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FrozenGate by Avery

New - "A better 1W budget boost driver" - AK-007

There are lots of people with lathes around here that can keep doing it.

I'm getting worn down :(
Mini-lathes are not meant for mass production.....
 





So actually, my two got here today.

Now, I ran into some problems....

Well, mainly, the problem is that, when I hook it up to my test load (positive to positive, negative to negative, yadda yadda), and then I solder on the positive contact of the board to a wire to my positive 18650 and the negative on the board to the negative of the 18650 (don't worry, not soldering *onto* battery), I got a reading of around 50-90mA from six 1N4001s in series (set to blu setting on my testload). Anyone have any answers?

EDIT: So did some tests... turns out that it *is* a boost driver, just not a very good one. Hooked up to an 18650 with 3.65V of charge and got 375mA of current through my five 1N4001 test load, but it was boosting the voltage to around 4.4V. Further, I tried out a 4.2V 14500 and it outputted the same thing... curious and curioser....

EDIT2: So the reason I was getting 50-90mA before was because it must have been on low mode. Nonetheless, that still leaves me with the 375mA problem... why am I getting so little current?
 
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Ahah! I found the problem! The model I got is slightly different from the ones you got: I got one that I guess is *built* to run at 375mA. The resistor on mine is R270, meaning that it is 1.8 times the resistance of the ones that you guys have... which is pretty much accurate with the current readings... 1.8 times 375mA is 675mA, with, which variances on diodes, etc. is close enough to 750mA to be reasonable....

My only question is, what the hell? Why did they change it?

EDIT: I think I found something else that is interesting....

When it should be bucking, i.e. the input voltage is higher than Vf of the test load, it puts out a *very* steady 1A. It even holds up to its modes for this amperage (i.e. if I change it, I get 150mA, then if I change it again, my DMM is constantly changing, but always averages out to 500mA [because it's a 50% duty cycle of 9Hz]).

Fascinating! Maybe this will make a great 1A, constant current buck driver? Then again, only tried this with a slightly drained 14500 and 4x 1N4001 diodes.
 
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Very very interesting....

Regarding the change - that's normal for chinese gadget sites. They iterate versions and PCB layout, even entire driver circuits, all the time.

Regarding the buck behavior, that's very odd, but neat. I hadn't anticipated bucking functions at all, but in retrospect, I should have realized that a driver meant to driver 3V LEDs would have the ability to buck down a 4V li-ion.
 
That's a shame regarding the change... but I may very well do some more tests on that buck feature. Unfortunately, this means we just can't drive an LOC from it :(

Nonetheless... would anyone be willing to trade for the old ones if you want the new ones?

EDIT: Alright, so I had a fatality... I put around 8V into it, expecting it to buck it down to 4.5V, like it could buck 4.2V to 2.8V. Didn't really work as planned... =p Smoked instantly.

However, it will stick buck from one li-ion down to red Vf, but it has reduced down to 750mA... which is odd. Also, note that the modes still work on said driver.

So now I am curious... now the other driver I had is only running at 250mA? Wtf? Explanation: I was using 6x 1N4001 diodes.

EDIT 2:

A while ago, I build an interesting type of test-load using three of these in parallel (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102807). These lightbulbs have a Vf of 4.8V and require 500mA. By putting them in parallel, I simulated a diode requiring 4.8V and 1.5A of current. This is a pretty good simulation of a 445 LD. Interestingly, when I hooked up this driver to it, it was outputting .92A of current. However, after testing the voltage being inputted to the bulbs (stuck leads in parallel with the strip), I got 2.8V... what's up?
 
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Mohrenberg said:
There are lots of people with lathes around here that can keep doing it.

I'm getting worn down :(
Mini-lathes are not meant for mass production.....
Click to expand...

I did wonder whether your crazy lathing habits were sustainable.

Get one that is designed for mass production!! :tinfoil:

@Wolfman29:
So what do you think the drivers like yours can be used for? It's smash a red diode (either too much Voltage or too much current), and doesn't supply enough amps or Volts for the 445s (depending on how it's set up). BluRay is pretty much out of the question.

...IR? :na: What is the Voltage required for IR diodes anyway?
 
Well, what I *am* going to do with it when I get my 445 diode is test it out with a cap attached and a single li-ion. If I am lucky, it will only be drawing about 400mA. If I am even luckier, it will only put out 1A ;)

I think it *may* work for blu-ray? It can do the boost, but just not with much current... maybe it could drive a 6x or a PHR? It was putting out like 90mA....

Or, maybe we could just mod them! xD
 
I don't really have a use for them lol. I'm not sure why i bought them.

Perhaps i'll sell them for $5ea. (not including shipping/pp fees)

Anyone want some?
 
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Remember guys, Blu-Ray and 445 do not have the same Vf.

Having said that, my AK-007s worked for both.

If the only difference in the ones you received was a reference resistor, why not just swap out that reference resistor?
 
Because my soldering iron sucks, the resistor is tiny, and it's covered up by that upper layer, so I am afraid I will break it if I try to mod it =p

EDIT: NOR do I have the needed small value resistors... =p
 
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Wolfman29 said:
Because my soldering iron sucks, the resistor is tiny, and it's covered up by that upper layer, so I am afraid I will break it if I try to mod it =p

EDIT: NOR do I have the needed small value resistors... =p
Click to expand...

Just remove the top layer, it's just connected by two pins.

I need to get a proper test load and then I can set these to a good current and sell them...
 
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