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mini dorcy laser help

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Mar 14, 2009
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hello everyone! i need some help with my mini dorcy laser. the last 2 laser diodes i bought , wen i hooked them up to 2 AA batteries(just to test it) they were very dim. am i supposed to put a resistor or capacitor or something on them to make it be brighter???? if so can someone draw a simple picture for me (in paint) to show me how to attach it to the laser diode pins so that it can fit in the mini dorcy flashlight. i have little experience with electronics so im sry if im asking stupid questions.
 





daguin

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CURTiS117 said:
hello everyone! i need some help with my mini dorcy laser. the last 2 laser diodes i bought , wen i hooked them up to 2 AA batteries(just to test it) they were very dim. am i supposed to put a resistor or capacitor or something on them to make it be brighter???? if so can someone draw a simple picture for me (in paint) to show me how to attach it to the laser diode pins so that it can fit in the mini dorcy flashlight. i have little experience with electronics so im sry if im asking stupid questions.


You need a current regulating driver between the batteries and the diode. The current "spike" when a battery first connects is blowing your diodes. READ at least the "stickys" in the forum. You CANNOT hook up your diode directly to batteries safely.

Peace,
dave
 
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hello again, i've read all u have told me to and I understand more now. if I hook up my diode to the mini dorcy flashlight without any resistors or anything , will it work properly? cuz there is a power regulator in the flashlight.
 
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CURTiS117 said:
hello again, i've read all u have told me to and I understand more now. if I hook up my diode to the mini dorcy flashlight without any resistors or anything  , will it work properly? cuz there is a power regulator in the flashlight.
That power regulator is meant for LEDs, which are tougher than diodes.
It has a power spike that will kill a laser diode, but will not kill an LED.
If you want to do this simple mod, you will need to solder a 5 Ohm resistor to the + pin on the laser diode.
 
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ok! I wouldnt have to solder the other end to the - pin? i would just leave it hanging off ? if u could draw a pic tht would be great!
 
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CURTiS117 said:
ok! I wouldnt have to solder the other end to the - pin? i would just leave it hanging off ? if u could draw a pic tht would be great!
No, you wouldn't...
You just solder one end to the + pin, and the other end to the + terminal on the dorcy.
Then you solder the - pin on the diode to the - terminal on the dorcy.
 
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thanks so much uve been a big help!!if I have any more problems or any more questions I'll post it here in this topic.
 
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CURTiS117 said:
oh ok thanx Spyderz !!! ill try it out and let u know if it works.

Should work for you. The dorcy Jr with a 5ohm resistor should give you about 200mA through the diode, which is well with in the safe zone. ;)
 
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I've been to 3 radio shacks around my area and none of them had any 5ohm resistors , the lowest was 10ohm. so if anyone could give me a link to a TRUSTED site that has one that would be awsome. I've seen on stonetek.org they had a full kit of the parts to build this laser and all they had was the flashlight, laser diode, aixiz module, and a flex drive. what is a flex drive and if anyone could give me a link to buy one...... that would be awsome also. cuz wut it sounds like is that a flex drive would work just as well as a resistor becuz if it didn't , y would they put it in the kit right?
 
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CURTiS117 said:
I've been to 3 radio shacks around my area and none of them had any 5ohm resistors , the lowest was 10ohm. so if anyone could give me a link to a TRUSTED site that has one that would be awsome. I've seen on stonetek.org they had a full kit of the parts to build this laser and all they had was the flashlight, laser diode, aixiz module, and a flex drive. what is a flex drive and if anyone could give me a link to buy one...... that would be awsome also. cuz wut it sounds like is that a flex drive would work just as well as a resistor becuz if it didn't , y would they put it in the kit right?
You can get 5 Ohm resistors on eBay...

Edit: Don't forget to get 1/2 Watt.

You can get these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-2-OHM-1-2-WAT...ryZ36328QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 




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