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Thread: Simpledrive (5) issues.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    209

    Default Simpledrive (5) issues.

    EDITED, this is not a driver issue but something more difficult

    Bought a bunch of drivers from x-wossee. I know he's a good guy and I know the drivers are good quality, but something ain't right here.
    I've connected my multimeter to the driver's pins which tell you current being drawn as = current in mA = 10 x millivolt reading.
    Connected the driver to a NUBM07E diode after setting up the bias as described in the manual. I can get up to 1.8 Amps and my Laserbee 7W power meter shows about 2.2 Watt laser output. I know these diodes can go higher. But as I try to go higher, the reading doesn't go up, I mean both the multimeter reading from the driver pins as well as laserbee reading.
    The driver and diode housing are attached to rather beefy heatsinks with some grease applied. They aren't that hot.
    So not sure, maybe some overcurrent protection thing built into the driver?
    I swapped the Simpledrive 5 with another one, same result. Redid the bias setting several times.
    Last edited by Finale; 04-14-2017 at 11:18.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Northern Indiana
    Posts
    921

    Default

    Sounds like your supply voltage may be too low. Is your supply voltage less than 6 volts?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    209

    Default

    No, its about 11.
    It's a standard LED PSU with a trimpot which allows to set the voltage between 11 and 13. I set it to 11 because I assume that will cause the diode drivers to produce less heat.
    Last edited by Finale; 03-13-2017 at 06:39.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    346

    Default

    Very strange. Pls, read the voltage between DC+/DC- and Anode/Cathode pads on the driver board when you get the maximum current from it

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
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    209

    Default

    Okay, I will .

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
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    209

    Default

    To driver the voltage is 11 and from driver to diode is about 5.9.
    I will try replacing my multimeter battery, maybe there's an error in reading.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    346

    Default

    As far as I know, this diode has ~4V forward voltage at 2A. It's hard to believe that you have 1.6V loss on the wires...
    Btw, what a modulation source are you using?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    209

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    Modulation source is a standard 5V PSU, having a DAC + PC just for adjusting the drivers and optics is a hassle.
    If anything a constant 5V input rather than modulated would make a brighter/higher power beam not he other way round, right?
    Last edited by Finale; 03-16-2017 at 16:40.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    346

    Default

    Right
    Quote Originally Posted by Finale View Post
    If anything a constant 5V input rather than modulated would make a brighter/higher power beam not he other way round, right?
    Let's check it again:
    |11V is applied to DC pins, ammeter is connected to DC+ wire break (or anode wire break).
    |5V is applied to modulation pins
    |NUBM07E connected to A-C pins
    |zero pot - factory preconfigured
    |bias pot - min position
    |gain pot - min position

    When you increase the gain, you should read the increase in current from 0 to 3.5A (5A max for this driver) Also you should read about 4V at 2A and about 4.5V at 3.5A between A and C pins on the driver, according to the current-voltage curve for NUBM07E. In any case, not 5.9V
    One thing - all drivers are tested and preconfigured before shipping, this excludes the possibility that you have received a bunch of damaged drivers, failure reason in something else.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    209

    Default

    If there's anything worth adding is that the DC cables from PSU to driver and driver to diode are twisted for convenience. The cables from PSU to driver are beefy, the ones from driver to diode are rated for 3A.

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