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FrozenGate by Avery

Learn From Mistakes That Can Happen To Anybody...

photonaholic said:
Showing my age, but I once rolled a perfectly good HeNe tube onto the floor by turning the stereo up too loud.

The woofer vibrations were enough to set the tube rolling, and as soon as it hit the floor, it was toast.

It was one of those nice high end NEC tubes with the killer anodized spun aluminum housings. They were $200 on the surplus market back then.

It still lased at first, but when I picked it up, the housing shocked me. I could feel the HV, then as air seeped in through the new cracks in the glass it stopped lasing altogether.
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Ouch! Man that's a bummer...

Unforeseen outside influence!

This thread is probably a good read for new and vets alike! :)

I have another one...

Way back, I used to have the bad habit of clipping the unused pin on red diodes. Not a good habit. No need to clip the pin. Just don't use it!

Because when I first started with blu-ray burner diodes (the expensive ones), I discovered the hard way that they have a different pin connection!

Yes, I clipped the negative pin off of an expensive diode... :banghead:

That was the last pin I ever clipped. (unless just clipping them a little shorter in a tight build situation)
 





Re: Mistakes That Can Happen To Anybody...

Tech_Junkie said:
Not sure, but other people have said it happened to them also, they just didn't put 2 and 2 together. IgorT also advises not do it, and he obviously knows what he is talking about. I guess you just got lucky.

It might be heat, or a reflection. I think it depends on how the laser is focused at the time. That's why it doesn't happen to everyone. This is only a guess.
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I run my PHR with a GITD lens cap on as a torch regularly, focused at many different ranges, and it hasn't died yet. Mines's with a 405-G-1 glass lens, and may have suffered degradation, but I haven't power tested recently.
Jayrob said:
Yes, I clipped the negative pin off of an expensive diode...
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Did you jump the spot to the casing pin and get the diode working, or did you just throw it away?

My mistakes include slipping when pushing a diode into module, ESD when messing around too much width diodes on a breadboard, dropping a diode, and damaging a GGW when trying to remove the heatsink. Not too fun to do, I can't recommend it. Come to think of it, I should get myself a new violet anyway.
 
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Re: Mistakes That Can Happen To Anybody...

charliebruce said:
I run my PHR with a GITD lens cap on as a torch regularly, focused at many different ranges, and it hasn't died yet. Mines's with a 405-G-1 glass lens, and may have suffered degradation, but I haven't power tested recently.

Did you jump the spot to the casing pin and get the diode working, or did you just throw it away?
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Oh it was ugly man...

I tried and tried to fix it. But I had clipped it just about flush, and I couldn't get solder to stick to what was left of the pin. So I tried to Dremel and expose the pin a little more. :crackup:

Which I did... Just enough to loosen the pin from the black insullation. And it moved, breaking the tiny hair like connection to the die... :banghead:
 
Re: Mistakes That Can Happen To Anybody...

charliebruce said:
I run my PHR with a GITD lens cap on as a torch regularly, focused at many different ranges, and it hasn't died yet. Mines's with a 405-G-1 glass lens, and may have suffered degradation, but I haven't power tested recently.
Click to expand...

As do most people, but that doesn't mean it does not happen.
 
Hey guys. This seems to be a really useful thread for n00bs and vets alike, gonna make it into a sticky. Some really great build tips and (no offense to anyone) gave me a few lols.


Probably my worst mistake was trying to take apart my WL Core to pot mod (in itself a stupid thing to be doing). I had loosened the end cap with a razor blade but the module was still in tight. So I put the back of the barrel in a vice and gently tried to pull the end out with a pair of pliers. It wouldn't come out so I applied more force and started to twist the module (bad idea). The module ripped out of the host, tearing all the pins off the diode and leaving the driver and switch still in the host. The host jolted back scuffing the paint and scratching the barrel itself. RIP a perfectly good core, now completely trash. :( Lesson here is to go very slow when taking a leadlight/core or any pen apart, I got impatient and pulled too hard. :(

Going to be starting my first actual build in the next couple days (LPC diode with flexdrive in a jayrob black leadlight host), so I am sure I will soon have lots more to add to this last of mishaps. :rolleyes:
 
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If you hook up a 12V HeNe PSU to 110V mains, it will give off a very loud crack, scare the crap out of you, and die :yabbem:

Peace,
dave
 
2007Revolution said:
Hey guys. This seems to be a really useful thread for n00bs and vets alike, gonna make it into a sticky. Some really great build tips and (no offense to anyone) gave me a few lols.


