Ern

Totally lost when it comes to this stuff and hope someone can help. If I convert an HL Tiger to a mid/late production model, one headlight is removed and the remaining light is placed in the center... that being said, with the stock wiring, can I replace the LED that is being removed with this laser? I'm trying to avoid as much soldering, wiring changes, switching and adding resistors etc that I know nothing about, and figured that this way the laser would activate with the one headlight when the tank is turned on, as long as the power requirements for the laser would not negatively effect the operation of the tank. If this laser will negatively impact the electronics, could you please tell me which aspect would cause the problems so I can keep looking for one that would work. It does state that the laser has a built in overload protection. Also, any recommendation on how to learn this stuff? Is there an "Electronics for Dummies" book or something you would recommend, or just a lot of trial and error [and blown boards] for someone with no background in this field.

Thanks in advance... here's what I found:

This is a very high quality, brand new , direct from the factory, 650 nm Class IIIa industrial grade laser diode rated for 12,000 to 15,000 hours of continuous operation. A very small diode , complete with heat sink and driver board , including 3.5" color coded leads ready to hook up to your 3 volt DC power supply. Power this diode with two 1.5 Volt batteries (in series) of your choice (AAA, AA, C,or D), or hook it to a 3 Volt AC/DC converter for continuous operation without the hassle of changing batteries. The dimensions are: 0.26" diameter , and 1" long from the top (output lens) to the end of the PC board. The power output is adjustable from 1 mw output to 3 mw output by using a screwdriver to adjust a pot which is on the pc board.

The Laser Guy has been selling laser diodes online for six years. This diode is the best the world has to offer . Our laser diodes are guaranteed to give satisfactory service for 1 year or your money-back or replacement, your call.

Specifications:
Operating Current: 60 mA
Operating Voltage: 3.0 VDC to 4.5 VDC
Voltage overload protection built into PC board
Full illumination at 2.67 VDC
Spot size: At 5 meters is 6mm ( 0.236") diameter
Operating Temperature: -10 C (14 F) to 40 C ( 104 F)
Range: 2600 Feet
Output Power: 1mw to 4.99mw
Diode: 635 nm (RED) industrial grade , rated at 12,000 to 15,000 hrs constant on operation.

zippy0036

Are you wanting to extend the wiring of the removed headlamp into the turret to power a targeting laser ? if so there is an easier way to do this. and the best way to deal with the removed headlight is to turn it into the hull of the tank and mask it off - if it is wired the same as mine its wired in series (through one light and out the other) If you remove one LED and try to run the other it will over voltage and blow.
A cheap laser pointer can be adapted to sit in the turret looking through the gunners sight aperture. it is self contained with its own button cells - you just need a method of switching it on .....

Planedev

Well it should work, but then your laser will be always on when you 'turn on' your tank. a better way would be to wire it to teh red led that lights up when you firing your BB, do rem to keep teh resistor that is in line to the LED as I believe that it will induce voltage drop so that it willnot burn out the resistor. But my electrical physics is very rusty now, so I might be wrong, so maybe an expert should chim in.

zippy0036

.......
Such as a a latching switch at max elevation or depression (up once =laser on, up 2nd time = laser off) Or a tiny relay instead of the gus red light - start gun motor, relay powered up - laser comes on. stop gun motor - laser goes off.

Planedev

A relay will work, I used to play with relays and you can set it up that it latches on when it gets an input to a particular pin. to reset the relay you will need to set ground to the input pin. Whoa that was like 15 years ago when I learned these things.

Ern

Yes, exactly. I was thinking of removing the second LED and running the laser in series with the remaining LED headlight, extending the wiring and placing it in the turret, as long as the voltage would be sufficient to power in laser [yes, as an aiming device]. I think I could live with it being on all the time, no more annoying than both headlights on all the time - unless you know of a simple alternative way of remotely switching it on and off.

I did consider replacing the warning LED with the laser, but don't know if it would be suitable because of the short duration that the warning light is on. It seems like you'd have to make pretty fast adjustments between pressing the fire button/activating the laser and the shot leaving the barrel. If you think the time would be sufficient please let me know as that is the location that the laser will most likely be placed. I'm still waiting to hear from Mato on my replacement Tiger so I don't have it in front of me.

Ern

Interesting idea Zippy. Have you tried anything like that with a latching switch and using the barrel movements to activate the switch?

Thanks to all for your input...

borealis

I would use the turret gun switch to turn the laser on and off, it's in a comfortable position.

darkith

I'd ask the seller if the laser can be safely operated from a 7.2v power source, and if it has built-in current regulation.

D.

Ern

I sent the seller an email and didn't get a reply so I thought I'd try here. I'll send another email to the seller before I try any of these suggestions. I'm not to worried about blowing the laser as they only cost a few bucks - I'm more worried about the tank components.

Thanks again

borealis

All the laser pointers I have seen run from 1,5 to a maximum of 3 V.
The tank lights run at 2,4V if I remember correctly, you should connect the laser to that power source.
Avoid 7,2V.

zippy0036

Yes its a good dodge for when u run out of channels, Ive done sequencing undercarriage doors like this (ie P51 mustang) so doors switch each other on and off in sequence servo only acting on the retracts.

zippy0036

Seems a good solution to ur requirements would be 3 microrelaysand a self contained laser pointer, with the relays mounted in parallel so any 1 switch will turn on the laser pointer up to and icluding all 3. you could then attach 1 to the turret taverse, no 2 to the elevation unit, and no3 to the gun motor. This way the laser will be on as you track and shoot at that T34/85 [>:]