Hey guys, new to the forum!

[fauxton]

Hello all, I am an electrical engineer joined the forum today.

Here are some pix of what I do on a daily basin

I design and manufacture circuit boards for work, and do a little machining as well as automotive work for hobbies. My biggest laser/LED projects are:

An old helium neon laser with XY mirrors for light shows
A 6D maglite with a luminus devices SBT-90 LED soldered to a solid copper base, screwed to an aluminum cup to move heat into the body of the flashlight.

A 6D maglite with a CREE XHP-70 LED mounted the same way as above.

Both of those use real constant current drivers, the Luminus takes 9 amps so it uses 8 sub C drill batteries while the CREE takes 5 18650s

I'll upload some pics of those tonight.

I am excited to do some 18650 teardowns to help the other forum users identify batteries to avoid, also I am planning on starting to collect some rare wavelength lasers soon!

 

[paul1598419]

Welcome to the LPF. Hope your stay here is enlightening and truly fulfilling. We have some great people here from all walks of life. I would be interested in seeing your past projects as well as ones you are working on presently. Rare WL lasers in good working order tend to be expensive. I hope you are ready for that.

 

[fauxton]

Hi Paul, Thanks for the warm welcome.

This is what I have on the bench today, chinese, but the reading seems accurate. With my background in physics I would have never believed that one could measure wavelength this way but for $8.99 on ebay I couldn't resist

 

[NightExplorer96]

Welcome aboard!

-Alex

 

[fauxton]

Hi Alex, thanks for the welcome.

Check out this clean up job I've got ahead of me! but when I get done it's a free host for the "492nm" diode. I definitely won't be using those 18650s from the hoverboards again.

 

[Encap]

Ditto what Paul said..

Welcome and enjoy the forum---is a great forum --people from all walks of life and all levels of experience sharing a common interest in anything laser or laser related.

Be sure to check out the LPF search function at bottom of page --it searches the extensive LPF database of all things laser discussed here over the years --many answers to many questions and if you get stuck there are many LPF members who can help you with answers to most any question about lasers and related..

 

[fauxton]

Hi Encap, Thanks for the welcome! I will try out the search tool for sure!

Here is my new driver board prototype, this is my first time working with nanofiliment, I must say I'm impressed at how easily I can sublimate the components down to the terf board

 

[ElectricPlasma]

Welcome to the forums fauxton, looks like you're doing some pretty interesting stuff!

I'm confused by the pic measuring the beam, aren't those calipers? If so why/how is there a nm reading? Also where did you get a 492nm diode, got a link? That post confused the hell out of me. I also got a kick out of the drill running off lead-acids, and the random eviction notice on the floor :crackup: Seriously though welcome, you should fit in great here.

 

[BowtieGuy]

Welcome to LPF fauxton! :beer:
Have fun, stay safe, and enjoy your stay here.

Is that an old South Bend lathe that you're using there?
PS - I hope that's not your eviction notice on the floor in your first pic.

 

[paul1598419]

I was also going to ask about the wavelength measurement. I have an Ocean Optics USB2000 spectrometer for doing this kind of measurement. Can't be done with digital calipers. At least unless you know something I do not.

Taking all your posts in total, I see you have a twisted sense of humor. I was scratching my head this morning, but they are all hilarious! :crackup:

 

[Encap]

Hi Paul, Thanks for the warm welcome.

This is what I have on the bench today, chinese, but the reading seems accurate. With my background in physics I would have never believed that one could measure wavelength this way but for $8.99 on ebay I couldn't resist

:crackup:​

FYI if you want to know most all about laser beam profile measurement, current and historical see this paper:
Current Technology of Laser Beam Profile Measurements by Carlos B. Roundy, Ph.D. Ophir-Spiricon Inc. Logan, UT 84341
Ophir is an industry leader in beam profiling and measurement technology.
See: http://www.ophiropt.com/user_files/laser/beam_profilers/C_Roundy_Tutotial.pdf

 

[Vetttech]

Welcome! Lots of good stuff here!

 

[BobMc]

Welcome to the forum! Always room for one more. Enjoy and be safe.

 

[fauxton]

Alright everyone, time to come clean. Hope everyone enjoyed my shop humor! All the pics were just random funny stuff around the shop. I was just about rolling on the floor when I made that picture with the calipers. The eviction notice was just something off google images to see who was paying attention. The drill picture was just the most random stuff I could find around the office with a bunch of test leads. My favorite part was the roll of electrical tape used as a toroid core.

I didn't see anyone mention the fact that I had a big capacitor in the lathe, perhaps there's just no safety maniacs on here, that's an atlas lathe BTW

maybe I brightened a couple people's days with a laugh


The flashlights I described in the original post are real,

*serious question*

Where should I post about the flashlights I built?

Also where would be the right place to post about my XY gas laser setup?

 

[paul1598419]

I notice the large electrolytic capacitor in the lathe. I assumed it was another of your attempts to brighten our day. It was all pretty funny. You can link your builds in the Albums section of the User CP in the upper left corner of the top page. You can tell people about yourself and if there are some special builds you'd like to high light, you can start a thread on it in the review section. The toroidal coil was hilarious. It was nice to meet you. :yh:

 

[Radim]

Welcome to LPF.

It seems to me community here is going to be enhanced by other awesome member. Nice intro - rep+. I'm looking forward for your projects here.
Do not forget about proper eye protection - you will need it for sure.

Stay safe and enjoy.