P73 and 2FL lens

[steve-o]

Lost power?? You mean nothing out of the diode or a dim led kind of a light?
I run the P73 at a little over 800mA (slightly over spec max) . Are you having voltage spikes maybe? I see your psu has a pot. A dirty wiper on that can be disasterous for LDs.

[neutrino]

Badger1666 - Ok, I will look into the TEC route. I didn't realize they were so susceptible. I was trying to make these satellites as small as possible, looks like I will need to re-evaluate things. What is the stock current? I don;t have the datasheet to hand

Steve-o - Quick test showed 15mW instead of around 700mW if I remember correctly. The PSU has a fixed 5V out and then an adjustable 5V for the modulation input.

What about the current for the A140?

Cheers
Rich

[neutrino]

Found the data sheet. I will run it at 650mA and see how I get on.

[megaton]

What about the current for the A140?

Cheers
Rich

Hi

In DTR home page says.
For A140 1.2Amps Max. to be safe.

Cheers,
Ed
PS at what current did you fried the P73?

[neutrino]

Thanks Ed,

Set the A140 to 800mA to be safe.

Not sure what the current was for the P73. I didn't check it before I replaced the diode.

It didn;t really fail as such - it just wasn;t giving out the mW I expected. I will try it again on a spare Flexmod with a known current and see how it performs.

Cheers
Rich

[planters]

I don't have as much time on the P73 as on the G71s and I am driving these at 850mA without cooling and 950mA cooled. Two quad modules in two satellites and no problems so far ( knock on wood). Same projectors and the dual M140 modules are set at 1.8 A per diode. I know this is pretty aggressive, but these diodes are relatively cheap. Nevertheless, you MUST check the current output of the driver as you set it at various modulation voltages up to the 5V max. Do not trust a KNOWN current; you have to check it.

Personally, I don't like these open can diodes as it forces you to put away the potato chips while handling them. Seriously though, you may have contaminated the output surface during the set up or the above mentioned exposed leads may have played a part. I don't think I would worry about TEC cooling as opposed to good thermal conduction to the base plate unless you want to go down the road of extreme cooling and enhanced output. This is not likely the cause of your premature failure.