Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 11

Thread: XBox 360 USB HD-DVD read diode (SB016JK81)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    101

    Default XBox 360 USB HD-DVD read diode (SB016JK81)

    I thought i'd mention this in case it helps someone else.

    I bought a cheap XBox 360 HD-DVD drive at auction for ~US$25 and took out the blue diode. (It's a closed can type)
    Unfortunately i stuffed it, probably trying to get it out of the holder to check its part number, or trying to figure out the pins. Now it's just a blue led

    On the plus side the USB XBox 360 HD-DVD drive still reads cd and dvds fine once i put it back together (minus the blue diode) so at least i got an external usb cd/dvd reader for my pc/laptop for the money

    Once i realised i'd stuffed it i was able to be really aggressive and bash out the diode from its metal shroud and check what the diode actually is. It's marked as (SB016JK81). I can't find any specs on it but maybe someone else will have more luck.

    Since i got the thing to emit some light i'm pretty sure i have the pinout sorted, although i can't be sure.

    If i'm right, it's like this...

    1 = Laser diode +
    2 = (Case), Not connected
    3 = Laser diode -
    Last edited by Psi; 03-12-2008 at 17:12.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    27

    Default

    Yes I've been looking for information on this diode also. The drive innards say Toshiba. Outside of the PS3 sleds this is the cheapest bluray available.

    I was able to create a working bluray pointer, but it took me two tries. The first one I drove @40 mA only lasted about 15 min. The second one I'm driving at 30mA and it's still going after 4+ hours. I'm guessing the output is in the 10-15 mW range, but it's really hard to tell at this frequency.

    The hardest part of the extraction was getting the diode out of the last bit it's press fit into. I used an x-acto knife to do this.

    I'm in love with the color, which you've got to see live as it doesn't photograph well. It's a deep royal purple. I'm REALLY craving a brighter blu-ray at this point.

    Here's an account of my first failed attempt:
    http://www.laserpointerforums.com/fo...num=1206117400

    Second attempt, still working:
    http://www.laserpointerforums.com/fo...num=1206147131

    The diode. "SB016L481" across the side


    Finished pointer:



  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    101

    Default

    Nice!

    I might buy a 2nd drive and try again

    Took me two DVD drives to get a 230mW red diode, i guess it will take me two HD drives to get a 10mW blue diode.

    hey, are my pinouts correct?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    27

    Default

    I think you've got the pinout correct, at least it's what I used also

    I got the pinout from this thread:
    http://www.laserpointerforums.com/fo...num=1204080284

    Thing to keep in mind is these may have a lower max current than the PS3 diodes. The one I'm driving at 30 mA seems good.

    Just make certain you know what you're doing with whatever driver you use. I'm using the 'ddl' driver with a 9 volt battery and about 30 ohm resistance. With this setup the diode came to life lasing, consuming about 25mA of current, which I trimmed up to 30mA. I was only using 10 ohm resistance for the first attempt and the diode came to life using > 40 mA, which may have damaged it.

    There just isn't much leeway for error with the diodes. Great when they work tho.

    Really love the bluray. It appears no brighter than a 5 mW red, but it's an awesome color, very cool at night. Worth it just for the novelty at this point. Most blueray's are still homebrew, and the few you can purchase (like the Wicked Sonar) cost thousands.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Milwaukee WI
    Posts
    1,355

    Default

    You're better off with the PS3 sled, thats for sure. The diodes are MUCH easier to extract and at ~$25 each it doesn't hurt too bad when you lose one either.

    -Max

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    27

    Default

    Well, outside of ebay and group buys the PS3 sled can be hard to find. The latest GB on LPF has the PS3 sleds going for $30.00, so not substantially cheaper.

    The xbox diodes are not hard to extract, though it does seem a waste of a drive.

    Try something different.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Milwaukee WI
    Posts
    1,355

    Default

    http://www.psxboy.com/349_PS3-KES-400A-Laser-lens.html is where all of the ones I got from the group buy came from.

    Not a bad price by any means - and much less wasteful than buying the whole module

    -Max

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    1,725

    Default

    A little late to the party, but here it goes: I've murdered a dozen of these things.

