I have a red laser with lm317 driver and would like to try and run it from a solar panel. It is not a very big panel only rated for 4W but on a sunny day it puts out up to 21V. I normally only use this laser with 8.4V max. That is why I didn't want to try using it yet before seeking a bit of advice. My concerns are
1) Will the diode be harmed or stressed in any way?
2) Will the driver be harmed or stressed in any way?
And,
3) I know that this driver and diode combination need a minimum of 6V to run and below that laser performance starts dropping. Now with Li-Ion cells the voltage under load is less than the voltage under no load. My question is as follows. Is the 6V minimum requirement under load or under no load condition. For example when the cells have gone from 8.4V full charge down to somewhere in the range of 6-7V then I was under the impression that the cells still have a bit of charge left. But I realised that under load they will be getting down below 6V so I wondered whether this will start to impact laser performance since the voltage is sagging below the 6V during operation. Or does just the no load voltage need to be above 6V?
1) Will the diode be harmed or stressed in any way?
2) Will the driver be harmed or stressed in any way?
And,
3) I know that this driver and diode combination need a minimum of 6V to run and below that laser performance starts dropping. Now with Li-Ion cells the voltage under load is less than the voltage under no load. My question is as follows. Is the 6V minimum requirement under load or under no load condition. For example when the cells have gone from 8.4V full charge down to somewhere in the range of 6-7V then I was under the impression that the cells still have a bit of charge left. But I realised that under load they will be getting down below 6V so I wondered whether this will start to impact laser performance since the voltage is sagging below the 6V during operation. Or does just the no load voltage need to be above 6V?