I know this is an older thread, but just thought I'd chime in. Any news on replacing a row of laser diodes in the projector?
I think you 'll have to use regular 1N400x diodes rather than LEDs to replace them. The pulsed current through these laser diodes (measured by krazer) is nearly 1.5 AMPs. LEDs' typical If (forward current) is 20-30 mA. Maybe 50-100 mA if pulsed. Put 1.5 amps through an LED and you get a great flashbulb.
The Vf (forward voltage drop) of the 445nM laser diodes at that current is close to 5 volts. So, you would need about 7 diodes in series (at .7V drop across each silicon 1N400x) to get 4.9V to be the same as the Vf of the laser diode.
You might be able to use one of the Luxeon or similar very high brightness LEDs. They have a Imax (max forward current) of nearly 1A. The Vf at this current is about 3.7-4.2 Volts.
Standard high brightness (blue, white, green) LEDs have a specified Imax of only 30mA, and the Vf at this current is 3.2-3.9Volts.
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Greg
Those blue photons are the prettiest.