    First things first:

    Feed it 5.5V and lock it there.

    Your pinout is correct as far as my brain remembers.

    Heres the *trick*: Overshoot and static is an absolute nightmare, I had a non ESD safe soldering iron take one out before. Do not shoot them past 30mA, seriously, they don't take to well to that.

    Now, heres the *magic*: Remember your blown one thats basically a "blue led" now? If its still producing even a little blue, you are probably in luck: Lash it down to a good heat sink, give it 30mA and then slowly and cleanly feed 50mA-100mA more to it. 50% of the time It will lase again. Seriously.

    Though I have been unable to get any decent documentation as to why that works but I do have a theory:

    It all started about a year ago when I was staring at the "funny square outline" the collimated diodes produced. A little later a member here said they "saw a funny green light" inside the diode which caused me to dig around and find out some specifics on the cavity construction and I was remembering the days when I had a tesla coil and blew a hole in one of the glass bottle capacitors... I know... Random logic train there, but it makes perfect sense to me.

    In short: When they receive a HV static hit *or* the overshoot on the driver is way too freaking high, one of the multiple lattice layers they have in that diode fractures, causing the diode itself to fail miserably. Goes a long way to explain the shunt bar the diodes come from the factory with.

    Basically, when it fractures you create two(or more, I don't really know) separate gain cavities and the only way to *remedy* the problem is to flood enough current to it as to saturate all the newly formed gain cavities.

    My theory makes sense because of the half dozen I've seen mysteriously come back to life this way they all have the same *new* issues, like wildly varying current requirements and most importantly they all have a terrible multi-mode profile that I assume comes from constructive/destructive interference between the *logically separate* cavities.

    You might get about 1/2 the power back out of it assuming the diode itself was lucky enough to have the Neat!(Tm) mode of failure I have experienced above.

    Be warned though: The beam, while collimated will look like trash and the diode will *not* last long, maybe a couple hours of run time, but it will light back up, and that in and of it self is freaking amazing.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    101

    Default

    thanks for that, but i already tried upping the current, got to 300mA and it was quite hot and a quite bright led, but no lase
    That's good info for my 2nd attempt tho, thanks

    You sure the xbox lasers are 5.5v tho, i was getting 30mA at ~4V. I imagine 5.5V would be a lot higher than 30mA. However my diode was stuffed at that time
    so, yeah, could have different characteristics.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    27

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Admin View Post
    A little late to the party, but here it goes: I've murdered a dozen of these things.

    First things first:

    Feed it 5.5V and lock it there.

    Your pinout is correct as far as my brain remembers.

    Heres the *trick*: Overshoot and static is an absolute nightmare, I had a non ESD safe soldering iron take one out before. Do not shoot them past 30mA, seriously, they don't take to well to that.

    (...)
    Whoa. Lemme get this straight.. you've toasted over 10 Xbox HD diodes??? Or are you talking PS3 sleds?

    If so I don't feel as bad about my 50% average.

    The first one I destroyed was cuz I was reckless. I didn't have the initial resistance high enough in the 'DDL' circuit, and the laser came to life initially at over 40mA, and lived about 15 minutes.

    The second one is still going strong (knock on wood), probably with 3-5 hours of use. For the second one I increased the resistance to 30 ohm and it came to life at 25 mA (lasing) and I bumped it up to 30mA. So it does appears there's less room for driving these over spec than with the Sony diodes.

    I imagine it's at least 10-15 mW... hey it'll pop a balloon within a couple feet if you focus it. Even with the Meredith glass lens the spot can be focused tightly.

    When the first one died what happened was the spot became milky and dim. I DID attempt to increase the power (as far as the pot would go) and the spot only got a little brighter.

    Did your xbox diodes have bad spray? Both of mine project a prominent rectangle of violet around the spot, either end of the long side tapering to a yellow color. It appears to be something intrinsic to the construction of the diode... something fluorescing in the diode sandwich. The spray is cosmetic - the diode spot is clean and can be focused well, not affecting the drive - but not so nice for a pointer. The image below is from the diode that died, from about 2 meters away. You can see the spray with the diode spot sitting along an edge of it.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •