MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids.

[thejunkmonger]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids...

[quote author=Glaserfan link=1213668830/12#12 date=1213819425]I bet the "dilda-diode" can be driven at a higher current than the stock driver does.. its probably a closed-can/long die setup.. I bet we could push 250mW out of it ;D

I bet you're right. That did cross my mind when I was taking the dilda apart.. But rather than take a chance on it I decided to go ahead and put in the proven long open can.

Now we just need someone to swap out the stock dilda driver with a Microdriver or Lavadrive and see how much the stock dilda diode can handle. Any takers? thejunkmonger?  ;D[/quote]

Sure but you donate the parts

 

[IgorT]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids...

Why do you want to discard the stock dilda driver? It is a constant current driver, with similar properties to the 317. If your dilda is doing much less than 200mW, then it is being underpowered.

The driver actually requires >6.3V to do constant current. Two 3V CR2s are not enough, and the current is lower, than it is set to. Mine was also not regulating, and the power was low. I set the current lower, connected it to my PSU at 7V, and adjusted the current up to 330mA. I am using 3.6V CR2s, and now the driver is regulating to exactly 330mA and the power is 200mW.

If your power is only 140mW, i am willing to bet, that the current is under 300mA. Probably 250-270mA and slowly dropping. And turning the pot won't help with a driver, that is not regulating (current doesn't change much or at all). And it will only kill your diode, if you later give the driver enough voltage for regulation, as then the current will be what you set it to, when it wasn't regulating (but didn't know, cos you couldn't measure it).

The stock driver works. But only rarely from under 6V (component variances - it's not meant to work from such a low voltage, but some can). The only thing, that makes me worried about it, is how much it heats up. You can actually get burnt by holding it. And once you give it enough voltage for regulation, it has to dissipate even more power. But surprisingly, it keeps on going.

 

[RattleHead]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids...

I'm actually using two RCR2's which generally charge up to 3.4v each. Even at a full charge, the best I could get was 145-158mW. I probably could've switched to the 3.6v rechargables like you have and it might have started regulating, but in order to do that I'd have to buy the batteries + charger again on a gamble (plus the stock driver overheats like you said). At $10, buying the microdriver is cheaper and guaranteed to work.

 

[thejunkmonger]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids...

Why do you want to discard the stock dilda driver? It is a constant current driver, with similar properties to the 317. If your dilda is doing much less than 200mW, then it is being underpowered.

The driver actually requires >6.3V to do constant current. Two 3V CR2s are not enough, and the current is lower, than it is set to. Mine was also not regulating, and the power was low. I set the current lower, connected it to my PSU at 7V, and adjusted the current up to 330mA. I am using 3.6V CR2s, and now the driver is regulating to exactly 330mA and the power is 200mW.

If your power is only 140mW, i am willing to bet, that the current is under 300mA. Probably 250-270mA and slowly dropping. And turning the pot won't help with a driver, that is not regulating (current doesn't change much or at all). And it will only kill your diode, if you later give the driver enough voltage for regulation, as then the current will be what you set it to, when it wasn't regulating (but didn't know, cos you couldn't measure it).

The stock driver works. But only rarely from under 6V (component variances - it's not meant to work from such a low voltage, but some can). The only thing, that makes me worried about it, is how much it heats up. You can actually get burnt by holding it. And once you give it enough voltage for regulation, it has to dissipate even more power. But surprisingly, it keeps on going.

I don't know what mine is running at Igor,but I can tell you this I'm running it on 2 3v CR2's and there is a chip on the driver that gets so hot instantly you can't keep your finger on it, have no idea how long it will last under those conditions. I'm sure a good driver would do better.

 

[IgorT]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids...

A good driver might do better, just because of that heat, yes. That is very suspicious and weird. But in a host, where you have place for two batteries, it makes no sense to use a boost driver.. A linear driver, like the 317 or rkcstr's micro driver will work great. Both will require 3.6V batteries, but rkcstr's could even power a Blu Ray this way.

