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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

PL515 Pen (re)Build - 50mW 515nm

diachi

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Hey everyone! :)

Got bored tonight, so decided to rebuild my last PL515 build. Made the mistake of using superglue to secure the button board last time. Vapors from the superglue apparently seeped into the push button and settled on the contacts, thus the laser stopped working. Knew that was a risk at the time but decided to go for it anyway:rolleyes:. Superglue can also be deposited on optics, which results in them fogging up. Not good.

Take note of my mistake here, avoid using superglue for laser builds, especially near optics. I opted for quick cure 2 part epoxy this time. :beer:


I also noticed the diode hadn't been properly pressed into the module the last time around (Oops! :whistle:), so I pressed it again, this time properly.

Anyway ... time for some pictures! :D


Driver resoldered to the diode after pressing again. Used a cheap eBay boost driver that runs on 3V, output at ~7.5V. Ended up removing the driver again after this image, it wasn't quite as straight as I wanted... :p Nor was it as flush with the module as I liked. Much better the second time around.

tOVWUEt.jpg



Button/spring board is just the driver from a dead 405nm 301 (don't throw away your old junk pointers! ;)), soldered a lead directly onto the switch to bypass any other electronics on there. Didn't see much point in removing all of the components as they'd be bypassed anyway.

vFrZXcW.jpg



Button board connected to the driver and diode. You can see where I've glued the driver to the back of the module to prevent any flexing that might break the LD pins. I need to remember to buy some good stranded core wire with silicon insulation, this sold core stuff is no good.

BWIn4dh.jpg



Underside, button/spring board now glued to the driver to keep everything nicely secured. Plastic board support is from a 301 too, removed one side so that it'd fit.

8SbYz6w.jpg



Closeup.

0wUSTYN.jpg



Finished! I actually skipped a step in this post. Wrapped the whole driver section in shrink wrap, camera had run out of battery at the point, didn't feel like waiting for a charge. The host is a little beat up after being rebuilt, but it does the job. Pressed the module/driver/button assembly into the host with some copper shim sandwiched between the module and host to make a tight fit and good electrical contact.

QnNr7DT.jpg




Dot photo - had old batteries in at this point so it was probably doing close to 10mW.


VaqyS2k.jpg




Quick beamshot - no fog or anything, kitchen light on. Lens on the laser needs a cleaning, lots of spatter.

xTlQkYP.jpg



Power test puts it at 57mW on fresh batteries. Not bad, pretty happy with that result! :D Nice wavelength for sure, looking forward to the next build with a nicer host and fresh LD/Driver. Have an NDB7242E (445nm, 50mW) and another PL515 build planned, just waiting on hosts and another PL515 to arrive! :)

Will post some more beamshots and stuff at a later date, probably at the weekend. I'll need to see if I can get a good comparison with some 532!
 
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BobMc

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Hey everyone! :)

Got bored tonight, so decided to rebuild my last PL515 build. Made the mistake of using superglue to secure the button board last time. Vapors from the superglue apparently seeped into the push button and settled on the contacts, thus the laser stopped working. Knew that was a risk at the time but decided to go for it anyway:rolleyes:. Superglue can also be deposited on optics, which results in them fogging up. Not good.

Take note of my mistake here, avoid using superglue for laser builds, especially near optics. I opted for quick cure 2 part epoxy this time. :beer:


I also noticed the diode hadn't been properly pressed into the module the last time around (Oops! :whistle:), so I pressed it again, this time properly.

Anyway ... time for some pictures! :D


Driver resoldered to the diode after pressing again. Used a cheap eBay boost driver that runs on 3V, output at ~7.5V. Ended up removing the driver again after this image, it wasn't quite as straight as I wanted... :p Nor was it as flush with the module as I liked. Much better the second time around.

tOVWUEt.jpg



Button/spring board is just the driver from a dead 405nm 301 (don't throw away your old junk pointers! ;)), soldered a lead directly onto the switch to bypass any other electronics on there. Didn't see much point in removing all of the components as they'd be bypassed anyway.

vFrZXcW.jpg



Button board connected to the driver and diode. You can see where I've glued the driver to the back of the module to prevent any flexing that might break the LD pins. I need to remember to buy some good stranded core wire with silicon insulation, this sold core stuff is no good.

BWIn4dh.jpg



Underside, button/spring board now glued to the driver to keep everything nicely secured. Plastic board support is from a 301 too, removed one side so that it'd fit.

8SbYz6w.jpg



Closeup.

0wUSTYN.jpg



Finished! I actually skipped a step in this post. Wrapped the whole driver section in shrink wrap, camera had run out of battery at the point, didn't feel like waiting for a charge. The host is a little beat up after being rebuilt, but it does the job. Pressed the module/driver/button assembly into the host with some copper shim sandwiched between the module and host to make a tight fit and good electrical contact.

QnNr7DT.jpg




Dot photo - had old batteries in at this point so it was probably doing close to 10mW.


VaqyS2k.jpg




Quick beamshot - no fog or anything, kitchen light on. Lens on the laser needs a cleaning, lots of spatter.

xTlQkYP.jpg



Power test puts it at 57mW on fresh batteries. Not bad, pretty happy with that result! :D Nice wavelength for sure, looking forward to the next build with a nicer host and fresh LD/Driver. Have an NDB7242E (445nm, 50mW) and another PL515 build planned, just waiting on hosts and another PL515 to arrive! :)

Will post some more beamshots and stuff at a later date, probably at the weekend. I'll need to see if I can get a good comparison with some 532!

