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FrozenGate by Avery

[Pic Heavy] 208mA 16x Diode <$5 Budget Burner

Fretwrecker94 said:
Here's a link to one almost identical to the one I used!

1X Silver Aluminum Heatsink for 20W/30W LED light Cooling without Power | eBay

It might not be as big, I don't know the dimensions of mine off the top of my head (It's at my mother's house)

Just thought I'd provide the link :whistle:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the Link. The Problem with that one is its round. Yours is Square. I have Looked through ebay many times and I find Nothing in square shape. So I gave up a long time ago.

Round makes it difficult to stand Up.:(
 





lazeerer said:
Thanks for the Link. The Problem with that one is its round. Yours is Square. I have Looked through ebay many times and I find Nothing in square shape. So I gave up a long time ago.

Round makes it difficult to stand Up.:(
Click to expand...

Wow, don't know what I was thinking there! I coulda sworn the picture showed it to be flat. Guess that's a good sign I should sleep. Damn term papers, keep me up late and make my mind mush!
 
Nice
I am also trying to build my first laser based on a dvd burner diode.
but I am at the very beginning. Maybe You guys can give me a hint or two?
In order to find out wich diode is the right one i connected them to 2 AA batteries and took the one that started glowing red.
Now as far as I got it all I need is a driver and a 3v power source right?
My only concern is that the diode isn't as strong as I was told.
I heard you can at least light a match with it but when I tested it, the beam wasn't even a bit warm to the touch. So as you can see I am really new to this. Where is my mistake?
 
nikola tesla said:
Nice
I am also trying to build my first laser based on a dvd burner diode.
but I am at the very beginning. Maybe You guys can give me a hint or two?
In order to find out wich diode is the right one i connected them to 2 AA batteries and took the one that started glowing red.
Now as far as I got it all I need is a driver and a 3v power source right?
My only concern is that the diode isn't as strong as I was told.
I heard you can at least light a match with it but when I tested it, the beam wasn't even a bit warm to the touch. So as you can see I am really new to this. Where is my mistake?
Click to expand...

Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, directly connect a diode to a power source without a driver.

Your laser is probably not bright because you killed it with direct driving it. a driver will require more than 3V, unless you use a boost circuit.

If you need any help, I'd love to be of assistance! You probably need a new diode though, since yours is probably dead. Next time, even if just to test it before using a professional driver, build a DDL Driver set at a current that is safe for your diode.

I'm going to be posting another thread about a build I did with a similar diode later tonight, so keep on the lookout for that! :)
 
Thanks it would be great to get some assistance since I am having a hard time gathering the exact values I need.
Well too bad I didn't know that earlier.
I just read that this is the way to find out wether your diode is the right one.
As my new knowledge goes the problems with direct connections are the spikes in voltage some batteries cause in the beginning.
I still hope the diode isnt dead since it still emitted light long time afterwards.
 
nikola tesla said:
Thanks it would be great to get some assistance since I am having a hard time gathering the exact values I need.
Well too bad I didn't know that earlier.
I just read that this is the way to find out wether your diode is the right one.
As my new knowledge goes the problems with direct connections are the spikes in voltage some batteries cause in the beginning.
I still hope the diode isnt dead since it still emitted light long time afterwards.
Click to expand...

You can always look up a diode pinout if you don't know the polarity. reverse polarity also kills diodes! But in all generic red diodes, the pinout is the same.

lpc.png


Yep, the spike is what kills it most times.
Well unfortunately 9/10 times, when there is a bright light, a significant decrease in light, then no light, it means your diode is dead or severely damaged.
 
ok I think then there is still hope. Since the diode was as bright as it was in the beginning and only stopped emitting light when I cut the energy source. So I hope the spike wasn't too big. I am going to build my laser with a socket so I can test it with this diode and if it turns out dead I can replace it easily.

