Green <5mw module.......

Aiki1 · Aug 10, 2006

So I got this somewhere around <5mw green module and a small power supply with clips to run it - what's happening is, after about a minute it dims quite a lot suddenly, if I leave it alone for a short while it's back for a minute.... am I seeing a duty cycle of something like one minute on one minute off? At this low power level? Does that happen with reds as well? It also has a lot of..... splatter? on a wall about 8 feet away...???

jkaiser3000 · Aug 10, 2006

The splatter could be a dirty lens. The dimming may be due to heating. Some modules are meant to be used with heatsinks, so try to get one to work with yours, or else stick to the duty cycle. Even at 5mw the module can overheat, as they are designed without heat dissipation in mind.

Aiki1 · Aug 10, 2006

Thanks - hmmmm - the red ones I got aren't acting that way (5mw 650nm, 5mw 635nm, 10mw 650nm).... even the variable 650nm module I got - low to 40mw (very nice btw) - no prob.... seems to be just the green. I'm expecting a 10mw green soon, hope that is more stable.

:awman:

illumiGeek · Aug 10, 2006

Could be heat. Could be a crappy module. Could be power supply.

Have you monitored the voltage and/or current of the supply when the power drop happens?

Aiki1 · Aug 10, 2006

illumiGeek said:
Could be heat. Could be a crappy module. Could be power supply.

Have you monitored the voltage and/or current of the supply when the power drop happens?

No, but it doesn't happen with the two other red modules at all, so I figure it's consistant power or close enough.... it's a bummer though....

illumiGeek · Aug 10, 2006

Greens draw more power than red. And also run hotter.

Could still be heat or power...

Are the voltage requirements the same for your green and red modules?

Aiki1 · Aug 10, 2006

Ah - I don't know what it's drawing - the power module is 3.2v with 500mA - I think I need to get some sort of meter to check this out - what do I need? :laughing: :grin2:

:laughing:

ajohnson · Aug 10, 2006

Aiki1 said:
I think I need to get some sort of meter to check this out

Most electronic stores should have a meter that can read up to 10amps. If you are lucky, you can find one that will be able to read 2000ma or even 4000ma. Get one, set it to that scale per the instructions that come with it, and put it in the circuit. Something like this

Code:

 power supply positie (red) to meter negative (black)  -- meter positive (red ) to module positive
Power supply negative to module negative

And you should get a power draw. If it's less than 200 (or 400 if your meter had a 4000ma setting) then drop the scale a notch to 200 (400).

If your meter just says "1" all the way over in the left, you are on the wrong scale, and you'd better disconnect the power quick before you let the magic black smoke out of the meter and it quits working :lolsign:

allthatwhichis · Aug 10, 2006

I tried to get some reading off a naked HeNe tube that was running off a ghetto PS and fried my meter... :poof:

@Aiki1

It may have a short in the PS, or enough of one that heat is making the wires expand and creating a bigger short. Or heat... If you try to dismantle it but do not have a heat sink for it, you may want to put some thermal grease on it between the module and the casing wall. that way it will transfer more heat to the casing.

ted_park · Aug 11, 2006

Could be the laser flipping between TEM00 and TEM01 - I had a pointer that did this, I think it was a bad MCA that caused it.

Aiki1 · Aug 11, 2006

ted_park said:
Could be the laser flipping between TEM00 and TEM01 - I had a pointer that did this, I think it was a bad MCA that caused it.

Can you explain this to me, I'm new to the details.... thanks.

jkaiser3000 · Aug 11, 2006

Can you explain this to me, I'm new to the details.... thanks.

basically, the spot is going from a circle, or single spot (TEMoo), to two spots side by side (TEMo1).

I tried to get some reading off a naked HeNe tube that was running off a ghetto PS and fried my meter...

Did you realize that tube is using around 1500volts? no wonder you blew your meter :lolsign:. Anyway, it's probably just a fuse, I guess :candle:

As for the topic of this thread, I still believe the problem to be heat, specifically, heat within the MCA, or heat transfered to it from the casing. Not much to do in that case, I'm affraid, unless you're willing to dismantle the module. Only thing to do for now is to lower the current and/or keep the duty cycle. Can you post some pics of the module? That might help determining the causes of this dimming

allthatwhichis · Aug 11, 2006

jkaiser3000 said:
Did you realize that tube is using around 1500volts?

The_LED_Museum · Aug 11, 2006

jkaiser3000 said:
...Did you realize that tube is using around 1500volts? no wonder you blew your meter :lolsign:...

That's a closed-circuit value; chances are it would be closer to 10,000 volts open-circuit.

oo:

:sick2:

oo:

allthatwhichis · Aug 11, 2006

I was hoping to find out how much power because if I grab the PS wrong I get LIT! It is not a pleasant experience...

jkaiser3000 · Aug 12, 2006

Well, HeNe tubes use around 4-6ma at 1200-1500 volts DC, but for starting they use a lot more volts (around 10kv, not sure of ma though).

That's basically the reason you get zaped by the tube, 4-6 ma is not a lot of current, even at 1500volts (6 watts of energy through your body, if my math is correct). Now, don't try that with your argon, as it uses less voltage (around 100-200volts I think), but a lot more amps (about 10 amps I believe you use), so in the end, the shock you get will be a lot more painful (1000 watts, I think) :awman:

Aiki1 · Aug 14, 2006

As an aside now.... :laughing: I'm getting a replacement for the 5mw green module, so that's good.... :lolsign:

Here are the two greenies, 5mw and 10mw - the 10 is Great....

Green <5mw module.......

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