- Joined
- Mar 22, 2015
- Messages
- 561
- Points
- 43
Hi everybody! so this is my second "homemade" laser, after my red 501B laser. for this laser, i plan on getting a different host eventually becuase a 501B is a little boring when you have 2.
the specs.
diode: BDR-209 405nm 16x Bluray in copper module from DTR.
driver: X-boost V7 V-boost mini set at 600mA, by lazeerer, from DTR.
lens: currently, 400-500nm AR coated 3-element glass lens (which is a rather beat up lens, since ive had it for a while) from DTR, but S1 coming in the mail from Eitan of sci-fi lasers.
Host, heatsink, pill: WF501B, Black anodized aluminum, brass... (like people care about the pill) all from Budget Beams.
here are all the parts (and a flashlight reflector that came with the host from budget beams):
once i was all set up with the soldering iron i went to work, keep in mind this was the second time i have ever used a soldering iron, the first being on my red laser, where i simply soldered wires together. i soldered a contact spring to the contact board, and i somehow managed to make it stick out at an angle, but it works so i dont care. heres a picture:
then i stuck the contact spring into the piece of cardboard i was working on in order to hold it still (i was doing all the soldering on card board in order not to "ruin the table" becuase my parents were paranoid about soldering, but i'm not necessarily against their opinion) and i soldered the leads from the driver to the contact board, i went - lead to + on the contact board cause im hipster like that, and i wanted to stick it to the man (i actually wanted my batteries to go in + facing out, and the contact board for some reason had polarity markings on it). here's and image of the work:
you can see the end of the - lead isnt perfect attached but it works.
then i put it all together in the host and fired it up, hoping i hadn't made the classic "$100 paper weight" by messing something up or putting the batteries in backwards, and it worked!!! the beam is clearly visible during the day which surprised me becuase of how dim 405nm is, and the divergence is great, even better than my DPSS 532nm laser. now i understand why people l'ke single mode diodes. at first i wasn't sure of the black heatsink but now that its in there it looks sick. here it is all completed.
i would like to thank DTR for his great customer service, as always he answered all my questions quickly even at ridiculous times like 3 in the morning. i would also like to thank Mohrenberg (his store budget beams is where i got the host and heatsink, as well as the pill and driver board) for the helful and quick customer serice. eitan of sci-fi lasers was also helpful when i was ordering the lenses from him, which will arrive in a few weeks so i would like to thank him as well. thats a record, i bothered 3 people with my questions about 1 laser :na:
AND HERE, THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR, THE L4Z0R PR0N THAT YOU NEED: BEAMSHOTS!!!
In my room, beam enhanced by smoke/fog:
up in the sky, no beam enhancement however the color is not right, its very much so purple in real life:
And here it is being a member of my rainbow. beams enhanced by smoke/fog. colors are 638nm, 532nm, 445nm, and 405nm.
the specs.
diode: BDR-209 405nm 16x Bluray in copper module from DTR.
driver: X-boost V7 V-boost mini set at 600mA, by lazeerer, from DTR.
lens: currently, 400-500nm AR coated 3-element glass lens (which is a rather beat up lens, since ive had it for a while) from DTR, but S1 coming in the mail from Eitan of sci-fi lasers.
Host, heatsink, pill: WF501B, Black anodized aluminum, brass... (like people care about the pill) all from Budget Beams.
here are all the parts (and a flashlight reflector that came with the host from budget beams):
once i was all set up with the soldering iron i went to work, keep in mind this was the second time i have ever used a soldering iron, the first being on my red laser, where i simply soldered wires together. i soldered a contact spring to the contact board, and i somehow managed to make it stick out at an angle, but it works so i dont care. heres a picture:
then i stuck the contact spring into the piece of cardboard i was working on in order to hold it still (i was doing all the soldering on card board in order not to "ruin the table" becuase my parents were paranoid about soldering, but i'm not necessarily against their opinion) and i soldered the leads from the driver to the contact board, i went - lead to + on the contact board cause im hipster like that, and i wanted to stick it to the man (i actually wanted my batteries to go in + facing out, and the contact board for some reason had polarity markings on it). here's and image of the work:
you can see the end of the - lead isnt perfect attached but it works.
then i put it all together in the host and fired it up, hoping i hadn't made the classic "$100 paper weight" by messing something up or putting the batteries in backwards, and it worked!!! the beam is clearly visible during the day which surprised me becuase of how dim 405nm is, and the divergence is great, even better than my DPSS 532nm laser. now i understand why people l'ke single mode diodes. at first i wasn't sure of the black heatsink but now that its in there it looks sick. here it is all completed.
i would like to thank DTR for his great customer service, as always he answered all my questions quickly even at ridiculous times like 3 in the morning. i would also like to thank Mohrenberg (his store budget beams is where i got the host and heatsink, as well as the pill and driver board) for the helful and quick customer serice. eitan of sci-fi lasers was also helpful when i was ordering the lenses from him, which will arrive in a few weeks so i would like to thank him as well. thats a record, i bothered 3 people with my questions about 1 laser :na:
AND HERE, THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR, THE L4Z0R PR0N THAT YOU NEED: BEAMSHOTS!!!
In my room, beam enhanced by smoke/fog:
up in the sky, no beam enhancement however the color is not right, its very much so purple in real life:
And here it is being a member of my rainbow. beams enhanced by smoke/fog. colors are 638nm, 532nm, 445nm, and 405nm.
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What you have here is what my wife wants me to build for her, looking forward to that build too. Gotta keep momma happy. :gj:
