killed my first m-140

[awillis2589]

OK so this is what happened, i got this diode from dtr and it started almost instantly had a bad out put. so i tried cleaning the lens with no luck so after starting a tread and getting some suggestions i went ahead and removed the glass window from the diode. only thing was i pried up the side and was able to get the glass out. worked like a charm but was a little ugly. so it's been working fine for some time but whenever i focused it the was always this little spot on one side of the dot but when it didn't have a lens on it it wasn't there, so i clean the lens a couple of times and it was still there. so i assumed it had something to do with the pieces of the diode i bent up to get the window out so very carefully i went around the diode lifting it up to make it more uniformed and away from the die. so it was working and i just had a little bit more to go and when i first started doing it i had the battery's out but for the last little spot i didn't remove them. so i finished the last little spot and when to test it and now have a very faint light coming from the diode. so i assume something must of shorted. i don't really know. :angel:

 

[jimdt7]

Probably your diode went LED....I'm sorry for your loss :beer:

Jim

 

[awillis2589]

yeah that what i'm thinking i didt touch the die but just side of where the window would be that was bent up. but i think i screwed up by not takeing the battery's out.

 

[Blord]

Sometimes new diodes fresh from the projectors degrades fast when push beyond 700mA.
Looks like these diodes aren't meant for building laser. It is a draw of the luck.

 

[awillis2589]

The sad thing is it was working just great and I took it to far trying to get a better looking dot and killed it.

 

[jimdt7]

Well, you were trying for the best at least....:beer:

Jim

 

[sinner]

So sorry for the loss. RIP M-140.
One thing i have learnt with the past year.. "If it aint broken, Dont fix it"

I tried to fix the lens once, turned out great but not perfect, re-opened it and lost the little ring that tightens the lenses back on..

Didnt had a perfect solder joint on the diode, tried to re-do the joint and Led'ed the diode several times , and broke the pins once or twice.. That was when i started practicing on lpc's and phr's..

So , if you're looking for a perfection man you better know what you're doing or just leave it as is..

 

[cheech226]

very sorry for your loss. i'm going to echo sinner. most every diode i killed was killed because i wanted to fiddle around with the build after it was successfully built. with a high powered diode just a speck of dust on the diode window (or a bit of teflon) can get burned into it destroying the beam/dot. i've been lucky just twice, once cleaning and once breaking out the window. i'm still holding my breath on the window break of my latest m140. it looks real good now but i'm NOT going to remove the lens again for fear of some contamination.

 

[awillis2589]

lesson learned for sure. but i think it was destine for death from the beginning. i mean the window was messed up from the first time i lazed it.

 

[daguin]

http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/learn-mistakes-can-happen-anybody-50044.html

Peace,
dave

 

[RedDart]

Sometimes new diodes fresh from the projectors degrades fast when push beyond 700mA.
Looks like these diodes aren't meant for building laser. It is a draw of the luck.

So if I use a M140 module from DTR with a 1,35A mohgasm driver, it will die fast? How fast exactly?

 

[DTR]

I have a very reliable source that sent me this datasheet which he says is the actual datasheet for the diodes used in the M140 projector. Max suggested current is 1.7A. From what I am told the reason they drive them well under that in the projector is to match up with the 20,000 hour life ratings of the LED's.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_6-KC5wFXIJR1FNRjVYNWszQmM/edit?usp=sharing

1.35A would be a very conservative setting for this diode.:beer:

Also I think we need to test the actual current the M projector is running the diodes as I believe the only measurements were back from the A130/A140 days. On the M series diode if you put 700mA in it not all the lines are lit up yet.

 

[HitShane]

When I saw Blord say 700ma I was like what! I had to go re-read the title again. I relaxed when I saw it was M140 in the title...

 

[sinner]

On the M series diode if you put 700mA in it not all the lines are lit up yet.

That is basically what i was wondering about, i have one of the recent builds that does that when the battery drains to about 3.6v, Obviously these m140's are current hungry little buggers but i didnt know they are current happy too.. So i would say 1.7-1.8A is the best current you can drive them just make sure you follow a duty cycle , it will still last a lifetime and thats it!

 

[HitShane]

I know im happy mine still works great I have made several long runs with it for video. I do always make sure its a little pre-chilled though. I also clean the window and lens before each use. I have taken many pictures of raw output and unfocused... When I notice my 2W start to degrade I will post about it...
-Shane

 

[Blord]

Hmm 700mA should be way up beyond the lasing point of 200-250mA. The diodes should be lasing at 700mA and it was the standard current in the projector. I read that somewhere on the forum.
They should do 20.000hours like DTR said. If you push it further up then anything could be possible. Reduce the life time drastically, go zombie, etc. Nearly all M140 however do just fine at 1.7-1.8A.