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broken 445nm driver

Joined
Dec 31, 2012
Messages
905
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10 or more years ago, I bought this laser pointer from BLord on this board. It is a 445nm assembly built around diodes harvested from a popular (at the time) Cathio Projector. It was among my favorites, and possibly the most lethal of pointers. Sadly, I broke it, by putting the battery in backwards. Note to self: "remember, usually it's case negative"

I'm seeking advice and/or tips on how to repair this. On my TODO list, is to disassemble it, and buzz out the driver board making a schematic. I seem to recall it used SMD parts. My SMD kung-fu has improved, over the years, and I'm ready to look at repairing this.

I'm guessing an input cap or driver IC has failed, resulting from that backwards 18650 battery. Is there a better way to go in repairing this pointer? Or do I need to do the dirty work, tear it down, analyze the circuit, and begin replacing parts?

IMG_4948-resample.JPG

As a side note, over the years, I have collected three of those cathio projectors with a hope of making more of these, or having them made by another.
 





10 or more years ago, I bought this laser pointer from BLord on this board. It is a 445nm assembly built around diodes harvested from a popular (at the time) Cathio Projector. It was among my favorites, and possibly the most lethal of pointers. Sadly, I broke it, by putting the battery in backwards. Note to self: "remember, usually it's case negative"

I'm seeking advice and/or tips on how to repair this. On my TODO list, is to disassemble it, and buzz out the driver board making a schematic. I seem to recall it used SMD parts. My SMD kung-fu has improved, over the years, and I'm ready to look at repairing this.

I'm guessing an input cap or driver IC has failed, resulting from that backwards 18650 battery. Is there a better way to go in repairing this pointer? Or do I need to do the dirty work, tear it down, analyze the circuit, and begin replacing parts?

View attachment 81761

As a side note, over the years, I have collected three of those cathio projectors with a hope of making more of these, or having them made by another.
I've got parts once you break it down and see what's inside. It's likely the IC that burned up when you installed the battery backwards. I could do the repair work for you too if need be.
 


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