If you use a LavaDrive, you first have to lower the voltage through a diode, as 6V is too much for it. Some power gets lost this way, but the final efficiency would still be better than with a linear driver. But in my oppinion, buck/boost drivers are meant to make things small (powered by a single cell).

If you could cut the Dilda body, and rethread it, then it would be great with a 3.6V CR2 and the LavaDrive tho..



P.S. With linear drivers, you can measure the current through the diode, by measuring the current from the battery. You just replace the tailcap with a DMM in the highest current range (usually 20A, so it doesn't influence the results by it's own resistance). The diode current is only a few mA lower than the current from the battery. At ~300mA, this hardly makes up a percent, so it's very reliable.. You can't do the same with a boost driver, as the current from the battery is going to be higher, than the current through the load.

 

[RattleHead]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids. (UPDATED 26

Update! After a little tweaking, I've got this thing up over 260mW! I didn't notice it before but after closer inspection of the nose piece (the part that focuses the laser), it had some blockage inside due to me having to put in a little plastic spacer (between the lens and nose piece). The spacer was put there because the old diode was a bit longer than the open can and when you twisted the focusing ring all the way down the dot was still the size of a half dollar at 15 feet. So the spacer moved the lens back further closer to the new diode correcting the focus problem.

Anyway, the spacer was a little wider than the hole in the nose piece causing it to block the beam and make it smaller. So with a dremel I took a little meat off of the inside of the plastic spacer making it the same size as the hole in the focusing ring. Measured the output and that small modification alone brought it up to a steady 255mW. Then I bumped the pot on the driver up a tad more to 430ma and final output was 266mW (peak) and 263mW average! This thing is a monster! A gain of over 115mW from what my DX200 was originally putting out. For the $34 I've invested (open can & driver), this was a great little upgrade.

 

[Benm]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids...

[quote author=nikokapo link=1213668830/0#9 date=1213738169]
the main problem is that the dilda is expensive for its diode. i think the host should be really cheap, it's a thin film of metal with the head and the clicky button, shouldn't go over $11...

maybe if we asked somebody to do it and then organized a GB  : :

True, would be nice if it were possible to just buy the dilda barrel without the internals.. But I don't think that'll ever happen.
[/quote]

Well, we could just ask DX, right?

They sell a lot of DIY stuff for flashlights and electronics, so i dont think its beyond them to offer just the housing without diode and driver. I'm not sure how much it would cost, but it is a more elegant solution than modding a flashlight. I bet it also makes a very nice host for blurays, with the 2 cells in there the driver shouldnt be that hard to design at all.

I'm not gonna swap out the diode from my well working dilda, but if it ever dies, i'm sure to recycle it as a host!

 

[RattleHead]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids...

Well, we could just ask DX, right?

They sell a lot of DIY stuff for flashlights and electronics, so i dont think its beyond them to offer just the housing without diode and driver. I'm not sure how much it would cost, but it is a more elegant solution than modding a flashlight. I bet it also makes a very nice host for blurays, with the 2 cells in there the driver shouldnt be that hard to design at all.

I'm not gonna swap out the diode from my well working dilda, but if it ever dies, i'm sure to recycle it as a host!

I already tried that. I emailed them last week and asked if they would consider selling me any non-working units that may have been returned by customers. They replied back and said that they can't do it.

As far as DX actually selling just the barrel without the internals as a host, I don't think that'll happen either as DX doesn't manufacture these lasers.. They just resell. I believe the laser is from Aixiz or atleast manufactured for Aixiz by someone else. I've already emailed them aswell but no reply.

