X drive questions.

[Taylor21990]

Hello, I'm new to building lasers. Just bought an xdrive 1.8a. Also have the m140 diode. I don't have a multimeter and I'm wondering if I can hook it up to the diode and give it 2 16340's in series and be good? I do know about a dummy test load, buy llike I said I don't have a multimeter. Holy cow I never thought lasers would be so complicated, but so addicting! Plz help. Appreciate your time!

 

[paul1598419]

Yes, I have built many of these lasers using the 1.8 amp X-Drive drivers and new/unused M140 diodes. You will need to use two Li-ion batteries as the input voltage needs to be at least 1.5 volts higher than the forward voltage of the laser diode. You can get by using two 16340s, but get good ones at 700 mAh and not some Chinese knockoffs. Make certain you get the polarity right on the diode too. If you use a single element short focal length asphere you should get 2+ watts out. Even the cheap Chinese aspheres at $8.00 will work for this.

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi, Paul is correct and on the money with this diode , and yes make sure your wires are connected to the correct pins. You will also need a host to house the diode , driver and lens. Here are a few pics of the pins with the polarity indicated.
Rich

 

[Taylor21990]

Thanks guys! The potentiometer on this is turned all the way left(counter-clockwise) should I leave it there or turn it halfway between? It only turns a certain amount both ways. I do have a host with an axis module with the g2 lens. And are the xdrives robust? I mean I spent 30 bucks on one so I'd hope so.

 

[paul1598419]

Thanks guys! The potentiometer on this is turned all the way left(counter-clockwise) should I leave it there or turn it halfway between? It only turns a certain amount both ways. I do have a host with an axis module with the g2 lens. And are the xdrives robust? I mean I spent 30 bucks on one so I'd hope so.

What? I have only seen one X-Drive that ever had a pot on it. Those were the continuous ground X-Drives. They haven't been available for more than three years. Do you have a photograph or link to what you are calling an X-Drive. All the 1.8 amp drivers I've seen are not adjustable. Even the continuous ground X-Drives never claimed an absolute driver current as they WERE adjustable.

 

[Taylor21990]

It's the sxd from dtr's laser shop

 

[paul1598419]

I looked at the SXD on his website and there are four photographs of the driver. But, they are of two different drivers, with the two middle photos of a different driver to show how to use TTL with these. The top and bottom photos are of a regular SXD driver set to an non-adjustable current. Maybe there are now two different SXD drivers and one is adjustable. I really don't know why he posted those photos like he did.

OMG! Don't leave it like that! You need the diode pressed into a module and your soldering needs to be much cleaner that it looks in your photograph.

 

[Taylor21990]

Ya I just looked too and noticed that. Weird. I have 2 more coming in the mail so we'll see what ones they are. I'll get back to you on it. I just put in the order and that's what I got.

 

[paul1598419]

I edited my post after seeing your photograph. Do not use it as shown. The laser diode needs to be pressed into a module and only then should be soldered to the driver. You can just cut the case pin off if this is an M140 diode. Keep your pins as short as possible and use much less solder.

 

[Taylor21990]

This was just a random diode I had laying around. I posted another thread about how to tell if a diode was bad or a driver was bad. Because everything I hook up to this is really dim. And it's really frustrating. I have tried to build a lot of lasers and to no avail.

 

[Taylor21990]

I normally do have them in modules and the soldering is way cleaner, lol. I just lost my patience.

 

[paul1598419]

Yeah, if you are firing these up with no module or heat sink on the diode I would expect them to fail. I use the copper modules available from DTR to press my diodes into. You can get cheaper nickel plated brass modules for about $2.00 each from China, but I prefer the copper over these myself. Even then you need it in a heat sink as the module won't carry away heat fast enough from higher power diodes. look at some build threads here to see what is needed.

 

[RedCowboy]

Geezus that's bad, looks like you may have involved the resistor to the right, make sure it's not soldered into your pin/output.

Also your driver is an SXD ALSO YOUR POLARITY LOOKS BACKWARDS.........LOOKS LIKE YOU SOLDERED THE NEG PIN TO THE POS OUTPUT...........is this a joke ?

Yea you should press your diode into a module 1st then solder, unsolder it and press it into a module or just buy one already set up from DTR

 

[Taylor21990]

Yeah, if you are firing these up with no module or heat sink on the diode I would expect them to fail. I use the copper modules available from DTR to press my diodes into. You can get cheaper nickel plated brass modules for about $2.00 each from China, but I prefer the copper over these myself. Even then you need it in a heat sink as the module won't carry away heat fast enough from higher power diodes. look at some build threads here to see what is needed.

Geezus that's bad, looks like you may have involved the resistor to the right, make sure it's not soldered into your pin/output.

Also your driver is an SXD

View attachment 67022

It isn't. It's just the angle

 

[Taylor21990]

Yeah, if you are firing these up with no module or heat sink on the diode I would expect them to fail. I use the copper modules available from DTR to press my diodes into. You can get cheaper nickel plated brass modules for about $2.00 each from China, but I prefer the copper over these myself. Even then you need it in a heat sink as the module won't carry away heat fast enough from higher power diodes. look at some build threads here to see what is needed.

Ya, I have a couple of the silver looking ones. And a dozen brass and copper ones. I'm normally very consciences on heat sinking. This was a test diode. Didn't care just wanted to see the brightness

 

[Coonie]

If you feel you're losing your patience then you have to walk away from the project and come back later otherwise you mess up like that soldering job. It's really bad. You set yourself up for failure in this state of mind and it's not worth the time and money wasted.