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Laser is Super Underpowered

Quetzal

Quetzal

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Okay, here's the story:

I recently ordered 1W Laer Module from eBay, and, when it arrived and I hooked it up to a power source, the laser was bright, but had NO burning power AT ALL. I put a candle wick right next to the aperture for 30 seconds, and it wasn't even warn to the touch afterwards!

After that, I put my hand in front of the laser beam. NOTHING.

Have I been cheated, or was this just a bad module, or did I do something wrong?

PS- I did focus the laser
 





That came from DTR so it's safest to assume you're doing something wrong. What kind of power source did you hook it up to?
 
i`m hoping you have just forgot to mention that the driver you had was powered by your 3 AAA`s ??
 
Yeah, the driver is a microboost (see the product description)

And the batteries are fresh, brand new
 
3 AAA on direct drive give hardly 600mA .. driver can't magically increase that. Use 3 AA .. there should be some improvement. Still it might not be enough.
Still those 600mA (roughly 500mW) does burn hand ..
 
what would give me sufficient power?

(like the full recommended amount)

There is NO WAY that this thing is putting out 500mW. Like I said, I put my hand in front of it, and nothing. not even a little extra heat. nada

EDIT-

Yes, I know putting your hand in front is dangerous, but I only did it after seeing that it did NOTHING AT ALL to several pieces of paper, a candle, and a sparkler.
 
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We mostly use Li-ion batteries .. they can unload a lot higher currents than alkalines.
Use AA instead of AAA. Or use two packs of 3 AAA connected in parallel (2x3). Or use Li-ion. I think Ni-MH rechargeables should also provide higher current, but I'm just guessing here. Lion is better then NiMH which is better then alkaline which is better then zinc-carbon. Also bigger cell - more current. 2 cells in parallel - same voltage, more current.
I used 3 alkaline AAA (fresh Duracells, see my sig) to get 500mW .. but that was direct drive, which is the most effective way (but it has some risks on the other hand). How 3 AAAs would work with driver, I have no idea.
 
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I personally would not take that reccomendation to put a black spot on your hand seriously, in fact if you get the power correct doing that would at least get you a nice blister, I would take the advice of the other members and find a proper way to power your laser, using dry cell batteries is not going to have enough power, voltage yes, amps no, good luck
 
RCpilot said:
I personally would not take that reccomendation to put a black spot on your hand seriously, in fact if you get the power correct doing that would at least get you a nice blister, I would take the advice of the other members and find a proper way to power your laser, using dry cell batteries is not going to have enough power, voltage yes, amps no, good luck
Click to expand...

Yes I agree. I was being sarcastic.
 
I am glad you meant it saracastically, but he already stated that he tested the laser on his hand, when someone has already stated they did something foolish I am afraid reinforcing it to them could make them think it was a good idea.
 
I'm not stupid enough to start TRYING to get a burn on my hand.

But thanks for the advice about Li-Ions.

Okay, I just tried a 123A Lithium that I have (fairly new), and the laser was flickering, almost as if the current was AC. It flickered about 2x per second, VERY regularly.

If that's the wrong battery, then what kind should I use?
 
Flickering is either battery, or overheating driver. I bet on the battery. All these are still no indication that something is wrong with the module. Those are just common problems.
It's interesting, how without cheap and powerful Li-ion cells all this 445nm mania would be not so spectacular. It just all came together nicely.
 
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