Lpc826 - lpc 815 - phr803t - sfaw210 - ggwh20l - bdr-s06j

[planters]

You realize how much abuse you expose yourself to with that question? Anyway it doesn't matter.

[300EVIL]

Thanks! The ESD pad may be hard to come by local

You can use a motherboard ESD bag and an alligator clip connected to it and ground. Bare feet would be best but we are talking about spring in FL so I doubt you'll have much of a concern. I have yet to loose an LD to ESD. I've worked with hundreds and have only lost 3 so far due to grounding issues or overcurrent. When in doubt and not using a grounding strap, I touch something grounded, as well as the iron tip and ground the case of the diode with a touch right before I start working.

[dnar]

I have tested 7 x LPC-826 diodes to see how the distribution looks. The set I tested are all pretty close. Test setup: Flexmod P3 @ 500mA, Dave's brass LD mount, TEC cooled to 20.0c. Tests with no lens (Raw) and Axiz 660nm AR lens fitted. All diodes tested without soldering, using a Laserbug type DIY copy with Lazorb fitted. All diodes supplied as virgin diodes (full leads, unused).

Each diode was run for exactly 5 minutes before taking a power reading. Each diode was observed stable at the time of reading.

Here are the results:

[Solarfire]

I just got me 2 red AR coated Optima lens from Edison for testing. Since I’ve gotten some very good results with the blue AR coated 405-G-2 lens (possibly broad band AR coated?), I put it alongside for comparison.

I used an 826 diode outputting 380mW of raw power @ 500mA @ 22°C. Tests were done with one of Dave’s mounts.

The Optima lens proved a little fiddly to setup. The barrel was able to slightly tilt within the mount, due to a little slack in the threads causing some artifacts extruding out of the beam spot if not adjusted correctly.

I measured 370mW after the collimator giving an excellent thru put of 97.4%. The beam at the aperture measured <1.5mm and @ 11m 7mm giving a divergence of 0.52mrad.

On the 405-G-2 lens I measured 350mW after the collimator giving an excellent thru put of 92.1%. The beam at the aperture measured <1mm and @ 11m 6mm giving a divergence of 0.47mrad.

[dnar]

Wow. in comparison I am achieving only 82.9%.

If you would recommend one, would it be the G2 (due to less alignment fiddle)? or is the Optima better suited to stacking? It looks more oblong in the shots.

[Solarfire]

Wow. in comparison I am achieving only 82.9%.

If you would recommend one, would it be the G2 (due to less alignment fiddle)? or is the Optima better suited to stacking? It looks more oblong in the shots.

Both beams tend to be oblong with a ratio of approximately 1:1.5. I’m pretty sure the Optima beam could have a better profile and be easier to adjust if the fit of the barrel threads were as good as with the 405-G-2 lens/mount assembly. I may try to put an optima lens into the 405-G-2 lens/mount assembly to see if the handling and output gets better. It may be a good combination Optima lens in a 405-G-2 lens/mount. Unfortunately the lens-barrels used in the 405-G-2 mounts won’t fit into Dave’s mounts.

As you can see the thru put of the Optima is excellent and it’s even a bit cheaper than the 405-G-2 lens. But the barrel would need to be secured (glued) after adjustment.

As far as stacking goes, either is more than suitable but the 405-G-2 lens with an aperture beam size of <1mm may be the better way to go, depends on the application, number of diodes to combine.

[Stoney3K]

Overall conclusion: these diodes don't seem to be so bad after all?

Has anyone done a long term run down of the diodes at 500mA yet? I'm thinking of running them at half an amp all of the time but I want to have a general idea of the amount of heat sinking it would require.

Power levels seem promising. Even a dual would give you a rough 700mW, which would be a perfect match for a single 445 bluey.

[dnar]

Overall conclusion: these diodes don't seem to be so bad after all?

Has anyone done a long term run down of the diodes at 500mA yet? I'm thinking of running them at half an amp all of the time but I want to have a general idea of the amount of heat sinking it would require.

Power levels seem promising. Even a dual would give you a rough 700mW, which would be a perfect match for a single 445 bluey.

I started a test with 4 x LPC-826 @ 500mA today. All mounted in Dave's brass mounts on a solid base with air cooling at this stage (60mm fan). I want to see how hot they get and if they will last without TEC cooling, or at least determine if TEC cooling is required. Stay tuned.

AFIC, the 826 should be happy at 500mA maximum.

[Solarfire]

Overall conclusion: these diodes don't seem to be so bad after all?

Has anyone done a long term run down of the diodes at 500mA yet? I'm thinking of running them at half an amp all of the time but I want to have a general idea of the amount of heat sinking it would require.

Power levels seem promising. Even a dual would give you a rough 700mW, which would be a perfect match for a single 445 bluey.

Due to the nature of how we use these they may do well @ 500mA since they will be modulated and therefore not CW @ 500mA for longer periods.


I don’t know if 700mW can hold up to a 445nm, I would say more down the line of 2500mW-3000mW.

[planters]

Regarding the Optima lens I have found almost identical output characteristics re. power, as well the near and far field beam. I ordered the lens pre-mounted by Optima in their 3/8x64TPI threaded insert and ordered the tap they supply,but which required me to experiment with several drill bits before finding the best fit. If any one is interested I can go back and check my notes on the bit. In any case, the mount is nicely made and threads well, but there is still enough play near best focus that the needle used on the ring to rotate the lens will move the spot 3-4 mm at 2 M. You will need to apply some adhesive before you're done.