Newbie looking to modify Kipkays design

Cheapy Lighter Laser Burner

From what ive seen, Kipkays design is popular yet unsafe. Ive never worked with lasers before, and I would love to make something like this. However, I would like multiple opinions on this. I also dont like Kipkays plans because they all involve "Buy these parts from me!"

I also plan on using a hacked 5-pin diode from a PS3, and I have another (which is suspect is IR) 3 pin diode from a different PS3 as a spare.

I also dont understand why I need a driver. Perhaps im ignorant, but ive seen a few PS3 diodes running with just resistors and switches.

Id like to keep this as simple as possible, and using as many homebrew(yet safe) parts as possible. Life is more fun when you make it yourself(and dont blind yourself).

Don't use any designs from kipkay. Stay away from any kind of laser lighter. And drivers prevent voltage spikes from killing the fragile diode. Read around some, the diode from a ps3 can't provide enough power to light anything IIRC.

Diodes need a constant, regulated current in order to prevent damage - only a driver can be sure of that. You can limit current with a resistor and a capacitor, but it isn't brilliant, and the output changes with battery voltage.

A torch-style/project-box build is probably a better way to get started in the hobby. Have a look at Morgan's guide on how to make your own laser for more information.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f51/i-want-build-laser-thread-52972.html <----THIS

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Jerry

Thanks for the warm welcome guys, Im sure you get about 6 kids a day asking the same thing albeit t3y kant speel g00d or th3y r 1337.

I believe that im just going to search and pirate someone elses plans. I always hated figuring out resistance and dealing with electronics in general, so I will leave that to someone else.

With that said, what is a great case to house these in? Flashlights seem the most common. I would love to use something I can carry in my pocket(Zippo?).

Finally, with a good (>$100) setup, what can most of you guys do with your setups? On a portable device that is. Illuminate clouds at night? Set thick stuff on fire? Fight terrorism?

If you don't like dealing with electronics your best option is probably to just buy a driver that will work with your laser.

the problem with the zippo thing is you just don't have room for real batteries, and button cells would work a few seconds if that with minimal power output.

The smallest power source you could probably hope to use with any decent runtime would be a CR123 battery, and your still talking about something that's not going to fit in your lighter.

Though since no one else has said it, buy proper rated GOGGLES for the wavelengths your dealing with. Class 3b lasers and up aren't toys. Blinding yourself and others is a real possibility, And with a high enough power, they can be fire hazards as well. 405's have another pitfall. The human eye doesn't see that wavelength very well. So even if it doesn't LOOK that bright, it doesn't mean your not doing your eyes damage. human flesh and strong UV/near UV don't mix well.

Hey ssok,

It looks like you and I had similar interests in that we both wanted a laser that fits in your pocket, and the lighter host is just very cool because it's not only "concealable" but it also does the job of a lighter to a small extent (though I won't ever actually use it to light cigarettes or cigars).

I actually just made a ~110mw 405nm PHR-803T housed in a zippo lighter, basing the idea off of Rog8811's build: Laser lighter - It can be done

qumefox is correct in that the battery life is terrible. I used three 9v 38mah batteries in parallel, which gives about 114mah total. With the diode running at 110mw, battery life runs very much under an hour... so prepare to have these batteries stocked up. They are not cheap either, going at 2 dollars each.

All in all, I had to do a LOT of reshaping of the case itself. I also don't have the skill or resources available to have made a proper heat sink, so I just kind of shaped some thermal epoxy into a heat sink, which works okay I guess, though I don't exactly know if I am in fact overheating the diode. I guess I will find out depending on how long the diode lasts =).

Also, the scale at which I had to wire and fit everything is much smaller than I had expected. But, I was able to finish it. I can post pictures of my build when I get back in town some time later this week.

So if you do in fact decide to go with a Zippo build because it's what you really want (like in my case), then I can be of assistance to you, but it is not very easy. Lots of metal grinding, crafting and working with tiny parts, and a bit of frustration will be involved.


Oh and to answer your other question... You can light things, and do other things you'd do with a laser pointer haha. But be prepared to swap out your batteries after a session or two of laser-ing, if you do in fact go with the zippo build.

Assuming you own a lot of the tools you need already (safety glasses, a DMM, soldering iron, wire, epoxy, etc), this project should run you around $100 or less. Without these materials, assume around $200.

I'm 99% sure that you could fit some cheap, rechargeable LiPo batteries in zippo. Best of all, they're flat. Check out SparkFun Electronics - Polymer Lithium Ion Battery - 1000mAh
1 amp-hour and I'm pretty sure you could fit at least one in a zippo. If not, they have a much smaller 110mAh lipo IIRC.

Wow that is a pretty beastly battery! However, I think the Blu-Ray diodes like 9 volts right?

That'd be sweet to have a few of those in series though! Or maybe I'm missing something and just 1 of those batteries would work...

Blu-ray diodes die immediately when exposed to 9 volts... some DRIVERS might like nine volts, but if you use a boost driver a lipo battery would be just fine.

Just remember, with li-po's, you HAVE to have the correct charger for them or they WILL explode and burn your house down. If you really want flat cell li-po's, just find a local RC hobby store, they'll have plenty and proper chargers.

RC stores don't always have "small" lipos that can fit in a lighter, plus sparkfun has chargers too I think.

You can get lipo chargers on ebay for $10 FTR.