[UPDATE] V4 BlitzBuck, Available Soon!

[trag]

But you guys are heatsinking the ic, not the green chip.

 

[Wolfman29]

On the BBV3, the green chip is not the problem. It's only on the BBV4.

 

[trag]

Okay. Sorry, I'm confused because I have the v3.1 from cajunlasers and on that website it did mention the need to heatsink the green chip.

 

[Wolfman29]

Yup. The 3.1 requires heatsinking on that chip.

 

[justinjja]

So just an update: the green chip on the V4s that are now for sale should be heatsinked if you notice that the output current increases as the driver warms up.

This is part of the design to keep the board cheap and small. I am working on a different design to remove this effect and keep the same size and pricing.

Is the rectangular driver immune to this issue?
I dont see a green chip on mine...

 

[Wolfman29]

I should have specified. The rectangular driver is less susceptible if well heatsinked, but to ensure that this never happens, heatsink the black and silver rectangular component on the back side (near the diode pins).

 

[awillis2589]

These things are tiny! Great work man keep it up!! +1

 

[justinjja]

I bought a driver from here:
BlitzBuck V3.1 (Rectangular) Adjustable 1.2-3.1A - $19.99 : Cajunlasers Store
Im not able to get the current up to 2A,
I measured the resistor in series with the Pot and it was 2047ohms,
Based on your forumlas, isnt that the wrong resistor?

Or is there somewhere I am suposed to short across to change it to high mode like the other driver?

EDIT:
Found the pad I'm supposed to jump, Never mind.

 

[Zom-B]

I have a BlitzBuck 3.1 rectangular and I want to know what could have caused the IC to burn a hole in itself.

I was replacing the battery pack with something heavier, and I took a few 18650s (11.1V). I soldered them on a connector for 9v batteries, so the polarity couldn't have been wrong.

I also made a 2-position switch, and on the 2nd position it will place a 120Ohm resistor in series with the battery to make it fall out of regulation and make my 445 lase at 6mW instead of 1660mW. It's drawing 0.05A in this mode.

This all worked well on the external power supply. I even experimented with a 1K potentiometer to get to my choice of 120Ohm.

When I tried to power it from the batteries, nothing happened. It turned out that the battery clip was faulty and had a loose connection. When I fixed that and turned it on, I smelled burned IC.... Nothing is out of place and the fan rotated. The laser diode itself also survived. What's going on? Is there warranty?

 

[Wolfman29]

I have absolutely no idea what youdid to it =p I wish I could help troubleshoot. I'd have to take a look at your setup and take a look at the driver itself. Unfortunately, I don't offer warranties on the drivers - I sent Clif extra drivers so he could takte care of warranties. But I take it he probably doesn't have any spares anymore since he shut down. I might have a spare IC, so if you wanted to send it to me, I could probably take a look at it and fix it up.

 

[Zom-B]

there's an old close-up in the last post of my thread (see sig)
wait, i'll make new ones. how would you replace the IC? it's a difficult package.

 

[Wolfman29]

Oh - you have that version. I may have a replacement rectangular board somewhere that I could send you. I'll check after I eat breakfast. Gimme about 45 minutes?

EDIT: Alright, I have two boards of this version, but neither of them are perfectly functional. One is missing parts, etc. I can see if I can combine them to make one that works! Hah.

 

[Zom-B]

Edit: I don't need a board of the excact same type as replacement, just anything of the same price that can drive 445@1.7A from 11.1V (and isn't linear)

 

[Wolfman29]

Well, I'll send you the replacement board. May have to wait till tomorrow to get it fixed, though. I'll keep you updated via this thread?

 

[Zom-B]

Never mind.

It seems it was just karma or something and not a bad driver per se.

I could however still use a driver for whatever future projects I might have.

 

[Wolfman29]

Well, the driver looks like it may actually have a burn on it (from the pictures). But I would suggest you test it to see if the driver itself is misbehaving.