Probably my worst mistake was trying to take apart my WL Core to pot mod (in itself a stupid thing to be doing). I had loosened the end cap with a razor blade but the module was still in tight. So I put the back of the barrel in a vice and gently tried to pull the end out with a pair of pliers. It would come out so I applied more force and started to twist the module (bad idea). The module ripped out of the host, tearing all the pins off the diode and leaving the driver and switch still in the host. The host jolted back scuffing the paint and scratching the barrel itself. RIP a perfectly good core, now completely trash. Lesson here is to go very slow when taking a leadlight/core or any pen apart, I got impatient and pulled too hard.

Going to be starting my first actual build in the next couple days (LPC diode with flexdrive in a jayrob black leadlight host), so I am sure I will soon have lots more to add to this last of mishaps.
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I can picture that Core ripping apart... Ouch!

Thanks for the sticky! :)

Hope your pen build goes well...





Man Dave that's a bummer about your HeNe, but I have to tell you...

I am laughing out loud! :crackup:

Just the way you said that or something...
 
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daguin said:
If you hook up a 12V HeNe PSU to 110V mains, it will give off a very loud crack, scare the crap out of you, and die :yabbem:

Peace,
dave
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LMAO I can picture the whole thing. Gave me tingles down my spine. I hope I have better luck.
 
I had a very similar scare, but with 230V into a 115V rated laser power meter - I used a simple adaptor which didn't step the voltage down (I'd wrongly presumed that it would use a dual-mode PSU capable of taking a wide range of input voltages). It only blew the fuse, however, and with a simple 230-115v adaptor still runs perfectly to this day. That's why you always use an appropriate fuse and never bypass safety features, kids. (Or, get companies to design their PSUs to accommodate a wide range of input voltages, to make up for idiot users who don't RTFM)
 
I touched the die of my first LOC before installing it. I handled it just like a would a light bulb, without knowing anything about facets, or those tiny wires on there.... the poor thing never got a chance to lase.

I also killed a LOC with a back reflection... that one hurt more since it happened to a completed lab build. The dot shot straight back into the lens, it didn't even take a second to die.

I also ran a flexdrive with no load one time...

don't do that.
 
Not laser related but funny enough and stupid enough I'll post it anyhow.

Working in a big 3 phase commercial 240 volt junction box with the mains "hot"

Screwdriver slipped and shorted 2 phases together at the precise moment that the sine wave peaked.

The resulting back spike on the line fried the big link fuse out at the utility pole and shut the whole building down.

Training for a factory tech position, yes in production lines, work is often performed while things are on and running.
 
Thanks!



Meatball said:
I also ran a flexdrive with no load one time...

don't do that.
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This is all great stuff to share for others to learn from...

Some can easily overlook the fact that you can damage the popular FlexDrive by powering it without a load.

Sometimes it's just the simplest little oversight, and we kill a diode or damage a driver...

I've damaged a FlexDrive or two by not being careful enough when soldering those tiny resistors, and letting excess solder get where I did not want it to be.

Then trying to remove the excess solder, I've messed up the little SMD resistors at least once or twice...
 
I killed my first 50mW green pointer (2 years ago), spraying some contact cleaner on the module spring, trying to clean it ..... the liquid filtered inside the module and "killed" the crystal (turned from 50mW to something like 1 or 2 mW :p)

Also, i killed a LOC running it at almost 300mW with insufficent heatsinking for too long time, and i damaged one of my first PHR overheating it with soldering iron, taking away the connection flex pcb ..... and, if this can count, i also blowed up (literally :p) a He-Ne tube, hooking it to a wrong PSU for an error (perhaps that 2mW tubes don't agree to be hooked to 60mW PSUs ..... :eek: )

Ofcourse, all this when they was costing ten times than now (there's no fun, killing something, if you don't loose a lot of money in the process, too ..... AAARGH :p :crackup:)
 
Those are some good things to share...

I'll bet many people damage their diodes by overheating them during the 'solder blob' ribbon removal method.

Of course if done properly, it is not a problem at all...

And the point about material migrating onto the diode is a good point to bring up. Because the same thing could happen with excess thermal compound warming up and working it's way in and around the diode...
 
I am sorry for everyones loss.. Today i fried my best diode RIP...
Changing batteries to new ones killed it because I am to lazy to make a.. driver? So i have decided to buy a new factory built laser...

I also wonder why the soldering doesnt damage the diode? A soldering iron is about 200 degrees celsius! :thinking:

Than you for making me feel better about being clumsy and lazy!

Oh and btw i have killed countless diodes, because i didnt think i needed to look at instructions... :whistle:

ps: dont worry i repair pcs and have a steady supply of diodes from burners!
 
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