Red DIY DVD laser burner.

[Zarniwoop]

Is it a closed-can type? Take a close look at the window in the diode - maybe it got cracked.

 

[photongeek]

[quote author=photongeek link=1181635652/285#297 date=1194027207]Good news ;D. AND, bad news :'(.
I kept using less and less resistance until the diode drew 215ma. Ken, I think you said that if I was within 200-250, I was fine. At this value, it popped ANY color balloon instantly and lit matches almost instantly from five feet.. Very impressive! BUT, I had this thing laid out on my bench with wires exposed and probes connected to my meter. Then the bare (stupid, stupid, stupid. I'll never learn!) leads and/or probes crossed and now the laser no longer functions. The Dorcy supply still works which rules that out so I'm assuming I blew another diode.
Do you guys agree that the crossed leads probably killed the diode? What is the duty cycle at 215ma draw? Thanks guys!

You are correct in that crossed pins killed you diode. I did it just last night myself. I hook the negative up to the battery and then go to hook the positive. I use nice little probe hooks. well I always extend the hook on the positive a little to large and it comes in contact with the negative. SPARK. every time I've done that, I've killed the diode.

At 215ma with your heatsink you should have gotten upwards to 3minutes run time without needing to turn it off.
[/quote]
Thanks Ken. I am waiting for a replacement from SenKat. I WILL be more careful this time.

 

[FokoF]

Mmmmmmh :-/ closed can? the diode doesn't seem to be damaged.

 

[Kenom]

well, shy of seeing pictures to see what's going on and what your talking about it's impossible to diagnose your problem there fokoP.

 

[chimo]

[quote author=chimo link=1181635652/285#298 date=1194060986][quote author=photongeek link=1181635652/285#297 date=1194027207] What is the duty cycle at 215ma draw? Thanks guys!

You are using a LM317?  That's continuous wave - i.e. 100% duty cycle.[/quote]
No Chimo.  I'm just using the stock Dorcy driver with cap and resistor. I just wanted to know how long it was safe (for the LD) to leave this thing on at a current draw of 215ma.[/quote]

Oh, I gotcha now. That's a tough question to answer - it will depend on how effective your heatsinking is. I have one that's set for about 200mA and I don't mind it running for a few minutes (of course, I have some spare LDs ). Some have fired them up for long runs (10s of minutes or hours) - see some of Hemlock Mike's or Kenom's posts. Good luck!

 

[FokoF]

Here you go :

 

[FokoF]

Sorry about the quality

 

[Skribblez887]

I recently bought the Dorcy 1 watt 2-AA flashlight for my laser.
I need a little help with this. I was wondering how I'd be able remove the LED and insert the laser module.
Product #41-4255 on the Dorcy website.

 

[Kenom]

in order to remove the diode from this you have to jam something from below pretty hard to dislodge the driver board and light.  I've yet to salvate the light and I've torn apart 3 of these.  but these are the "inspiration" for my new laser barrel design.  I like these lights a lot.  I had to do a lot of machining on this though to get it suitable for a laser the way I like em!  which is fine for me.  Lemme know if you need help I've played with this baby a lot!

You can find my thread concerning this light here: http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1190042606

 

[Skribblez887]

How easy is it to push out the driver board? Because I'm too scared that I'll break it...

 

[Kenom]

it's pretty simple to push out if you have something long enough and small enough in diameter.

Just break it. You prolly won't be able to salvage it cause the force needed to push it out is enough to damage components.

 

[jayhawker08]

My dorcy mini has been working great until now. It lights up bright for a second and then dims. the battery is only giving out 2.8V. I'm guessing that this isn't enough voltage for the circuit? should i get a new battery (dang, they're expensive!)?

 

[Kenom]

YOu can get cr123's for about a $1 a peice if you go to www.batterystation.com and buy in bulk. or you can get rechargable cr123's and recharge them when they are dead.

 

[photongeek]

OK Ken, I finally got this thing working (so far :-/). I'm using the 3.9 Ohm resistor and the LD's drawing 215 ma. I'm also using the tantalum cap. The external heatsink is not exactly what I was shooting for because of my lack of a proper lathe but it seems to be doing the job.
A black balloon popped instantly from ten feet away. Matches ignited in one second or less at five feet. If the LD lasts, I'm happy. I wanted to stick with your technique because it seems to be the easiest way to go. All that was needed was the proper resistor, cap and heatsink. So far, so good!

 

[Kenom]

Excellent job!! Need to drive that Aixiz in there a bit deeper to have it flush. It's only asthetics tho.

 

[woop]

well that was $35 well spent.
i bought a pioneer 112D and powered the laser while it was in the lens assembly, worked fine.
took the laser out and put it in a module and soldered wires. tried it again (same current) and i had a poor excuse for an LED.
WTF?
i soldered a wire to short the leads against static and took care not to solder it while it wasn't in some sort of heat sink. is it possible that they are that sensitive to heat? laser diodes always end bad with me.