Help with my first Dorcy laser please!

Hi guys, i'm new here, hoping i'm not overly naive - i was wondering if you could help me with a few problems, if they have already been answered please refer me to that thread or multiple threads.

So i'm going to make my first laser, a good quality ~200mw red with a proper driver, heatsink encased in a Dorcy Jr.

The problem is, I live in the UK and am finding it extremely difficult to get hold of a dorcy for a reasonable price, I thought i struck lucky with HighTechDealz, but typically they're sold out!

So if anyone has one they can send to the UK, or knows somewhere i can get one from, please pm me or refer me.

And i also have a few questions regarding the technical aspects of making my own laser:

1. I'm a little confused over the flexdrive, are the lava drive and flexdrive two different things, or is it just the 'Lava flexdrive'? If they are separate, which do you reccomend?
2. I had two diodes in my dvd burner, the only differences i can see are that one has a blue tinted glass and one has a slight green tint - is the blue one the dvd burner diode?
3. While i'm asking - do i need a pot if i use the flexdrive?

Sorry for wall of text, thanks if you got this far!

1) DrLava is the member here which makes and sells the "lava drive"/"flexdrive"
2) in your drive you should have a RED diode and a IR (infrared) diode. I will check which is which.. hold on
3) No, you do not need a pot.. The flexdrive has a built in pot to regulate current. You should do a bit more reading in the forums, all these questions have been answered. You will also need a "dummy load" to test the current.. or you could alternatively buy the driver at a pre-set current!

Hope that helps -Adrian

Thanks for the prompt reply, will check more thoroughly next time - get back soon with which is which!

ok.. I'm not sure from the tinted glass but I just remembered that there is a much easier way to work out which is which..

bacically red has 3 pins and IR has 4.. thats it...

hope that helped! -Adrian

hmm, they both seem to have 3 pins, one has a significantly bulkier heatsink, logic tells me that i the burner diode, but im still not sure - is there a way i can quickly test it without frying it?

What sled did you get it from? Do you have any pictures?

Also i would HIGHLY suggest buying your driver with a pre-set current. If you have never set it before buy it pre-set. it is worth the extra 4 dollars.

Not sure where it's from, it's pretty old but still 16x, it's a DVD r/rw made by a company called 'Liteonit' or 'Lite on it'. (that is what u meant by sled, right?) I will try to get some pictures up in a few mins. And thanks for suggestion on the driver - seems like a good idea for a few dollars

And here they are (sorry for poor picture quality, the focus is very bad close up)

First the blue tinted one
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42923750@N03/3956624790/

and the green-tinted one
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42923750@N03/3956622212/

im not too sure mate.. maybe some one can halp you with this.. maybe this sled has 2 reds cause im 99% sure IR diodes have 4 pins.. is there any other diodes in there? can you give us the model number maybe?

Hehe, well that certainly would be a nice surprise if it were!

The model number is LDW-811s

well this is what came up with the google search

Lite-On LDW-811S DVD±RW/DVD±R Drive Review

it seems its a 8x burner. but i can't find any info on diode specs.. other then its a 8x

sorry

No sweats there. The red burner diode, when looked from the back (where the pins are) is not flat, there is noticable elevated centre in wich pins are located. IR diode is flat .
One more thing. I haven't been using anything else but Philips dvd burners, and they have diodes that are 'marked' on the bark end, red diode had tiny 'HR' and IR 'R' letter printed right by the pins.

You there with IR 4 pins. First: ROFLMAO.
Second, do research. 4 pin diodes are only found in new Blu ray readers/burers, and they contain both red and IR die in them. That is the extra pin.

Bottom line - red diode is not flat in the background like IR .

Hope i helped.

You there with IR 4 pins. First: ROFLMAO.
Second, do research. 4 pin diodes are only found in new Blu ray readers/burers, and they contain both red and IR die in them. That is the extra pin.

Click to expand...

First off.. don't talk to me like that "You there with IR 4 pins. First: ROFLMAO."
Second.. this forum is for learning and sharing of information, if your post was to inform me of my mistake, I'm sure it could of been done in a more mature and intellectual way! if you don't want to help don't post!!

My bad sorry Wolf11.. I did just assume they would be the same as the blu-ray sleds.. I haven't actually ever used a IR diode before, so this is why i wasn't 100% sure in this topic! hence why I said "I'm 99% sure, IR has 4 pins" thanks for clearing it up Eudaimonium.. but next time it could be done in a better manner!

ok thanks for info guys, I guess I should try getting a newer dvd burner or diode, seems the problem is in that it's so old!

bobhaha said:

First off.. don't talk to me like that "You there with IR 4 pins. First: ROFLMAO."
Second.. this forum is for learning and sharing of information, if your post was to inform me of my mistake, I'm sure it could of been done in a more mature and intellectual way! if you don't want to help don't post!!

My bad sorry Wolf11.. I did just assume they would be the same as the blu-ray sleds.. I haven't actually ever used a IR diode before, so this is why i wasn't 100% sure in this topic! hence why I said "I'm 99% sure, IR has 4 pins" thanks for clearing it up Eudaimonium.. but next time it could be done in a better manner!

Click to expand...

Hell, sorry of you got insulted, I sure haven't mean to insult you, you know it is just my over reaction, you were saying thing that ain't true so surely as if you have done it a million times before. Just couldn't help it, sorry again
Shake hands and make up?

Ok guys, i finally built u my first driver ( on a breadboard ) and hooked it up with a 9v and my 8x diode, turns out that the blue tinted one was a red one, and by looking at it through my camera the other one looked as if it was IR bcause it was MUCH brighter in the cam, although it was emitting some ~650nm light, is this right or are they both reds?

ir looks like a 5mw red so no both arent reds... the 700mw ir laser i used to have looked like a 5-10mw red.