Two lasers bit the dust this week. WTB 1.8a X-boost.[fixed]

[Down with Umbrella]

Heyyy,

As the title states I'm looking for an X-boost Capable of at least 1.8a.

1st casualty I was able to salvage was my M462 build. I had to replace the defective tail switch in the krypton groove when i got it. saturday it was working fine then it failed to turn on.
I have isolated the possible causes to a shorted tail cap or the cheap diode socket I used to connect the diode to the driver. m462 diode lives!
Right now it's run on an Xdrive with 2 16340s. I'd like to Simplify this and use one 18650. This will help solve my tail switch issue because 2 18350s are just to long. last time I used a c6 replacement switch which worked fine until I tried to cut the spring down to put less pressure on the battery cells.

2nd causality was a 500mits build in a S4 host. The rubber gasket on the bezel locked onto the heatsink and twisted the diode pins.
Silly mistakes. Preventable mistakes. I was able to salvage that flexdrive (set to 1.2a) and use it in another build I sold.

Soooo it wasn't a total loss. One diode, one tail cap. Maybe a diode socket. I'd like to get a better socket other than an ebay cheapie.

Thanks all,
Jefferson

 

[DTR]

Re: Two lasers bit the dust this week. WTB 1.8a X-boost.

Good that your M462 did not fall to the weeks luck.

On the 638nm do you mean a flexdrive? A microboost would blow the diode up as those are boost drivers where the flex is a buck that can work with the red diodes.

 

[Down with Umbrella]

Re: Two lasers bit the dust this week. WTB 1.8a X-boost.

On the 638nm do you mean a flexdrive? A microboost would blow the diode up as those are boost drivers where the flex is a buck that can work with the red diodes.

Yes, typo. I corrected the original post.
Fortunately I was able to desolder the diode, test the driver then resolder an m140 to it.

 

[Pi R Squared]

Re: Two lasers bit the dust this week. WTB 1.8a X-boost.

Soooo it wasn't a total loss. One diode, one tail cap. Maybe a diode socket. I'd like to get a better socket other than an ebay cheapie.

Two in one week, that's some bad luck. If you need to buy any sockets www.aixiz.net has some cheap ones, also Laser Diode Tools and Accessories has some and Meredith Instruments - The source for laser surplus has had them from time to time.

Alan

 

[Down with Umbrella]

Re: Two lasers bit the dust this week. WTB 1.8a X-boost.

I'm looking at this option for a socket. http://www.thorlabs.us/thorproduct.cfm?partnumber=S8060

 

[Marco Polo]

Re: Two lasers bit the dust this week. WTB 1.8a X-boost.

2nd causality was a 500mits build in a S4 host. The rubber gasket on the bezel locked onto the heatsink and twisted the diode pins.
Silly mistakes. Preventable mistakes. I was able to salvage that flexdrive (set to 1.2a) and use it in another build I sold.

Yup, did that to a laser earlier in the year, same host basically (C6). Not fun by any means, but thanks to DTR new parts were available and the laser is working again.

I managed to prevent or mostly eliminate rotation by putting some teflon tape or electrical tape around part of the heatsink, specifically the rim where the heatsink outer diameter goes from largest to smaller. I put the tape across the transition so that when that rim presses into its seat, the tape gives it some extra friction. If you use too much tape then the heatsink will be tight in the host and hard to remove, or it might not fit all way down at all. Just a thin band is needed, not nearly the entire width of the tape. I used a utility knife to trim the tape to the proper width after putting it on. Putting a thin band of tape around that rim is enough to discourage most rotation without getting the heatsink stuck.

Firmly pressing down on the lens adjuster while installing the front ring, especially final tightening, will further reduce or eliminate rotation.

Sorry about your lasers. Well done salvaging the parts for other projects; I hope you can replace those diodes soon!

 

[Down with Umbrella]

Re: Two lasers bit the dust this week. WTB 1.8a X-boost.

Those are great tips. I was surprised getting into this hobby how much I would use Teflon tape. What I end up doing was just removing the gasket on the bezel therefore it didn't have a good bite. On the next build Ill try the tape.

I ordered a better socket and the M462 laser should be back in business next week.
Also I got one of flaminpryo's 1.65a X-boost. Referencing the spectro info(rounding up to 1.7a) in the m462 thread the different in current(.15mA) will only result in 1nm difference. Negligible to me. Soo I can live with that.

Just to make sure I'm on the right page setting this driver I'm going to bridge the resistors to "range 2" connect to my test load and adjust the pot to 1.65v on my DMM? 1mV = 1mA. Test load selection: 2 diodes. I really don't want to toast this driver.

 

[Marco Polo]

Re: Two lasers bit the dust this week. WTB 1.8a X-boost.

Another thing to watch out for, especially if removing o-rings to reduce heatsink spinning, is how tight you have the lens adjuster. If it's tight enough, and the heatsink loose enough, adjusting focus can be enough to give it (and your diode leads) a good spin. It is easy to not notice that the heatsink is spinning if you don't expect it to.

Another one is that not all the C6 heatsinks are equal in length and without o-rings one was so loose that it could rattle back and forth in the host. I had to switch it to a different host that fit it better. Host dimensions can differ as well and result in the same issue.

I trust the heatsinks with my diode's temperature, but sadly I no longer trust them with my diode's leads. I favor adding friction to the heatsink on the underside, enough that I don't need to worry about this or that variation screwing things up.

 

[Down with Umbrella]

Re: Two lasers bit the dust this week. WTB 1.8a X-boost.

I know often times we leave these theads hanging but I would like to conclude the M462 krypton Groove is up and lasing, tail switch fixed, quality socket soldered, Xboost is happily installed and heatsinked....and as previously stated the mits 500 is dead but it was a lesson learned.
:thanks: