Simpledrive (5) issues.

[Finale]

Thanks for running the tests. This is very bad news for me actually, I was hoping it was rather a damaged laserbee issue than diode poor performance issue.
This means all my diodes are underperforming by about 30-40% so my projector is 30-40% less powerful now, and I've spent around $450 just on the diodes...
Still curious why they all are underperforming. You should be getting much more at 4A. At the current I set you should have been getting over 3W. Check DTRs site for photos.
Perhaps you could check with a microscope if the pins are damaged or not?
They blue and greens are indeed extracted diodes but the red mitsubishi p73 isn't so that can't be the case (only).
Also, these were all attached to a very large heatsink from the very start so I don't think they were overheating.
So, if there's a way to check if that diode is partially damaged by inspecting it please do so.
As for the housing, come on, brass is so cheap I don't expect techood's source to be using poor alloys to save few cents at the risk of losing customers. Besides , many users buy from him.

[Bbe]

I think the problem is in diode mount, I attached it to a large heatsink too but diode case warmed to 50C in a few seconds - I measured it with an external PIR sensor

Also, these were all attached to a very large heatsink from the very start so I don't think they were overheating.

OK

So, if there's a way to check if that diode is partially damaged by inspecting it please do so.

If you compare this mount with mine or from Dave, you will be very surprised with their quality. Some operations are performed with stamping, uneven surfaces, burrs, etc... This can affect the overall thermal conductivity.

As for the housing, come on, brass is so cheap I don't expect techood's source to be using poor alloys to save few cents at the risk of losing customers.

[Finale]

We could add a tiny tiny drop of thermal grease between the diode (back side) and the housing, if that would help.
Also one thing we both forgot, a possibly bad quality collimator I sent you.

If you compare this mount with mine or from Dave, you will be very surprised with their quality. Some operations are performed with stamping, uneven surfaces, burrs, etc... This can affect the overall thermal conductivity.

I'm looking at some spare ones I have right now with a magnifier and I just don't see any issues. I see bad or rather quick n dirty CNC job on the dichro holders but not on these or the knife edge holders. After screwing the backplate to the housing the diode is so tightly fit in it it's impossible to take it off. In such case I can't imagine a soft metal between a soft metal not creating a good contact surface. But if there's a way to test the quality of the housing I'm willing to sacrifice the diode I sent you for this experiment. Although I'm not sure what the experiment might be.
I'd be all for taking off the diode and putting it in another housing for comparison but we both know that can't be done.

Also, edited my first post. Can't edit the topic title, sorry.

PS. I drilled the back plates of the green and blue diode housings and made the holes bigger to make room for their pins like planters suggests in one of his videos but not for the reds.

[Bbe]

So I removed some of brass chips and other s**t from your mount, polished some surfaces, added some good thermal paste instead of brass chips... and now I have stable 3.1-3.2W at 4A.
When I installed сhinese G2 lens I got about 4.3W but the awful mount design does not allow any centering so the beam quality is disgusting with this lens. Unfortunately I don't have other 3 element lenses to check more but it seems to me they will not work better.

But they are, just trust me

I'm looking at some spare ones I have right now with a magnifier and I just don't see any issues.

edit: I found one 3-element lens - 3.5W at 4A. Not shure they for blue

[Finale]

Thanks for the tests.

And my housing looks pretty now. What did you do to clean it? I'm guessing one of those rubber dremel tips for polishing metals to a perfect finish?

Still though, 4A is too much for this diode for just 3.4W, this is what you should have been getting at 4A, 4.8W:
http://s944.photobucket.com/user/Las...pza8p.jpg.html

For 3.4W you should only have needed 2.6A or a little more,
http://s944.photobucket.com/user/Las...umwg8.jpg.html

But you said you used different lenses, can you please test 4A and 2.6A with my chinese G2? Because the numbers for 4A with my G2 and DTR's G2 are pretty close (4.3 vs 4.8). If the reading at 2.6A will be close to 3.3W then I think this whole mystery is solved and it's merely bad machining work and/or bad oxidation and other junk on the housing surface.
The more you learn every day, never expected these to affect thermal conductivity so much.
Also means the diodes are unlikely to have been partially damaged, right?

And wait, you managed to take out the diode from the mount without destroying the diode? If yes, please tell me how? I'd consider swapping all my housings with better ones in the future.

And again, thanks for your time and help.

[catalanjo]

Interesting to see these results.
Many thanks for this thread
Cheers

[Bbe]

We have what we have

Still though, 4A is too much for this diode for just 3.4W, this is what you should have been getting at 4A, 4.8W:

I found only two-element collimator in your package

But you said you used different lenses, can you please test 4A and 2.6A with my chinese G2?

No, they can easily degrade when they overheat, I have several half dead M140s...

Also means the diodes are unlikely to have been partially damaged, right?

Nothing special, I just pushed it from the other side

And wait, you managed to take out the diode from the mount without destroying the diode? If yes, please tell me how?

I packed your kit back and it's ready for shipping ))

And again, thanks for your time and help.

To be honest, these mounts are not worth the time spent on them.

And my housing looks pretty now. What did you do to clean it? I'm guessing one of those rubber dremel tips for polishing metals to a perfect finish?

[Finale]

We have what we have

Not sure you got my point. Please, if possible, check the power at 2.6A and my collimator. If it is close to 3W instead of 2W that will confirm the theory that the issue is bad surface of the housing. Because in its previous state I was getting around 2W at 2.6A and I can't remember but I think way lower than 4.3W like you got.

I found only two-element collimator in your package

Was it black (grey) or brass colored? If black, then thats what the chinese sell as g2.

To be honest, these mounts are not worth the time spent on them.

OK. Still though, what did you use to clean/polish it?

[dkumpula]

Just FYI, my tests showed 3 element glass to have high losses with blue single modes (32%) as compared with a G2 lens (both from DTR). I would assume that multimode blues would perform at least as poorly.

Here's an observation sheet: http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...r-Your-Review?

-David

[Bbe]

Here I should quote my previous post. I don't think that the difference in 100mA is so significant for you:

The second driver - I have read 2.5A "from the box" at 5V modulation signal. Your diode generate about 2100mW of optical power at this current. When I set 4A I got about 3.4W output, but power is falling rapidly - up to 2.8W in 6-8 seconds.

Not sure you got my point. Please, if possible, check the power at 2.6A and my collimator.

I got this with a G2 lens, your collimator is a two-lens assembly, nothing to do with G2.

I can't remember but I think way lower than 4.3W like you got.

I did 4 things - removed the brass chips, scraped off the remnants of the solder from the diode, polished the back plate, added some thermal paste.

OK. Still though, what did you use to clean/polish it?

We are dealing with a diodes with big fast axis divergence, so some of the radiation is not placed in clear aperture of these (long FL) lenses

I would assume that multimode blues would perform at least as poorly.