What the heck are these things?

[curto]

hey guys i want to make a laser blah blah blah. i went looking for a diode in my old dvd burner however now im starting to think its not a dvd burner. these two things are what i found but.. they dont look like diodes.. do they?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh9_53_XzKA

 

[Eudaimonium]

They are diodes. Difficult to tell, but I'd guess your red diode is the flat plastic type of casing, and thus unusable for our needs here.

You need a different burner. There are a few models known to contain appropriate diodes. One is LPC-815 sled, you can buy that at any laser shop, for like $10.

 

[HIMNL9]

^ sorry, but better to test them, before discard.

If you remember, old DVD burners had the IR laser in flat version, so maybe the red one can be the good one

 

[Eudaimonium]

^ sorry, but better to test them, before discard.

If you remember, old DVD burners had the IR laser in flat version, so maybe the red one can be the good one

Ooh, I didn't know that! I have never seen anybody having IR diodes in flat version posted so far, and I have not come across any, so I presumed that, even if there are some IR flat diodes, he is certanly unlikely to find one...

But yes, I agree, they should be tested first.

 

[HIMNL9]

Wait, i've looked better at those pics ..... is just my impression, or they looks both flat-type ones ?

The one in the left, it must be a flat-type case, cause otherwise it's impossible to fit it in that heatsink ..... the one on the right, i was thinking it was round, but looking better the second pic, i'm not sure ..... it don't look as the front of a standard 5.6mm diode, also open can .....

Anyway, i can be wrong, it's difficult to say it clearly seeing it only through the heatsink hole, and the back is hidden from the pcb part ..... it's just an impression .....

 

[curto]

hey guys thanks for the replies, but how can you just test these things without knowing what they are? dont i need to know what they are or at least some details about them so i know what resistor to use and voltage etc?

 

[Bionic-Badger]

If you knew what they were there would be no need to test them in the first place. I would just assume they're pinned the same as other reds and see if it works with the same voltage the reds use, and increase the current until it lases, or does not.

 

[curto]

ah ok, no worries, thanks

 

[HIMNL9]

If you have a DMM, you can use the diode test position (or the 200 ohm position) for test them ..... be sure that the pins are not short-circuited from the PCB, and check them as a normal led.

The red one, in one position, will light faint in red (less than a low power red led, no problems looking the chip, cause the current is way too low for lase ..... only the chip become red) ..... the IR one can lit extremely faint in dark red too, but is much more difficult to see it, so you can discriminate the red one easily.