turned on then the diode would go "poof" as the capacitor would be charged up to around 6 volts..... from what I have seen.... Not saying you were, but I thought I would mention it. I believe I have killed at least two GB diodes this way from using a bad connector on the diode. Since then I always solder the leads to the diode's legs.

As for the sense resistor, I hope you meant you put it in series with the diode. Stating you put it across the diode makes it sound like you put it in parallel with the diode.

Using a sense resistor in the circuit to measure current is a very, very good idea. As far as I am concerned it is one of the best ways to protect the diode from spikes caused by using a meter in series to measure current.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Hmm. I killed a GB diode the other day - had been running it at 250ma with a series resistor on a Dorcy. Wanted to see briefly what the current would be without my 1 Ohm resistor - goes up to 275-280, which should be okay for a little while, especially since the diode was still in a heatsink. The diode has a protection capacitor and reverse polarity diode.
At first I figured it was spikes that got past the capacitor or static discharge.
But the more I think about it, I bet there's an output capacitor on the Dorcy driver that charges up when there's no load.

So, loose connections to a boost circuit = LED

 

[Gazoo]

Number 18 has gone to its resting place. I had my power supply set to 9 volts and forgot to turn it down before I hooked it up to the AMC7135. The little regulator could not withstand the voltage and put out a nice smell with smoke to let me know.
I do not know how much current ended up going to the diode but surprisingly it is a nice LED. To prevent this from happening in the future I will be running the 7135 on three nimh's.

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

20 ?? Only 20 I'm up to 25 now including 3 blues.

Common guys -- if it ain't broke, you ain't trying

Mike

 

[Lorgar]

I have done 2 so far but then ive only just started this last week heh
killed one old LG 16x getting it out of the heat sink
killed the second one a nice 20x when i thought my 3xaaa flashlight driver would be good enough
It did well for about a day untill I put new e2 lith's in poof instant led
My current one is running fine and strong off Deadal's driver
LG 18x open can runing ff 2 cr123's
Cuts tape lights red matches (dont have any baloons) melts chocolate slowly
Have to try a blue at some point

 

[yobresal]

I've broken 3 diodes, and everytime it was by breaking the pins off. They are just so darn fragile.

 

[a_pyro_is]

I've broken 3 diodes, and everytime it was by breaking the pins off. They are just so darn fragile.

Send them to me and I'll see if I can fix any for you. Just PM me.

 

[wooooooolazer]

ive broken 4, 2 from a mixed up wire on the circuit, 1 from shining back onto itself, and one from putting 400ma cause i never bothered to measure it, although that thing sure burned good.

...lazer... ;D ;D ;D