red diode expectations

[roebrandon69]

So i bought the long can 650nm diode from Hightech and it doesnt seem to put out as described. I dont think that i am expecting too much from it.

I set my driver at 397ma and have used both the glass and acrylic lense for the axiz housing and i was able to get it to warm up and smoke but not burn through tape. It wont light a match or pop a balloon. I noticed that the beam is barely visible in a dark room. It will throw a nice bright dot on a wall but dont know if the intensity is correct as i am new to this. The intensity is nothing compared to my 10mw greenie which basicaly lights up the room.

Thanks, Skylight

 

[tysonc1979]

I also have the same diode form hightech set at 380 mA which should put it around 200 mW or so i can easily burn tape light white, red or black matches and pop balloons with ease. When i shine it on a white wall i can barely look at it. So yours should at least light matches and stuff. Also i personally think all green laser's look bright as hell.

 

[iskor12]

A 15mW green laser looks brighter to the human eye than what a 250mW red does.
I also have the same diode, and it burns things with ease. I have mine set at 390mA. It is very likely that you just aren't focusing it properly. Buy some laser safety glasses. That will help you when it comes to focusing the laser.

 

[dr-ebert]

No one will be able to tell for sure just by description. However, the beam should be clearly visible in a dark room. Your eye is far less sensitive for the red than for the green beam, but even if the 10mW green is considerably over spec, the brightness should be more or less comparable.

I don't know what kind of driver you have, or how you set the current. Try soldering a 1 Ohm resistor in series with the diode so you can measure the current that's actually passing through your diode - maybe your input voltage is too low to actually achieve this current with the diode.

 

[jander6442]

Try opening up the back of the lens on the aycrilic...

That red bad boy should be cutting through tape in no time

 

[roebrandon69]

I walked back through everything again. 397 ma, 3.6 volt crossfire, good ground, rockstar driver, etc. I have tried focusing a couple of different ways from a pin point at about 6 inches to very bright defined dot on wall at about 10 feet. is it possible that this could be one of those freak diodes and it may require more ma's?


This is just a FYI. I found a really cool host. Its a miniature red snap on led light at ace hardware for $7.00. It was a easy mod and looks really cool. I wasnt able to use the rear section of the axiz housing but with a little finess it worked out sweet. After its working properly i will shoot some pics and tutorial.

Thanks, Skylight

 

[dr-ebert]

The rkcstr driver needs an additional 2.25V over the diode voltage which is around 2.7V, so you need a minimum input voltage of ~5V.

 

[HumanSymphony]

The rkcstr driver needs an additional 2.25V over the diode voltage which is around 2.7V, so you need a minimum input voltage of ~5V.

Yep ;D Fix your input voltage (just use 2 batteries instead of 1) and all should be well. At ~200mW you're gonna be able to light cigarettes and DESTROY tape

 

[roebrandon69]

Okay so i took my module out of my host as it only holds one 3.6 volt battery and hooked it up with my universal ac/dc adaptor set at 6 volts and i am burning the hell out of everything. I had done this before but might not have had a good enough ground. So now i need to come up with a 6 volt power source the diameter of a aaa battery and its length or even a little shorter wouldn't hurt. Any ideas? I would like to keep this host as it is really small and cool with push button on rear cap. As i mentioned earlier its a red, snap on led flashlight about the size of a index finger.

Anyways, thanks for everybodys help


Skylight

 

[Swordofsalvation]

well
you can use button cell batteries, but they will have short lives...another option is to use two 1/2AA lithium batteries. Two of them equal one normal AA
http://www.batteriesandbutter.com/M...PROD&Product_Code=XL-050F&Category_Code=sa36v

 

[Doc]

Also; the LOC diode is 660nm which is only half as visibly bright to the human eye as 650nm.

This does not mean you should treat it with contempt though, 200mW is 200mW whether you can see it or not.