Yes, this is the input pin, but my numbers are at the laser power wires. I also checked with an analog meter (yes, they still make 'em).
1000, 0, 1 $$
Tested steady and G1 feeds.
Machine supply is 24v, 4.75a.
At the input connector to the module, between PWM and GND, no laser is 8.47 volts and 100% (S1000) power it is 0.26 volts. These are feedrate numbers.
What does this mean?
You need to be using the percentage power to check the pwm signalā¦ not feed rates.
If itās a ttl signal, 50% pwm for a ttl signal is 2.5V, 20% is 1Vā¦
I know, sorry if made it appear otherwise. I am changing the Sval using the Console.
I did not scope it yet, but I believe the PWM signal controls a DC output to the laser. I can vary the power out on my other laser by adjusting a steady DC voltage (lab bench supply). My real question: Is the 12v laser supposed to operate with a 0-5v or 0-12v range?
The all-knowing internet has not provided an answerā¦
12V lasers refer to the input power, not the PWM control range. From what Iāve seen, all laser modules will support 5V TTL. Most all will tolerate 3.3V logic. Many will even tolerate up to 12V logic.
For the record, mine is a 3-pin input to the module and a 2-pin output for the laser and another for the fan.
Let me ask it in a different wayā¦ With a 5vTTL input to the module, which is supplied with 12vdc, what is the output voltage to the laser?
A. 5 volts
B. 12 volts
C. I have no ides
D. None of the above
Are you sure? I thoight TTL/PWM meant TTL or PWM.
??? Where did everybody go ???
Iāll take this to mean youāre asking what the control circuitry in the laser module provides to the diodes?
This will depend on the specific diodes being used. From what Iāve seen these are typically in the range of 3-6V. From a user perspective this is not generally useful in the sense that itās not something we typically interface with. However, if you were looking to replace the diodes yourself or do some other lower level hardware modifications then this would be relevant.
The actual method of modulation is PWM. TTL just means itās using TTL standard in encoding the PWM. For practical purposes 5V or 3V signals are interchangeable in this context.
Yes, that was basically it.
I found this, but it is at the diode and does not account for any control circutry in the laser itselfā¦
Typical voltage ranges for laser diodes
Typical values are 1.8V for infrared, 2.5V for red, and 5V for blue, violet and UV . As mentioned above, green diodes are anomalous with voltages between 5.5V and 8V.
Not here. I was looking for a diagnostic to determine if the control module was up to speed. My new laser, I got a year ago, had a bad control module. Test button lit it up but nothing using PWM control.
Thanks to both of you for pitching in and asking questions. I learned more than I thought I needed to know about these gadgets.
I still donāt know why the laser is not firing as strong as it used to. A 1000mm/min 80% pass wonāt cut thru 0.72mm paperboard. I am reluctant to buy a 10w output naser that costs as much as I paid for the entire machine.
The control board is not driving the ledā¦ the led module has internal circuits to take the control signal and turns the laser on and off, depending on the stateā¦
You have no control over how the led is actually turned on or off. That is done internally to the laser module. You can supply voltage and a control signal.
If you run 50% power, the pwm percentage is 50% meaning the signal is high for 1/2 the period and low for the other halfā¦ It will lase when high and stop lasing when low.
When a string of characters is blue, it indicates a linkā¦ I linked you to the TTL definition, you apparently never read itā¦ Above is a link to what pwm isā¦
Yes I did. TTL is basically on or off and PWM is on-off modulated by time. 5 years as an electronics instructor in a classroom, military radar tech, and Amateur Extra Class license holder means I am not a total newbie at this stuff. I know I donāt know everything, but I know enuff to ask the right questions.
I know the diode is fed with a constant current circuit in the laser housing. This is because the laser diode is a negative temperature coefficient, meaning as temp goes up, resistance goes down. Uncontrolled, thermal runaway is the result.
You may be right saying the feed to the laser is a PWM signal, but I will hook up the 200MHz digital scope tomorrow and learn all I donāt know about how these things work. 
OK, might help you visualize it betterā¦
PWM has what some people call a base frequency, but itās actually referred to as the period.
A 1mS period is a 1kHz base frequencyā¦ PWM is frequency independentā¦ itās value is the relationship between the time itās on or offā¦ The Earth runs a 24hr periodā¦ the sun is on half the day and off the other halfā¦ pwmā¦ itās still pwm, just has slow rise/fall times, but same idea.
WWBV uses PSK, high power for on bits, half power for off bitsā¦ baud rate just under 1ā¦ 
Good luck
73ās de KA7CMF
Hahaha! Good anology!
73ās de kv0oom
By the way, I have talked into TX and AZ on HF.
Was on a mountain fixing a repeater in west Texasā¦ heard a 6 call on the simplex call frequency on 2 metersā¦ Asked what he was doing in Texasā¦ he advise he was on the freeway in LAā¦we talked a few minutes and he was goneā¦ we did swap qsl cardsā¦ Used to do satellite, had a few qsoās with the space shuttleā¦
Wish I would have gone ahead and gotten my extra classā¦ I had to drive to Houston to take my general testā¦ a little over 5 hours from Brownsvilleā¦ actually the spouse drove meā¦ 
Wife and I have sequential callsā¦ Hers is KA7CMGā¦ We were both in the 5 area, but when we moved to Arizona, I couldnāt use the 5 call anymore and was issued a new oneā¦ Guess that dates meā¦ Asked for sequential calls and the FCC gave them to usā¦ Iāll have 50 years as an amateur pretty soonā¦
Interesing info. I went from to Tech, General, then Extra in 3 months. Passed the Tech, they told me to try the General and passed that too. Went over to Tampa to take the Extra so I could learn what I needed to study. Passed that one too. The test question book I ordered came in a week later. I held off for years because my brain cannot process Morse code.
I had to do the Morse thingā¦ I kind of enjoyed itā¦ Thatās why I had to physically go to an FCC location to take the Morse and written testsā¦ They counted everythingā¦
Both me and wife had to pass Morse code test when I got my licenseā¦
Yes, I remember the testing rules. Imtried the Farnsworth, Koch, and even some methods nobody every heard of, but nothing works. Even at 5wpm, my brain runs all the dots and dashes together. I just hear it as a string of beeps. Maybe 8 hours/day in a classroom might work, but I know it would be a struggle. You guys are lucky it stuck!
Iāve been trying to spend some time back thereā¦ Iāve lost most of my skills with Morse.
One of the techniques that seems to work well is to send it at 25wpm, but only space the characters at 5wpmā¦
This seems the best way to learnā¦ forget about dits and dahsā¦ get used to the sound the group make for each characterā¦
Got my old heathkit hw-16 with vfo out on the desk, but no antenna for it here, yetā¦
Yeah, I even tried that with not much luck. Like I said, I tried nearly everything. I have several programs and an MFJ thingie to learn with. I even built CPOās for both my granddaughters in NY, but they did not accept the challenge. Maybe when someone comes out with a code translator implant?
