NOO!!

[DayOfShadows]

I started building my first red laser today and i got it going with a driver and it burn trough some black tape untill it just stuff offf, i noticed theirs a little light comenin out like a LED so im guessing its dead, so i guess im in the market for a laser diode =/ my first burned out diode! Now i feel bad. Took me all that time to get it assembled and i was happy when it ired up but now im depressed, its probally my brothers fualt, he was messn with the output current and it just fried :'(

 

[daguin]

I started building my first red laser today and i got it going with a driver and it burn trough some black tape untill it just stuff offf, i noticed theirs a little light comenin out like a LED so im guessing its dead, so i guess im in the market for a laser diode =/ my first burned out diode! Now i feel bad. Took me all that time to get it assembled and i was happy when it ired up but now im depressed, its probally my brothers fualt, he was [highlight]messn with the output current [/highlight]and it just fried    :'(

That would do it

Peace,
dave

 

[DayOfShadows]

Ya i figured that =/ to bad i was at work, now its just a little LED sitting there mocking me :-/ :-/ :'(

 

[daguin]

Ya i figured that =/ to bad i was at work, now its just a little LED sitting there mocking me  :-/ :-/ :'(

I know how it feels -- about 20 times over

Peace,
dave

 

[Davo]

 

[DayOfShadows]

now i need to find a new diode on very low budget cuase i had to put $75 of the 90 onto my laptop payment

 

[GooeyGus]

[quote author=DayOfShadows link=1227323795/0#2 date=1227327883]Ya i figured that =/ to bad i was at work, now its just a little LED sitting there mocking me  :-/ :-/ :'(

I know how it feels -- about 20 times over

Peace,
dave[/quote]

I think 20 is a grossly low estimation of the amount of diodes you have gone through

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

Dave & I both have more than our share of LED's I think I burned out the first 6x !!!

Mike

 

[daguin]

[quote author=daguin link=1227323795/0#3 date=1227329353][quote author=DayOfShadows link=1227323795/0#2 date=1227327883]Ya i figured that =/ to bad i was at work, now its just a little LED sitting there mocking me  :-/ :-/ :'(

I know how it feels -- about 20 times over
Peace,
dave[/quote]
I think 20 is a grossly low estimation of the amount of diodes you have gone through  [/quote]

I wasn't counting the ones that I intentionally tortured to death to get them to divulge their secrets. I was only counting the ones that mocked me

Dave & I both have more than our share of LED's    I think I burned out the first 6x !!!

Mike

LOL!  Yeah.  You haven't really lived until you've burned out a $285 diode  

Peace,
dave

 

[digital_blue]

LOL!  Yeah.  You haven't really lived until you've burned out a $285 diode  

You won't live past the beating if your wifey every finds out ;D

 

[NitroxLasers.com]

I started building my first red laser today and i got it going with a driver and it burn trough some black tape untill it just stuff offf, i noticed theirs a little light comenin out like a LED so im guessing its dead, so i guess im in the market for a laser diode =/ my first burned out diode! Now i feel bad. Took me all that time to get it assembled and i was happy when it ired up but now im depressed, its probally my brothers fualt, he was messn with the output current and it just fried    :'(

Yep, unfortunately, the "light" coming out of the laser diode pretty much means that you've turned your diode into an expensive LED :/

Don't stress about it too much though because, as Dave was pointing out, every laser hobbyist will go through his fair share of diodes. Just know that, the more practice and experience you gain working with both the diodes and the circuits that power them, the less likely it is that you will have burnouts like this in the future.... Oh, and try not to let your brother get too close to your breadboard next time

On another note, check out SenKat's site, sales.stontek.org, if you're looking for reliable burning diodes on the cheap. He has Sony SLD1239JL-54 diodes pre-mounted in Aixiz housings for around $27 shipped. Hope this helps. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[Ace82]

I'm posting to confirm that I too have LEDified my good share of laser diodes as well. Don't let it get you down, you have to learn and that's a fair trade if you ask me. Heck, I even get 1 or 2 diodes extra on most occasions just in case, because the ordering and waiting process can really suck. When I first started building lasers, I would typically buy two sleds and if they both survived I'd have two lasers, but if one died at least I had one! But after more experience, it the success rate improves, just as long as you don’t give up.