 

[50Freestyle]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids. (UPDATED 26

Wow! Nice Job! I ordered my Dilda a while ago and it should arrive tomorrow. If my laser has less than 200mW or dies after my warranty period I will definently consider doing this (If it is less than 200mW I'll experiment and see how much mA it can take. Could you give me a link to the thread or whatever it is that you got your diode off of? And is it safe to drive this diode at 420mA, or will it die quickly? Thats really the only thing i'm worried about, I don't wanna overdrive the diode and kill it, I'm know that running the diode at 420mA will shorten the lifespan of the diode but approximately to how many hours? (Ballpark it).

Thanks, Nice job

 

[RattleHead]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids. (UPDATED 26

Wow! Nice Job! I ordered my Dilda a while ago and it should arrive tomorrow. If my laser has less than 200mW or dies after my warranty period I will definently consider doing this (If it is less than 200mW I'll experiment and see how much mA it can take. Could you give me a link to the thread or whatever it is that you got your diode off of? And is it safe to drive this diode at 420mA, or will it die quickly? Thats really the only thing i'm worried about, I don't wanna overdrive the diode and kill it, I'm know that running the diode at 420mA will shorten the lifespan of the diode but approximately to how many hours? (Ballpark it).

Thanks, Nice job

Thanks.  I got my diodes from a member who goes by "TheMonk" via PM not a thread.. I don't know if he has anymore left but you could ask. If not, you can get them from this drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118001

I honestly have no idea how long the diode will live at 420ma. Several members here are pushing them well past that and I guess their lasers are still working. I've had several of the GB diodes die on me but never the long open can. They seem to be pretty durable.

Good luck with it.

 

[50Freestyle]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids. (UPDATED 26

[quote author=50Freestyle link=1213668830/24#24 date=1214609769]Wow! Nice Job! I ordered my Dilda a while ago and it should arrive tomorrow. If my laser has less than 200mW or dies after my warranty period I will definently consider doing this (If it is less than 200mW I'll experiment and see how much mA it can take. Could you give me a link to the thread or whatever it is that you got your diode off of? And is it safe to drive this diode at 420mA, or will it die quickly? Thats really the only thing i'm worried about, I don't wanna overdrive the diode and kill it, I'm know that running the diode at 420mA will shorten the lifespan of the diode but approximately to how many hours? (Ballpark it).

Thanks, Nice job

Thanks.  I got my diodes from a member who goes by "TheMonk" via PM not a thread.. I don't know if he has anymore left but you could ask. If not, you can get them from this drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118001

I honestly have no idea how long the diode will live at 420ma. Several members here are pushing them well past that and I guess their lasers are still working. I've had several of the GB diodes die on me but never the long open can. They seem to be pretty durable.

Good luck with it.
[/quote]


Ok, Thanks alot!

 

[RattleHead]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids. (UPDATED 26

I dunno if anyone is still interested in this project but if so I have a couple of minor updates:

First the long distance match lighting video:
16 ft match light

It will easily light them even further but my tape measure maxes out at 16 ft.

The other update is that I swapped out the coated acrylic lens for an AiXiZ glass lens which made a pretty nice improvement. It peaked at 290 mW with the glass lens!

 

[RattleHead]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids. (UPDATED 29

For anyone who's interested in seeing how each lens compares with the same laser and power meter, here's the graphs:

(Laser was allowed to cool for a full 5 minutes between each test)

First a standard lens from an AiXiZ module with the hole in the back widened out:

255mW peak & 250mW average.


Next is the coated acrylic lens that came with the DX200:

268mW peak & 266mW average.


The AiXiZ Glass lens:

290mW peak & 288mW average.

 

[Spyderz20x6]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids. (UPDATED 29

That is an awesome mod!! I will be sure to make my own MegaDilda soon...

P.S. +1 rep!

 

[Spyderz20x6]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids. (UPDATED 29

How come the - input terminal of the Ryan Driver isn't connected to the body? Is it continuos by itself?

 

[sk8er4514]

Re: MEGADILDA - DX200 Red on steroids. (UPDATED 29

How come the - input terminal of the Ryan Driver isn't connected to the body? Is it continuos by itself?

ryan driver?? you mean micro driver.