First time I turned it on it wasn't very bright..
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FrozenGate by Avery
Wtf - ???
- Thread starter Rockwings
- Start date
First time I turned it on it wasn't very bright..
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I'd say don't make assumptions as long as another power supply is used. Could be anything. diode, driver or battery. start with battery.
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Yep. We've established in the OP that there is at least some current getting through to the diode. First order of business is getting a suitable power supply. On the sheet that came with your GhostDrive2 I recommend using two 3.7 li-ion batteries. As mentioned above, a 9V battery just isn't going to cut it.
If that doesn't fix things, hook up a test load. This will tell you how much current you are getting to your diode from the driver.
Currently no current going through driver but there is current before it. Looks like a driver dud? I just got it today..
lazeerer
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Nope. It looks like a diode dud. If there is NO Load on the driver then it will not show any currant.
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Did you short the drive outputs before you hooked up the diode?
Blord
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I am positive that the diode is toasted. Even at 100mA it should lase and the dot will be bright. That is just a dim output of LED laserdiode.
Did you take all the precautions ?
-be aware of ESD
-measure the output of the driver on a testload.
-short the output of the driver before hooked up the diode.
-becareful of overheating the diode when you solder the wires on the pins.
sinner
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You will need another Laser Diode (LPC is mit$ub!sH! not sony) and 2x Lithium Batteries!!
It always happens when your doing your first diy and your lucky yours worked for a bit before it led'ed..
Way to GO bud!!
It always happens when your doing your first diy and your lucky yours worked for a bit before it led'ed..
Way to GO bud!!
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First, 9volts suck for laser diodes of more than 100mW - you need to eliminate that problem before you try to diagnose any other problems. 9volts have very little power capacity and their output voltage drops rapidly with any real load on them.
This has in the past caused people to improperly set the current on their drivers and wind up blowing their laser diodes. If you can't get lithium batteries you would want to use four AAs or C/D cells in series. (6v or more)
Once you have an appropriate power supply then you can measure the current being used by the driver. Since you are using a linear driver the current going in will be the same as the current going out to the diode. If that checks out, then all you need is a new laser diode. Make sure to short the output of the driver (with the power off) before soldering in the new diode so the capacitor is discharged and it won't pop your new diode.
This has in the past caused people to improperly set the current on their drivers and wind up blowing their laser diodes. If you can't get lithium batteries you would want to use four AAs or C/D cells in series. (6v or more)
Once you have an appropriate power supply then you can measure the current being used by the driver. Since you are using a linear driver the current going in will be the same as the current going out to the diode. If that checks out, then all you need is a new laser diode. Make sure to short the output of the driver (with the power off) before soldering in the new diode so the capacitor is discharged and it won't pop your new diode.
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But why is it that when I directly connect the 9v to the diode it works a small amount, but when I regulate it through the driver it doesn't work at all. Could the driver have overheated?
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You may have damaged the diode to the point that the current supplied by the driver is no longer enough to make the diode light up.
Connecting it directly to the battery allows the maximum power the battery can supply to the diode, think of it sort of as trying to fill a water balloon from a faucet running at full blast - you need the driver (faucet/valve) to regulate the flow so you don't just pop the balloon trying to fill it.
Connecting it directly to the battery allows the maximum power the battery can supply to the diode, think of it sort of as trying to fill a water balloon from a faucet running at full blast - you need the driver (faucet/valve) to regulate the flow so you don't just pop the balloon trying to fill it.
I connected an led with leads that I bought at radio shack to the output of the driver, hoping it would light up, but I don't think any power is going through the driver
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LEDs can't handle the current the driver is set to output, you may have popped the LED as well.
If it has a built in resistor and runs directly from the battery, then the driver may be dropping enough voltage to no longer light up the led when connected to the output. It's difficult to diagnose the problem without a proper power supply first.
If it has a built in resistor and runs directly from the battery, then the driver may be dropping enough voltage to no longer light up the led when connected to the output. It's difficult to diagnose the problem without a proper power supply first.