I think I bricked my blu

[Xray]

Dammit, I think I killed it.

Takes 2 cr-123 batts, I got sick of buying them so I got some rechargeables.
Charged them up, put them in and nothing.
Put the old ones back in, nothing. Tested them all, and they are all putting out juice.

Then I noticed the old ones arr 3v, then new ones are 3.7v.
So is this enough to kill the diode ?

 

[kingdave2357]

was it a DIY build? rechargeable batts are often overspec, 3.7v can put out up in the 4v area and above, you would have fried the driver not the diode. if it was DIY you might be able do salvage the diode, or just get a new driver and install it, but please provide some more info on the laser.

 

[Xray]

Yeah, I got it from a well known guy here, back in the day when they were sold complete.
I'm really depressed about this I could kick myself, haven't picked the thing up in half a year, started messin with it, swapped the batts and now its dead dam.

The DIY lable on it says 118mW 803T - 136mA

 

[kingdave2357]

803t means that it contains a PHR diode(if the stickers are correct). a safe operating current for a PHR diode is 90-100mA, at 136mA it would greatly shorten the life of the diode, so it could be that the diode just finally gave in. do you know what kind of driver it has? if it is the diode, than it isnt your fault, it was set to high, you can get a new diode(try modwerx.com get the SF-AW210) that would be a good choice at that current.
if you dont have much experience on DIY read up on it untill youve got an idea, than you can fix it yourself. since its broken anyway maybee you could dissasemble it and take some pics of the driver.

 

[jaycey]

This could be just a case of dieing of old age/over current.
Pushing a 803T @ 136ma is risky and would probably severly reduce its life span.

I say its your diode that's gave up, good thing is their only about 10 bucks to replace

 

[jaycey]

they dont call him kingdave for nothing...you is faster than me!

 

[Xray]

I got this from jayrob a year + ago, so it is a quality build, and theres no reason to doubt the sticker.
Although its remotely possible, I'm doubting the "it was just its time to go" scenario.
I doubt if its been used 2 hours total the whole time I had it, have hardly played with it in months, worked fine until I put in those freshly charged rechargeable.

Weird thing, I got this solar power vibrating cockroach from dx extreme.
DealExtreme: $2.88 Novel Solar Powered Cockroach (Black)
The reviews said you really need some bright sunlight to get it to work, and ordinary lights do nothing, and they weren't lying.
Tried every light in the house and it sat still, I thought it was defective, then it dawned on me to try the blu laser.
That kicked the roach right into gear, thing was crawling all over the place with the laser on its back.
Seemed to me, I don't think I've ever changed batteries since I had the laser, had these rechargeables sitting around for some flashlights I have ... And the rest is history.

I'm not experienced in laser DIY, but I sure know my way around general electronics, and aren't shy to use a soldering iron.
Maybe I'll ask jayrob what he recommends, if he still posts here - Thanks for the tips, maybe I'll get her fired up again.

 

[Slipstream]

might be a chance for you to upgrade the diode while your at it.

 

[RA_pierce]

If the driver used is a flex drive, then it should have a current input of no more than 5.8V. If a diode is used in series with the driver, it may have been enough to drop the voltage with 2 3V CR123As (6V). However, with 2 3.7V cells, you'd have 7.4V total.

Contact the builder if you want to get more info.

 

[kingdave2357]

they dont call him kingdave for nothing...you is faster than me!

:thanks: i try my best!!!:eg:

@OP jayrob has excellent quality builds, he is still very much active here and im sure he'd give you some good advice. but IMO depending on the driver being used, it probly got a rush of power from those stronger batts and spiked the output current, inturn blowing the already stressed diode, 136mA is too high for a PHR if you want a long life(though i have total faith in jayrob's work). you will be better of to upgrade that diode, like a said earlier a SF-AW210 would be a good choice at that current and would give you a nice long life, all you would have to do is desolder the current diode and solder on the new one(after its pressed in the module that is) a quick and easy fix, though a SF diode will run you around $30, but if you put in another PHR it will die again soon at that current.

EDIT: yeah if it uses a flexdrive then you probably fried it like i thought earlier

 

[Cenobite9]

Since you said it takes two CR123s I would say the driver got fried from over voltage if you put in two RCR123s. About the only way to use two fully charged 3.6v/3.7v rechargeables on a flex drive is to wire the batteries in parallel or have a high enough resistor inline with the batteries in series.

 

[Xray]

Searched modwerx, they said no such product as SF-AW210

 

[kingdave2357]

oh, sorry my bad, i just checked, they must have sold them out, i just bought one from them a week ago, im sure they'll restock soon, however you can get one else where but it'l cost a few $ more

 

[Don't Laze Me Bro]

Hope you get it going soon pal, I love my MXDL allthough the hosts are picky about how tight the batterie cap is!

 

[Xray]

Something like this ?
http://www.*****************.com/shop/product.php?id_product=7

 

[Xray]

Roops, no linky load.

Ok it says "SF-AW210 6x Laser Diode Sled" With the 6x GGW-H20L becoming harder and harder to find, we have managed to get a NEW 6x sled, but they are in limited supply!
So get them while they last. $48