Nice build/rebuild , old 301 parts put to use. :gj: Really like the pl515 think it's a really nice color, think it's nicer than the 520 . Enjoy that nice little laser . :)
 

GSS

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Cool refreshing build for the forum:)
Just seeing this build I ended taking my PL520 defiant light build from Pman outside as its dark and drizzly. I haven't brought out any laser for a while till this morning;)
I couldn't find anyone to take a pic with my phone, and no matter how I tried the pic's came out awefull..
On another note, you have to have gotten your Laserlands 520 by now???
 
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diachi

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Nice build/rebuild , old 301 parts put to use. :gj: Really like the pl515 think it's a really nice color, think it's nicer than the 520 . Enjoy that nice little laser . :)

Thanks! I haven't actually compared it to 520nm yet, looks nice next to 532 though! :)

Cool refreshing build for the forum:)
Just seeing this build I ended taking my PL520 defiant light build from Pman outside as its dark and drizzly. I haven't brought out any laser for a while till this morning;)
I couldn't find anyone to take a pic with my phone, and no matter how I tried the pic's came out awefull..
On another note, you have to have gotten your Laserlands 520 by now???


Glad you enjoyed the build and decided to play with your 520! Hard to get a decent picture of lasers with a phone much of the time unfortunately. :(

Hah! I was considering mentioning that Laserlands 520 at the end of the post. Nope, no sign of it yet. :undecided:
 

GSS

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My phone pic's up the beams quite well even 405's, not that this isn't a common thing with basic cell phone's but trying to take them properly I would need 3 hands:thinking:
Now as far as Lanserland's laser, I think its a safe to say its lost somewhere in transaction:cryyy:
I wouldn't let it go as its really a nice piece and hey a deal is a deal??? What have you seen with tracking?
 

diachi

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My phone pic's up the beams quite well even 405's, not that this isn't a common thing with basic cell phone's but trying to take them properly I would need 3 hands:thinking:
Now as far as Lanserland's laser, I think its a safe to say its lost somewhere in transaction:cryyy:
I wouldn't let it go as its really a nice piece and hey a deal is a deal??? What have you seen with tracking?


Depends on the phone. :p Get one of those little tripod phone stands and either use a timer to take pictures or one of those remote camera buttons that plugs into your headphone jack, those are super handy! :D

Tracking hasn't been updated in a month. Pretty sure it has went AWOL too. Going to have to reach out to them and see what's going on.
 

BowtieGuy

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Very nice pen re-build and detailed pics! Love that wavelength. :beer:

You're right, never throw anything away, you never know when you'll need it, .... oh that's right, you'll need it as soon as you throw it away! :crackup:
:gj:
 
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diachi

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Very nice pen re-build and detailed pics! Love that wavelength. :beer:

You're right, never throw anything away, you never know when you'll need it, .... oh that's right, you'll need it as soon as you throw it away! :crackup:
:gj:

Thanks! :) Sure is nice, not my favourite, but it is nice.

Yeah, every time I throw something away I end up needing it a few days later. Going to turn into a hoarder. :crackup:

The way the lengths worked out was rather nice. Both boards together are the perfect length to allow the module to be flush with the host while the switch is directly under the button. :D
 

BowtieGuy

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That's good that the length worked out just right, no need for cutting, or spacers. :yh:
 

diachi

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Laser66 hosts just showed up, so there'll be a couple more builds to come soonish! Just need my other PL515 to show up now. :)
 
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It looks like a brighter green color, I am hoping we see some half watt single mode 515-520 diodes sometime not too far away. Those will look great.
 

diachi

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It looks like a brighter green color, I am hoping we see some half watt single mode 515-520 diodes sometime not too far away. Those will look great.


Yeah, that'd be nice! Class IV single mode diodes for everyone! :p
 
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Very nice rebuild thread. Thanks for bringing it to us. Yeah, I never throw stuff out either. I guess that comes from way back in my technician days when we had mountains of chassis in a back room. I don't keep them separated, so I always try to mark them as nonfunctional so I don't try to use it years later as a working unit. :)
 
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Nice, happy to see a build thread from you!! How's the eBay driver holding up, is it any good?

Edit: don't even get me started on super glue, I have nightmares about that sh!t lol. Epoxy can be messy too but it's usually the best other option.
 
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Lovely wavelength Diachi! It's been so long since I did a build I need to get back into the swing of things :beer:
 

diachi

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Very nice rebuild thread. Thanks for bringing it to us. Yeah, I never throw stuff out either. I guess that comes from way back in my technician days when we had mountains of chassis in a back room. I don't keep them separated, so I always try to mark them as nonfunctional so I don't try to use it years later as a working unit. :)

Thanks! :)

Generally good to mark the broken units haha, bunch of times I've gone to image/deploy a computer only to find that it's one of the dead machines kept for spare parts. :p

Nice, happy to see a build thread from you!! How's the eBay driver holding up, is it any good?

Edit: don't even get me started on super glue, I have nightmares about that sh!t lol. Epoxy can be messy too but it's usually the best other option.


Seems fine so far! Doesn't like anything below ~3.0V supply or it starts to drop out. Combined with the high input current due to it being a boost driver, a set of AAA batteries doesn't last long. Input current was ~600mA @ 3V IIRC. Will need to pick up a set of those 1.5V lithium AAAs for it!

Haha yeah, it's handy for some things but epoxy is a better adhesive all round IMO. Didn't have any problems applying it, used toothpicks to mix and apply. Just need to make sure there isn't too much on the toothpick and that you're careful not to get it all over the place. :) This stuff was quite thin which was nice, seeped into the gaps for better adhesion.

Lovely wavelength Diachi! It's been so long since I did a build I need to get back into the swing of things


Will look forward to seeing some of your builds! :D
 
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