weedy diode?

[midnighttattoo]

I have recently cobbled together a m140 diode with a 1.8 amp X-Drive V6 fixed current driver its being supplied by a 8.4 volt supply
Im new to this but this 2w didode is bearly making a watt .. is it possible to half kill it
whathave i done wrong ?

 

[daguin]

An M series diode driven at 1.8A will NOT do 2W with a 3-element lens
1.5-1.7W (+-) is more realistic (maybe a bit more if you get an efficient diode)

This is assuming the 3-elment lens
Which lens are you using?
The lens choice will significantly affect the output

Another potential choke point might be how much current your 8.4V supply is supplying
Voltage alone will not satisfy the driver's needs

Peace,
dave

 

[midnighttattoo]

Thank you, Its using a three element lens as you guessed. the supply has two amps on tap so I suspect you hit both nails there.

 

[chipdouglas]

What laser power meter are you using.

 

[midnighttattoo]

i have a laserbee 2.5w usb.
Im new but i DO want to learn about all this stuff plus I am always suspicious of "guaranteed output"

 

[chipdouglas]

I don't think you half killed it. Make sure there is no breeze, ac or anything that can cool your thermopile. This can skew your reading. Next I'd say check all your solder joints to make sure there aren't any shorts.

Good luck

Michael

 

[daguin]

+1 for recognizing the importance of having an LPM so early in the hobby

Peace,
dave

 

[midnighttattoo]

Thanks gents.Ill be careful of the room temp.
I suspect my soldering will need to be looked at .I used to solder a lot with silver solder and acid flux but this is altogether different so Ive been struggling more with it .I watched a couple of videos but i think i need to buy a third spare hand and some super zoom eyes.

 

[daguin]

Soldering small laser parts is different than "normal" soldering

This method is also used when making wire-to-wire solders with small wire
Soldering diode pins takes a fraction of a second

Pre-tin BOTH the pins and the wire or solder pads

Use a small bit of flux on BOTH the pins and the wires/pads BOTH for the pre-tin and the final solder joint

I don't care if you use rosin core solder. USE THE FLUX!

Use a set of "extra hands" to align the pin with the wire/pad.

Make sure that they are side-by-side, touching, and secure

Get a small bit of solder on the tip of your soldering iron

"Touch" the melted solder on your iron to the pin to wire/pad joint

The solder will all flow together in a fraction of a second.

I recommend that you also use some shrink tubing to protect and reinforce the joint



You DO NOT "heat the joint" as with other solder jobs
You DO NOT place the solder source anywhere near the solder job

Only the melted solder on the tip of your iron should approach the pin to wire/pad joint

Practice the above procedure until you can get a good solder in a fraction of a second.

Peace,
dave

 

[midnighttattoo]

Soldering small laser parts is different than "normal" soldering

This method is also used when making wire-to-wire solders with small wire
Soldering diode pins takes a fraction of a second

Pre-tin BOTH the pins and the wire or solder pads

Use a small bit of flux on BOTH the pins and the wires/pads BOTH for the pre-tin and the final solder joint

I don't care if you use rosin core solder. USE THE FLUX!

Use a set of "extra hands" to align the pin with the wire/pad.

Make sure that they are side-by-side, touching, and secure

Get a small bit of solder on the tip of your soldering iron

"Touch" the melted solder on your iron to the pin to wire/pad joint

The solder will all flow together in a fraction of a second.

I recommend that you also use some shrink tubing to protect and reinforce the joint



You DO NOT "heat the joint" as with other solder jobs
You DO NOT place the solder source anywhere near the solder job

Only the melted solder on the tip of your iron should approach the pin to wire/pad joint

Practice the above procedure until you can get a good solder in a fraction of a second.

Peace,
dave

I WILL some handy tips there Thanks indeed.

 

[daguin]

I WILL some handy tips there Thanks indeed.

I just thought of an exception to the above
If you are soldering a wire or pin through a hole, you only pre-tin the wire/pin
You DO use a bit of flux in the hole
You have to let the iron sit a bit longer to heat the hole and allow the solder to flow
It still should be less than a couple of seconds

Peace,
dave

 

[midnighttattoo]

I can put a multi meter between joints but it wont tell me how it will perform under stress. Joints LOOK ok but is it worth the risk re dooing them to be safe?:undecided:
To be honest I was surprised the reading was so low but its not that important at this stage .It was mainly my first experiment with putting things together after reading some bits here .Ill keep trying and get there sometime in the future, I hope. Ive noticed that all I want to do is buy everything I see