DVD Diode Pics+ some questions

Hello, I remembered that I took apart an old dvd rewritable drive several years ago and did nothing with it (this was back in the ќiрkay craze :na
I don't have too much confidence that it will work, but I can hope. I tried powering it before with alkaline batteries but of course it did not work. :crackup:
Anyways, I now have a power supply that I use to saltwater etch steel, it is a cheap one that goes from 0-30 volts and I am not sure the maximum current but I think that I will not need more than 100 milliamps right? Any warnings / advice before I try it? luckily it seems undamaged, the window is as flat as a high quality mirror and I can see better reflected off of it than I can with my naked eye! (I am nearsighted and it works like a pinhole lense) I took these pictures right before my camera battery died so I am going to go do some chores and let it recharge before I power it up.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4dcdFrJqEraa1VnSTVSdE5IdnM/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4dcdFrJqEraRmh6azhCSkZ3ZFk/view?usp=sharing
Sorry about the low quality of this one, it was my last try before the camera shut off.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4dcdFrJqEraVkNYcHcyck1XZjQ/view?usp=sharing
I would directly embed the images but google won't let me.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4dcdFrJqEraQWJBcTlkU29kckU/view?usp=sharing
I think this diode is a bust, It seems to at best put out less than 1 mw of visible red light. Oh well, I guess If I want to build my own laser I will just have to buy a diode. I would start with a 520 nm diode If I didn't already order a green laser from rayfoss.

That light has the color of IR with most cameras, which is consistent with the appearance of <1mW of red to the eye. It's probably a 780nm diode, used on CD writers/readers.

There's a huge chance that thing is far more powerful than it looks, don't look at it!

Hi,
I pull the red flat package diode from a BDR-209 sled bored out an old module heat sinked the diode. it's fun to experiment here are some pics.