What happened to this laser?

[DTR]

It is definitely LED.

Quick question are these connections soldered together or just twisted and taped together?

 

[jayrob]

This kit:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f64/fs-stainless-steel-18650-kit-polished-perfect-445-a-52159.html


I use AixiZ 445 glass lens..
I cant remember did I short the drivers connections... Stupid me.
And I only soldered two wires together, I didnt solder the diode directly..


And the laser could burn matches etc - but Imo it wasnt outputting ~1.2W
Then just one morning, the dot has turned to that (picture in OP) :cryyy:

Now the laser wont even turn on...


@Eudaimonium
Alright, I'll make a picture of the build soon.

I will check the connections. Thanks

Edit:
Okay heres some pictures of the build

It goes like that

Here is my driver pill soldered to diode (sorry for bad quality)

Everything looked okay from inside.

One other question. Did you test the driver before you connected your diode?

If you did, that also may be what happened to your build. This is a common mistake. It can damage the driver, as well as charge the cap. And it can damage the diode as you connect it...

 

[Blord]

The 445nm diode is case neutral diode. This kind is the easiest diode to build a laser. Your electrical scheme should look like this. You also have to connect diode minus to diode case pin.
And did you solder the contacts between the diode and the driver ? Any loose contact will create spikes in voltages and that is not good for the diode.

 

[TuhOz]

Quick question are these connections soldered together or just twisted and taped together?

Soldered, I just add some tape to avoid shorts.

One other question. Did you test the driver before you connected your diode?

No, I added the battery after soldering diode to driver and settings everything up

@Blord,

Thanks for picture.


Well, this was my first destroyed diode. And I know it won't be the last one neither.

Is there any advices how I can prevent this from happening again? Like, I still have no idea why it led'd.


Thanks everyone for help!
:thanks:



Btw, DTR, I think I will have to buy something from you soon... hehe.

Edit: And when I add the new diode, can I just replace the old one? E.g should I short the driver's wires before soldering the diode?

 

[DTR]

And when I add the new diode, can I just replace the old one? E.g should I short the driver's wires before soldering the diode?

Yes it should be that easy.

 

[Eudaimonium]

There is always a possibility it's a dud diode.

My first ever 445nm diode died when it was given a nice 1.0A. Just shut right off, not even LED emission. Dunno, maybe crystal failed on the inside or something.

Imagine the amount of hopes and dreams ruined.

Still, it would be a good idea to test load the driver just in case, when you get your new diode. Also, add a capacitor on the output, can't hurt to have an extra one on board.

 

[Jollyrajer73]

should I short the driver's wires before soldering the diode?

You should always short the driver before making any connections between the driver and diode just as DTR and Jayrob said its a very unfortunate and very common mistake. Good luck with your next diode! :beer:

 

[Eudaimonium]

Uhh technically, shorting the output leads of a DC/DC boost driver is actually kind of a moot point.

If there's any charge in the capacitor, it means the driver was, at some point, powered without a load and is now destroyed, more precisely: the regulation capability is destroyed, and next time you connect anything to it, it may or may not go wild and destroy the diode anyway, cap shorted or not.

What you really need to do, is to test load the driver and see if it's acting up or not.

 

[geeo]

Uhh technically, shorting the output leads of a DC/DC boost driver is actually kind of a moot point.

If there's any charge in the capacitor, it means the driver was, at some point, powered without a load and is now destroyed, more precisely: the regulation capability is destroyed, and next time you connect anything to it, it may or may not go wild and destroy the diode anyway, cap shorted or not.

What you really need to do, is to test load the driver and see if it's acting up or not.

I thought these things could store power for a while and that was why they are discharged this way using the leads?

So when using a test load, you are saying that as long as you disconnect the power source before the load any capacitor on the driver will already have discharged?

 

[Eudaimonium]

That's exactly what I'm saying.

Test loading is the only way to know for 100% sure if the driver is good or not.
If it's acting up, there's no point in shorting it's caps because you'll never be connecting the diode to it anyway.

And yes, they CAN store power for a while. But if there's power in them, they are already dead. That's my point.

