Recent content by cappernicus

That would make sense based on the power measurements I graphed from DTR's data, even though he uses a G2 lens, but using my old laserbee meter and the 3-element lens I wasn't seeing that kind of efficiency. I guess my meter is reading low and needs recalibrated. I've been hoping to get a...

Thanks for the responses. I usually try not to push them to their max, but I do like to know where the realistic limits are. With this one I was hoping to hit 100mW with a standard 3-element lens but it looks like that's going to be too high. Since I asked, I looked at DTR's string of images...

What do people recommend to be the max running current for these? I've looked everywhere and can't seem to find any good information. I can't even find the wiki that someone put up years ago for the various diodes. In particular, if anyone has killed one what current was it running at and in...

I think what you'll find buried in these 18 pages is that the creators made availability claims based on actual legitimate estimates (probably optomistic as is commonly the case) which were then foiled by unforseen difficulties and roadblocks (as well as new features continually being added on...

I know what he is saying. I'm not stupid. I understand that concept very well, as I am not a beginner to laser building. You don't understand why it's necessary because either you haven't thought it through, or I've done a poor job of explaining it. What he said is normally true. IF the driver...

Sorry, I should probably explain more... Because of the way I am building the host, the battery has to be oriented so that the positive end is at the front of the host (diode end), and the driver has to go at the back end of the host behind the battery. Unless I run wires down the length of the...

There is a reason it needs to be continuous positive. It has nothing to do with the diode pins, but rather the specific way I am building the laser.

I've been gone for a while so I'm kind out of the loop with what's happened in the last couple years. After a good couple hours searching I did not find any useful information, so here's the thing: I have an m140 445 that I'm working on. Because of the way I'm making the case it has to have a...

Igor, are you also checking the spot profile to see how the output changes as it degrades? It might provide useful info to others who have them, but it might also be interesting just to see...

Someone else asked this question earlier and no one answered so I'll ask it again. Which is harder on a diode, constant operation or pulsed? Igor said (correct me if I am mistaken) he thought it was the ON cycles that hurt it more, so running a diode for 100 hours in 1 minute cycles would...

That's ok. I wish I could contribute more but I don't know how accurate my meter is. Are you planning on including the secondary diodes from the common sleds? Any IR diodes?

I am not sure, but I think the diodes that emit a little bit of white are 980nm. I have observed the same effect with some that I have. A better way to do that though would be to point it at a piece of white paper, keeping your face far enough away that the reflected light will not harm your...

Copper has better thermal conduction than aluminum, but aluminum is usually fine. What matters more than the type of metal is how good the connection is to the heat sink(press-fit, soldered, heat sink grease, etc.). The numbers that you mention will not yield any useful information as far as we...

Interesting... The tester I built uses a lavadrive as its core, but it has a 1k pot, a 10k pot, and 2 or 3 10k resistors. It works like yours except with pots instead of switches, and my multimeter plugs into it in series with the laser diode for live power readings. It has three different...

Personally, I don't want to ever have to replace a diode unless I am upgrading it, which means it needs to last at least 50-100 hours. And I don't observe duty cycles, so I run my lasers for 10-20 minutes occasionally which tends to go through hours pretty quickly. My point is, not everyone...