As far as I know the third pin on the diode is for a photosensor in order to mesure the power output of the diode. I wanted to include a plug in my laser for connecting a monitoring device if needed.

thanks again for offering me your help. Maybe I should let you in on more detail on what I have in mind:
I am planning to build a really really small laser. I wanted to build the driver myself I think this one is good: diy-homemade-laser-diode-driver-26339
I wanted to use SMD parts and because I have to fit everything in a really small tube. In fact so small that probably a circuit board wouldnt fit so I have to arrange the parts in line. I thought I connect them with small wires and cover everything in shrinking tubes.

Now regarding optics I am also unsure. Can I basically use any lense with any diode?
Or are there lenses for different wavelengths? is glass better than plastic? Can I maybe even use the lenses that came with the DVD burner? I am also looking for really small lense way smaller than these bulky caps of these prebuilt laser modules. those are too big for my application. I even thought about maybe using some gem shaped glass or crystal as lense or at least to cover the diode (is that even possible?).
And what are the advantages of focusing?

hope I didnt drown you in questions :)
 
nikola tesla said:
ok I think then there is still hope. Since the diode was as bright as it was in the beginning and only stopped emitting light when I cut the energy source. So I hope the spike wasn't too big. I am going to build my laser with a socket so I can test it with this diode and if it turns out dead I can replace it easily.

As far as I know the third pin on the diode is for a photosensor in order to mesure the power output of the diode. I wanted to include a plug in my laser for connecting a monitoring device if needed.

thanks again for offering me your help. Maybe I should let you in on more detail on what I have in mind:
I am planning to build a really really small laser. I wanted to build the driver myself I think this one is good: diy-homemade-laser-diode-driver-26339
I wanted to use SMD parts and because I have to fit everything in a really small tube. In fact so small that probably a circuit board wouldnt fit so I have to arrange the parts in line. I thought I connect them with small wires and cover everything in shrinking tubes.

Now regarding optics I am also unsure. Can I basically use any lense with any diode?
Or are there lenses for different wavelengths? is glass better than plastic? Can I maybe even use the lenses that came with the DVD burner? I am also looking for really small lense way smaller than these bulky caps of these prebuilt laser modules. those are too big for my application. I even thought about maybe using some gem shaped glass or crystal as lense or at least to cover the diode (is that even possible?).
And what are the advantages of focusing?

hope I didnt drown you in questions :)
Click to expand...

If your diode is alive, you are very lucky.
Red diode's from DVD burners do NOT have a photodiode.
Even with SMD Parts, you need at least 6V for that driver. It's a very efficient driver. It's the one I used in this build.
Not sure what you mean bu "gem shaped glass", I've never heard of stuff like that. AixiZ Modules are pretty much the standard around here. For red lasers, acrylic lenses work fine. Glass is for high power builds where the heat from the diode can melt the lens and its lens assembly.

Focusing allows the energy of the beam to be concentrated to a point so that it has a higher energy density. For pointing, you need to focus it to infinity.
 
so basically any transparent material can act as a lens? could I also use the objective lens of a small old digicam?
 
nikola tesla said:
so basically any transparent material can act as a lens? could I also use the objective lens of a small old digicam?
Click to expand...

Well anything transparent can pass light... a lens focuses the unfocused light
Without a focusing lens, the laser would act like a flashlight.
 
Hey there. I am still trying around with the parts from the dvd burner. I found a lens in it wich manages to get the laserlight into a really small dot but the laser just wont burn. I even had the resistor down to 4ohm and it still didnt seem to do anything. the diode gets a little warm in the hand but the point were the laser hits a surfaces keeps pretty cold
 
Hmmm maybe you killed it soldering? Or a reverse polarity connection?
A 16x should be able to handle a bit over 350mA if it's SOC. if its SCC then the current may have killed it.
 
how do I find out the difference between SCC and SOC? well it lights quite bright. but on surfaces can only be seen when i put the lens in front of it.
 
nikola tesla said:
how do I find out the difference between SCC and SOC? well it lights quite bright. but on surfaces can only be seen when i put the lens in front of it.
Click to expand...

Scc is small closed can. Aka it has a metal can around the dye.
Soc is small open can. Aka it has no metal can. You can see the dye.

Scc is not as powerful
 
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