 

[Alexizupinhea]

Yep.... I just broke my third right now. The first time, I know why it broke (using an LPC-815). The first time, I soldered terribly and the diode worked at first (was able to burn electrical tape, light matches, etc.). Then when i went to use it again 2 hrs later, the diode disconnected then reconnected using DDL's circuit and so the cap fried it. The second time (PHR-803t) I just finished today. I don't know what could have gone wrong. I tested the diode on a solderless breadboard before and it worked alright, then I built the circuit using seperate components, set the mA to 110mA, and made sure the cap was emptied - when all was hooked up: LED. Now, since I was soo pissed and wanted to say "I built a Blu-Ray Laser pointer this year (its New Years Eve today), I quickly yet efficiently soldered new wires to my last diode, PHR-803t, and it worked!!   I was soo happy!! However, I go to try it again a couple of min. later - LED.  :'( Now I am very mad and aggravated. I spent soo much money on lasers for the parts and all and I still don't have a single working one (except a True 30mW Green from DX).  :'( I really don't know what could have gone wrong with these last two Blu-Ray ones. One thing I did which may be a problem is I epoxied the wires on the diode after I verified it worked. I did it so that the wires would never move and touch each other. Is resin epoxy safe to use on wires? Anyway, I know what you mean when you say your pissed off. I guess it's all part of the learning process. You just gotta keep trying. Edison failed thousands of times when trying to get the lightbulb to work. I consider lasers and lightbulbs all similar. I love lasers, and although I spent a lot of time and money on them, and have gotten nothing in return, I know I'm gonna keep trying. It may not seem special to my friends or my family, but to me - it's an accomplishment. The day I build a great, completely homemade laser (not just buying a circuit and putting 2 and 2 together - I mean made from scratch: sled, resistors, capacitors, diodes, and LM317) - the day that that laser is complete, I'll feel accomplished. Keep up the faith, this new year - my resolution is to have built a new homemade laser

PS: I wish all new laser builders the best of luck

 

[daguin]

When something like this happens to me, I think about baseball

I know -- I can't help it -- I'm an American

In any event, I think about the players that are world famous and making MILLIONS of dollars a year to play a game for a few months. Specifically I think about the most famous batters. A truly AMAZING batter is hitting 400. What does hitting 400 mean? It means that he gets on base 4 out of 10 times! He is only successful 40% of the time. That means that he FAILS to reach base 6 out of those same 10 times. After you get to 10 lasers, if you have 4 of your first attempts still working, you will be doing better than a million dollar baseball player.

You only fail if you decide that you are done working on getting better.

Peace,
dave

 

[The_Muffin_Man]

You aren't a true DIYer unless you break atleast 1 diode...welcome to the club...if you break more than 1 then you should start a diode graveyard ... I got a pretty big one lol...you should feel honored not depressed ;D

 

[adgmeijin]

Yeah! we have to learn from our mistakes, and yet there's hope for all laser builder's to make a working laser, in my experience, the first i build laser project i killed one my 20x LOC from LG DVD burner by accidentally bump my table and the 20xLOC project was totally drop in a pack of impact on a solid floor, then it did not lit that time and i assumed it was dead, and i test it, its true, its already dead, and the second one was my first PS3 bluray when the wire was not totally soldered to the caps i test it, the wire was disconnected then accidentally attached again to the BRLD pin then a bright flash of violet light occurred, then gone. So the lesson here was don't lose HOPE, keep on Going and you reach your true success on building this Laser stuff and feel your accomplishments.

Cheers,

Ace