Attaching 1w 445nm laser to car battery??

Hey guys!! Hope everyone is well


I have a strange but interesting project I'm working on. Basically I was gifted this 445nm laser housed in a square metal box, build by hand, but with what looks like pretty standard parts...

It came with a small solar panel, and apparently when the safety key is "on", turns on automatically when it no longer gets sun light input from the panel. Problem is the panel doesnt charge the battery fast enough, and id perfer just to skip the entire solar part.







It looks like a standard 12v battery right?.. sorry its upside down it says 12v 10ah 20hr

What I want to do is pretty basic. Cut the red and black wires above the battery, attach similar diameter extension wire with clips at the ends and attach the clips to the terminals of a large 12v automotive battery (not installed in a vehicle).

Does anyone see an issue with this?? Basically I want this laser to run ALL night long (preferable several nights in a row, off during day) off the car battery to guide people in the dark desert.

THANKS ALOT GUYS :thanks::thanks:

Yeah it shouldnt be a problem. It sounds like the pannel charges the battery and the laser runs off the battery via the driver in the picture. Removing the panel means you will have to remove the battery everytime to charge it.

If you want the pannel to be more effective at charging, make sure you track the sun and hold the panel perpendicular to it. Make sure there is no dust/sand, or shade on any part of the pannel. If you are in the desert you shouldnt have much trouble with the sun! Other option would be to get higher W rated pannel. :beer:

grainde said:

Yeah it shouldnt be a problem. It sounds like the pannel charges the battery and the laser runs off the battery via the driver in the picture. Removing the panel means you will have to remove the battery everytime to charge it.

If you want the pannel to be more effective at charging, make sure you track the sun and hold the panel perpendicular to it. Make sure there is no dust/sand, or shade on any part of the pannel. If you are in the desert you shouldnt have much trouble with the sun! Other option would be to get higher W rated pannel. :beer:

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Ya I just wanna skip the whole "solar charging idea". Just to clarify, the battery pictured is the battery that will be taken out.. I just want to make sure its compatible with a standard car battery.

Basically I don't mind lugging the car battery to the desert and i know it will provide at least a few full nights of laser power. Then I can just attach it to my truck battery and alternator with jumper cables to charge it back up (if needed).

I just need to confirm that a car battery willn't fry my laser :tsk::wtf:

Thanks

If the batteries have the same voltage, ie 12 V, its irrelevant. You could use a truck, car or boat, or 2x 6V (in series) 225 Ahr trojan golf cart batteries. They will all have a different Ahr rating which just means how many amps they can provide for a given time, at a defined temp (norm 20°C). :beer:

If you are going to do this you don't want to be running that battery down and then charging it up constantly. Lead acid batteries aren't designed for that, they're designed to be getting constantly trickle charged (usually from an alternator) with no more than a momentary burst for the starter or light drain from parking lamps. If you consistently drain a lead acid battery to empty it'll wear out pretty quickly as I believe something happens to the plates themselves inside the battery, they corrode or the coatings undergo a chemical change (I can't quite remember which).

trencheel303 said:

If you are going to do this you don't want to be running that battery down and then charging it up constantly. Lead acid batteries aren't designed for that, they're designed to be getting constantly trickle charged (usually from an alternator) with no more than a momentary burst for the starter or light drain from parking lamps. If you consistently drain a lead acid battery to empty it'll wear out pretty quickly as I believe something happens to the plates themselves inside the battery, they corrode or the coatings undergo a chemical change (I can't quite remember which).

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Ya it's only gonna be used 7-14 nights per year. So I could only see me recharging it 3-4 times. It's an old car battery that I'm not using so if it dies, no biggie.

I have heard that tho. So thank you!

Ok I'm about to wire up and test. I'll let y'all know

so i got some wires and did a little chop chop tape tape

waaaa laaa


Thanks for the help guys!

Looks like there will be a bright 445nm 1w light guiding lost hippies and spunions back to camp at burning man this year!!!

One thing to consider....that heatsink looks pretty but not pretty effective. Well, not enough to cool the diode all night long. You may end up being the owner of a dead guiding light.

wannaburnstuff said:

One thing to consider....that heatsink looks pretty but not pretty effective. Well, not enough to cool the diode all night long. You may end up being the owner of a dead guiding light.

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good thing to consider... you can't see it very well from the pictures but there is a little 1-2 inch computer fan built into the back of the diode. See the little black square attached at the back with the plastic spacers. thats the fan,

It was built by hippies but was supposed to be built to run for 12hrs at a time at least..


THANKS

@ Trenchel! Just a FYI there are many types of 12 V batteries: std Lead acid, AGM, GEL, and quite a few more. Some have Calcium added to the plates and some Antimony. There are also the Car, Marine, Lorry, golf cart and these are sold as starter, Deep Cycle or combined.

The Deep Cycle have much thicker plates and can handle running down before recharging. They are often used on boats as the service battery or eg in golf carts where the battery is charged over night and used all day to drive around. If your battery dies just replace it with a cheap Deep Cycle. :beer:

What dark desert :thinking:

Flaminpyro said:

What dark desert :thinking:

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Black rock desert. Black rock city Nevada.

Burning man festival

LOTS of yummy lasers. Even some yellow and white ones!!

LazerWithaZ said:

Black rock desert. Black rock city Nevada.

Burning man festival

LOTS of yummy lasers. Even some yellow and white ones!!

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I am sure there are some crazy colored lasers depending on how much LSD is to be had. Coffee smelling lasers, high pitched singing lasers, elephant lasers. You never know