Thank you, I know I'm not the only one that burns diodes, but it always hurts. I have been reading this forum for a while before I subscribed, and I have some knowlege about general electronics, that's why I sound like I "have a pretty good start for a noob" 
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I have also ordered a LOC, two PHR and a SF-AW210 from various websites about a year ago, but so far each diode died, some because of a mistake, but some for unknown reasons ... I guess I'm not lucky or not precise enough :thinking: . I have only one working laser now, a red build (diode from a DVD burner, the host is a maglite-like) at about 200mA with a flexdrive. I was lucky enough to find THE piece I needed to make a heatsink (good diameter for the aixiz and already threaded to screw into the host :drool. I guess that if it's still alive, it's only because I try not to open it unless I really have to, otherwise I think I would have blown this one too. 
The 445 laser was my holiday project, but I will soon go back to school, so I will probably wait the next holidays to start an other laser project.
I wil keep reading the forum though
.I have also ordered a LOC, two PHR and a SF-AW210 from various websites about a year ago, but so far each diode died, some because of a mistake, but some for unknown reasons ... I guess I'm not lucky or not precise enough :thinking: . I have only one working laser now, a red build (diode from a DVD burner, the host is a maglite-like) at about 200mA with a flexdrive. I was lucky enough to find THE piece I needed to make a heatsink (good diameter for the aixiz and already threaded to screw into the host :drool
. I guess that if it's still alive, it's only because I try not to open it unless I really have to, otherwise I think I would have blown this one too. The 445 laser was my holiday project, but I will soon go back to school, so I will probably wait the next holidays to start an other laser project.
I wil keep reading the forum though
