Beginning laser projector build and first post, all advice appreciated

[catalanjo]

......... so I'm thinking I may have blown it...

On a constant current supply with regulation pot you wouldn't expect a change in voltage unless the load resistance goes up or down.

You seem to be using a current limiting supply ( Mean well ELN-60-9) to drive another current limiting supply (LD drive card).

This is quite likely to give strange results.

The PSU which supplies the drive card should just supply BOOT! the current limiting should be done only by the driver card.

Try substituting the mitsu for a 12v car bulb to make sure PSU & drive card are working properly together (which I doubt)....
....before giving up on the LD.

You will probably need a different PSU with NO current limiting.

Good Luck

Cheers

[tej2795]

Thank you for this thoughtful answer!

I forgot to mention, the new drive card I've been using is the Simpledrive II from X-wossee (ebay user). It's a 2 channel 3A/channel drive card.
I managed to get the blue https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_6...QVE/edit?pli=1 up and running, but the red had no output at all. I'm guessing the problem is still the same though (2 components limiting current).

I'm not sure what you mean by BOOT, is this voltage?

My max threshold current is 220mA (blue) and 210mA (red). My Operating voltage for the blue is 3.8-5.6V and for red is 1.9-2.6V.
Does this mean i need a power supply with at least 430mA and 5V?

PS: The green and blue looks sweet with combined beams

[catalanjo]

@ boot .... sorry limey slang! means OOMPH = no subtle limiting = a bit more volts and a bit more amps than you need !

@ "Does this mean i need a power supply with at least 430mA and 5V? " ...... BINGO! (better still 600ma and 9v)

You seem to have a bit of oversensitivity in your PSU which is really designed to stop LEDS from doing this

It doesn't want to supply too much current (Amps) to the drive card and is desperately trying to regulate the regulator

PSU needs to be stoopid ...... and cheaper !

Only thing that's worrying me is "The green and blue looks sweet with combined beams" & " It's a 2 channel 3A/channel drive card. "

1Green + 1,Blue = 2channel .... +1Red = ....never mind my maths were never any good ..

Cheers

[tej2795]

The green is a module from Goldenstar lasers.
I would love to avoid ordering the power supply off the internet if i can. I've only got a few more days to work on this project unfortunately.
Anyone know of a cheap appliance/electronic that has a 9V wall adapter with at least 500mA?? (or another solution to my dilima)

edit: I ended up just getting this http://www.vetco.net/catalog/product...rds=9v%20500mA

[hitekvoop]

If you get bored and want to spend 3 hours on the road, I've got a bunch of lasers up here at the ol homestead...

[catalanjo]

Cheap % cheerful .... probably the cheapest diagnostic tool you ever purchase !

If that doesn't work then you may have to start worrying about the diode itself ....but you have a good chance that it will.

You might want to get a socket (or extension lead) so you can unplug the little bugger from your setup !

Good luck !

Cheers

[Draco]

I tried a current limiting supply intended for leds on a laser and well it led to me killing the pump diode in a 300mw laser pointer and on top of that i could not get the C-mount diode holder out of the housing, it's like the threads welded together, i have seen the same happen with stainless steel, say a stainless screw being used in the same alloy block and then you can't get the screw back out, i have been looking for a c-mount host i can remount the optics stack back in, it made me so upset i bought a 12 cheapy lab laser that has a range of 250-650mw then built a supply for it with dc/dc converters so i can run on battery once again but i want to fit the other one, it was vreat with a scanning mirror and a foggy night

[Draco]

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...c-dc-converter

Karma denying me of a portable not so deathy death ray , well we shall see


kinda off topic but i LOVE Lambda power supplies, now owned by TDK, one of my past employers refused to use them because of the cost, even thought it was a damned heart bypass machine, the supplies they used kept exploding (literally with a nice flame out the fan slots) The problem forced them to redesighn part of the power supply and guess what, when they went to Lambda the problem was gone, in my view i would rather buy a use Lambda/Vicor/Cosel and a few others over mean well, i don't have any data to suggest they are unreliable but just the name puts be off, "sorry we blew up your product but we meant well" lol

I have a Lambda, 2 Cosel and 2 shindengen i pulled from equipment over 10 years ago and they still run great. Vicor is outside of most budgets unless you get them as surplus, i use one to drive my IR bar laser diode before the controller was in a house fire, no i use a Glassman Europe lvp 7.5 80 to run it, that was a beat of a switcher it was a meracel worthy of the pope that it started working on me, after the house fire i had to tear it apart and hand clean every thingm it was covered in aluminum powder on the inside, bright flake, the type used in rocket trails to make them bright or in sparklers, i had a bag that basically popped when the fireman's hose hit it and coated eveny thing in my kitchen in conductive aluminum

Back on glassman, they have great product support i have a 30+ year old regulated 0 to 30 KV DC power supply with broken meters, they custom made me new meters for it.

[NobleGas]

I may be wrong, but the pictures of you measuring the current appear to show the 2 probes applied to 2 points on the driver board; the meter should be in series with the LD, unless you're trying to measure the driver current into a short circuit.

[catalanjo]

Hadn't noticed that detail in the pics
But I do believe your right after looking at the enlarged version.
That would explain the weird current reading but not why the LD doesn't light up
He couldn't have had the tester points like that the whole time I don't think, although by measuring like that as you point out the drive board would be totally shorted out which it wouldn't like very much but it should have survived since it appears to have drastically limited the current.
Unless of course the "I did not have an analog signal coming into the driver board." still applies
In which case all would be explained ! ........ still not a very good idea to current limit a current limiter! ... although that might have saved the life of his multimeter (or at least it's fuse)
Spose we will have to wait till he gets back to find out

Cheers

PS. tej2795 do you understand OK what "measuring in series" (as suggested above by our Noble Gaseous friend) actually means ?
If not please do not make any more current readings until someone explains this.