Laser diode test load & R/V Lasers

Littlest, simple test load circuit to determine what the max current of a laser driver is. :)



As the picture says you measure milivolts around the resistor to get miliamps that a driver is supplying to the circuit/LD. NOT the optical power of a laser diode! Red wire positive, black wire negative. Double check the right orientation of those diodes. The side with a grey/white ring is negative. All must be in one direction like in the picture, else the current wouldn't flow through.



Originally the scheme comes from ROG8811. I edited his work taking IR diodes into consideration. Inspiration came from his site as well.