UKLEM 3½ Surfleet Lincolnshire - 14th Dec 08

[smogthemog]

Excellent Rob, glad you have found the problem

[Carl B]

Hey Rob

You seam to have this business of tuning laser optics down to a T.

The chip on the driver board, is it replaceable or are you working round it?

Edit. Just read your post on the blue again and read that you have already replaced the OP-AMP. Any way good work

Carl

[Lynx]

Hi Guys

Sorry that I missed such a great day, unfortunatly I was very busy with our Xmas events at the Centre for LIFE in newcastle doing some boring disco work.

I was able to use our lasers to stop us getting bored !!

Just to show you what we had in for the party nights here in Newcastle.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=N3ZHSlPUzsk

hope to see you all at the next meeting, let me know when it is !!


Regards

Kevin

Lynx Laser UK

P.S. Who got the CAA approval for the outdoor display ?????????

[Jem]

Hi Kevin

Nice to hear from you again, like you, I too missed the meet

Regarding the CAA, I believe it was all Jim's (Smog's) work

Jem

[Banthai]

Hi Kev

Great vid buddy ......

me like jem unfortunately did not get to the meet ... but will be at the next one

And dont forget the Ilda conference in Holland next year

and if you have not seen some of my recent posts .... im all "pangoed" up now

have a good Christmas mate

All the best ... Karl

[smogthemog]

Hi Kevin.

To gain CAA aproval for any outdoor laser or firework event you need to print, fill out then re-scan the below document. Once done, email it to the address on the forn 14 days before the event. Then, 4 Day's before the event, give them a ring, the number is again on the form, and get the stipulation details off of them for the event, if any.

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP736.PDF

[andy_con]

Anyone in attendance at Surfleet will know I had my 556 yellow dpss Kevs red diode and my 'spare' blue firing at a diffraction grating. The blue was a bit on the low side all day and I managed to see a max of 40mW out of it. Considering I bought it as a 50mW laser and taking the cold into consideration thats not bad. However that laser has been tweaked up and will do a solid 100mW so 40mW was poor. Testing it at home revealed it was still low so I begun investigations. It turns out the TEC for the diode is not getting any power due to its control op-amp not being very well. (see first pic). So with that replaced and all caution thrown to the wind I opened the baby up and have done some re-alignment inside and now turning the diode current up to 2.15A and making some adjutments to the TEC levels I am getting a solid 145mW peak I have measured is 157mW. Not bad for a 50mW laser and I bet i could squeeze a little more out if I tried. See second image of the laser running with the top open. (yes the OC & end plate are held in place with Blu-Tac!)
This laser will now be going into my RGB to give it some more ooompf (or as the French say Va Va Voom). It strikes me as lucky I was running it in such cold conditions in this state as the diode would have continued to get hot and may well have flaked out. I am however a little concerned as to how the op-amp died so catastrophically - I have to assume this would not happen in normal use and that something shorted it out somehow - no eveidence was there to support this.

Rob

remember at the meet my blue wasnt working.

turns out it blew, so two blues went at the last meet.

how unlucky!!!

[stanwax]

yeah but mine is now working and better than ever
Whats 'blown'?
Rob

[andy_con]

pfff...

no idea its just giving out like 5mw, ive e-mail david at lasever fingers crossed i get a response

[smogthemog]

It's Surfleet leccy - It's got higher 'peaks' than the rest of the country