SUPPLIES: Power Supplies / Adapters

Foreword...

An adapter/power supply has two components that we are interested in... the volts and the amps. The laser diode will specify what it needs in each. For example, my laser diodes say they are 3.2 volts. Now... can I find an adapter that gives exactly 3.2 volts? Probably not... but the 3 volt adapters work just fine.

With amps, you need to find out the number of milliamps the diodes have (mine, the AiXiZ diodes, have 30mA... you'll need to find out from the manufacturer how much yours have if you use a different brand), then multiply that number by the number of diodes.

For example, my "Laser Helmet 1.0" has 68 diodes, so I needed an adapter that had at least 2040 milliamps, or 2.04 amps.

In a nutshell, the more diodes you have, the harder it is to find a power supply with BOTH the right volts and enough amps. There are other ways to wire these, such as using a combination of series and parallel wiring and resistors, but these are currently beyond my knowledge. I would like to eventually understand them, however, because it might make the process easier in the long run, and it might make it so you can use easier-to-find power supplies. If I ever figure them out, I will definitely update this page.

Until then... we are looking at simply wiring them parallel and simply finding power supplies that has the proper volts and amps! Remember... to point out the obvious, you can always use more than one adapter if you can't find one with the amp requirements you are looking for!

"2400mA AC/DC Power Adapter 3V-3.5V-4.5V-5V-6V-6.5V" - for 80 or less 30mA diodes - $18.00 plus shipping

This is what I use for my "Laser Helmet 1.0", and a lot of other forum members use this as well. It's made and shipped from Hong Kong, it's made of cheap plastic, and it comes with a converter for your country's plug outlets... but it works great and has a lot of amps for a 3 volt adapter. It also doesn't get hot at all.

You find it on eBay only, so I can't put up a direct link because it will change, but it's from a seller called "JITHK", and here is their eBay store page. Do a "store search" for 2400mA and I'm sure it will turn up. Also, their email is jithk@aclub.com.

I know that you have to be really careful ordering from eBay and from companies that are halfway around the world, but I think that they are a reputable company. Regrowth.com's Lemming ordered a couple, and was able to cancel the order the next day without any problems. Also, I got it pretty quick... I think it was only about a week.

*Note - This is obviously a "multi-volt" adapter, and there is a switch on the back to change the voltage. I know that it's not rocket science to switch the voltage, but both me and another forum member had difficulty figuring out how to do it. You push the button in with a screwdriver and turn it to the desired voltage, but the secret is that there is a "sweet spot" that's in the middle. You have to push it in to that exact depth for it to be able to turn -and it's NOT all the way in! I can't remember if I actually threw the adapter up against the wall trying to figure it out, but I know I wanted to.

TRC Electronics 3.3 volt/ 7 amp Switching Power Supply - for 233 or less 30mA diodes - $23.28 plus shipping

ChipDouglas at Regrowth found this for us! This product is found here on TRC Electronic's website. At this point in time, I have not used on of these, but it's the real deal! A ton of amps, so you can easily power over 200 diodes (max of about 233 at 30mA apiece).

A quick note about this company... they are not the manufacturer, only a distributor. The manufacturer is Mean Well, and if you Google "RS-35-3.3" you will find other suppliers since TRC Electronics is prone to run out. I'll put some other sources at the bottom of this section.

I'll update more about this when I find it out, but it is more than likely what I am going to use for my next project that requires 210 diodes. Obviously, you will need buy a power cord from Home Depot or Lowes to attach to this, and here are some pictures from Lemming that show you how easy it is to wire. It's pretty self explanatory:

...The positive, negative,and ground plug of the cord plug in on the left, and the negative and positive of the diode plug in on the right! That's it!

Here is another US Supplier: Mouser Electronics ...and they list the amount that they have in stock.

From Beach Road at Regrowth, here is a site for your Aussies to buy it from: http://www.computronics.com.au/meanwell/rs-35/ Same thing, just some slightly different specs to be optimized for Australian power outlets.

Great Britain: http://www.sunpower-uk.com/product/23-1W-3-3V-7A-Reduced-Size-Enclosed-Power-Supply/1469/default.htm

Here is a worldwide distributor to most places EXCEPT North America: http://www.craftec.info/showProduct.asp?prodId=1015

Finally, here is a distributor for the E.U.: http://www.atysco.eu/en/products/show/720

One word here, we are in the process of figuring out how to make these ourselves, so hopefully we will have that udated soon!

AiXiZ has 3VDC, 5amp Power Supplies now... for 166 or less 30mA diodes - $17.50

These look identical to the one up above so I'm assuming it's a Mean Well, also, but this one is 5 amps -enough to power uo to 166 diodes- and it's $17.50: http://www.aixiz.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=74

So, if you have 166 diodes or less, this is a good solution for you! [I'm assuming you will have to buy a Home Depot power chord, too]

Also, in case you have 5 volt diodes, you can get the 5 volt/5amp model from here: http://www.aixiz.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=75 ...BUT DO NOT CONFUSE THESE! lol... I almost didn't put that link up, but I trust you!

Radio Shack 3-12V Regulated 1000mA AC Adapter - for 33 or less 30mA diodes - $18.99

Here is the link: 12V Regulated 1000mA AC Adapter. The benefits to this are that it's easy to find, you probably don't have to ship it because there is a Radio Shack in pretty much every US city that stocks it, and it comes with a free adaptaplug that you need anyway, so that cuts another $4.00 off of your total price.

This is a decent adapter, and what I used for my laser brush. I wish it had more amps, but if you are thinking about 33 or less diodes, this one is probably the best bet!

Ok, those are three good power supplies for differing levels of requirements. If anyone finds any other good ones, especially 3 volt ones with an extremely high number of amps, let us know! Oh, one last thing, I don't know much about wiring multiple diodes to batteries. A cordless design would be great, but when I looked into it briefly when I started to get involved in this, I decided that it wasn't the best idea because of the power requirements/necessary amount of batteries. I dropped the idea and haven't looked at it since, but if you have differing views on this, let me know that, too!

Are you a computer nerd??

Lemming at Regrowth brought this to my attention: How to Convert a Computer ATX Power Supply to a Lab Power Supply. If you can do this, then you needn't worry about EVER running out of amps! Some of these ATX Power Supplies can have as much as THIRTY AMPS running at 3.3 volts! That's pushing a thousand diodes.

I don't know enough about the inner-workings of computers to do easily do this... I'm more inclinded to the life and limo of graphics and web page design! ...But I'm considering learning how to do it. It does solve ALL problems as far as "necessary power" is concerned!

UPDATE: Because this site is full of awesome people like Hapyman, we now have this covered:
SUPPLIES: Build your own power supply by modding an ATX! -Complete instructions by Hapyman

AWESOME!!!


That's is for now! I may add more as I see fit, but honestly those are pretty much all you would need. [Yeah, ha ha, this statement was written a long time ago by O.M.G. You'd better email me at omg@overmachogrande.com!!!

-John (O.M.G.)