 

[DTR]

But if there's power in them, they are already dead. That's my point.

Hey Eud are you sure about the instant death when running with no load. I have had quite a few times where say I am setting one up and one of the output leads wernt completely secure in the clips for the test load and they pulled out or it had a bad connection or whatever while powered and thinking I had just killed them and they survived.

Now I have seen them die as well when running without a load as well but I always assumed it may need to run for some unknown amount of time before it kills it.

 

[Eudaimonium]

Hey Eud are you sure about the instant death when running with no load. I have had quite a few times where say I am setting one up and one of the output leads wernt completely secure in the clips for the test load and they pulled out or it had a bad connection or whatever while powered and thinking I had just killed them and they survived.

Now I have seen them die as well when running without a load as well but I always assumed it may need to run for some unknown amount of time before it kills it.

Which drivers were those that survived?

Was it MicroBoost or else, that had an overvoltage protection?

But if the driver does not have any sort of overvoltage protection, yeah well they won't be destroyed in one microsecond, but still, it's quite likely that the open circuit is far longer-lasting than that.

In short, yes they do need to be running some small amount of time on OC, but that usually IS the case.

And STILL, my point about test-loading first if unsure, stands.

And preferably, with an Oscilloscope, to get a nice view of the situation on the output. Even DMM is sometimes too slow to make you aware that something's not right with the output.

I also had one of the LM3410X boost drivers OCed, and later it turned out to be working fine by all measurements... I still made a replacement to use in that laser, because you can never be sure when it decides to die. It's a very delicate electronic circuit.

 

[TuhOz]

Thanks everyone for help! :beer:

Ordered a new diode, lets see how it goes

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Alright, so I bought Jayrob's Stainless Steel 18650 -kit + a diode w/ leads from DTR.

I soldered the drivers leads to diodes, and then I put the laser together. Host was Aurora SH-032.

I hooked up the laser with a cheapy 3000mah rated 18650, but the dot was dim, and it couldnt turn on always.

The dot got suddenly dimmer, after some time, and now it looks like this

I'd be more than happy to perform spectroscopy of it; I could tell virtually instantaneously if the laser diode turned into an expen$ive blue LED or if it still lases; if it does still lase, one or more beam cross-sectional analyses could also be performed in order to determine if the diode has developed dark line defects (generally attributed to facet damage) or other irregularities not present in the beams generated by 445nm laser diodes cut from the same cloth if you will.

I'd be willing to perform this service at no charge other than a prepaid return postage label.

Please PM me for my address if you wish these analyses performed on your poor little laser.

 

[DTR]

Which drivers were those that survived?

Was it MicroBoost or else, that had an overvoltage protection?

But if the driver does not have any sort of overvoltage protection, yeah well they won't be destroyed in one microsecond, but still, it's quite likely that the open circuit is far longer-lasting than that.

In short, yes they do need to be running some small amount of time on OC, but that usually IS the case.

And STILL, my point about test-loading first if unsure, stands.

And preferably, with an Oscilloscope, to get a nice view of the situation on the output. Even DMM is sometimes too slow to make you aware that something's not right with the output.

I also had one of the LM3410X boost drivers OCed, and later it turned out to be working fine by all measurements... I still made a replacement to use in that laser, because you can never be sure when it decides to die. It's a very delicate electronic circuit.

They were flexdrives. I agree he should definitely test the driver which I told him as well when he purchased another diode the other day.:beer:

 

[jayrob]

Hey Eud are you sure about the instant death when running with no load. I have had quite a few times where say I am setting one up and one of the output leads wernt completely secure in the clips for the test load and they pulled out or it had a bad connection or whatever while powered and thinking I had just killed them and they survived.

Now I have seen them die as well when running without a load as well but I always assumed it may need to run for some unknown amount of time before it kills it.

It's not always instant death, I have also accidentally powered a FlexDrive without a load. But just for a second. (happened a couple of times with no damage)

But it says in the specs that it will damage it. So probably if for more than a second, it could damage it.

But about shorting the leads. I recommended this because it's just a good rule to get into the habit of doing no matter what driver you have...