532nm custom build 500-600mW... help?

arcticblueman · Jul 18, 2010

First question, can a 532nm >500mW build be done with a Jayrob kit for less than $250? If not, don't read the rest, it'll waste your time.

I'm considering canceling my Arctic order and building a green laser instead. Any recommendations on which JayRob kit? Also, where could I find a diode that's capable of 600mW in 532nm? I'm also hoping for TEM00 with very little divergence if possible. I don't know if Jayrob supplies glass to achieve this, I'm sure he does though?

Anyway, I'm a n00b and I'm definitely going with his hot option on whatever kit I buy because I have no idea what I'm doing, I'm learning as I go on this project. :can:

Prototype · Jul 18, 2010

This can't be done, sorry.

Razako · Jul 18, 2010

arcticblueman said:
First question, can a 532nm >500mW build be done with a Jayrob kit for less than $250? If not, don't read the rest, it'll waste your time.

I'm considering canceling my Arctic order and building a green laser instead. Any recommendations on which JayRob kit? Also, where could I find a diode that's capable of 600mW in 532nm? I'm also hoping for TEM00 with very little divergence if possible. I don't know if Jayrob supplies glass to achieve this, I'm sure he does though?

Anyway, I'm a n00b and I'm definitely going with his hot option on whatever kit I buy because I have no idea what I'm doing, I'm learning as I go on this project. :can:

You're not gonna find 532 nm diodes....You'd need a prebuilt module with the crystals all. You can get modules like that from O-like, but it will cost you wayyyy more than $250 for a plain module of that power.

arcticblueman · Jul 18, 2010

Okay, here's how I SHOULD have asked this question. All the bottom questions still apply because I don't know the first thing (I'm reading a welcome thread that is explaining things to me while this thread sits in another tab to be refreshed) about building a laser.

So the new question, "$250 is my budget, what can I do with it in the 532 / low divergence / TEM00 arena?"

Razako · Jul 18, 2010

arcticblueman said:
Okay, here's how I SHOULD have asked this question. All the bottom questions still apply because I don't know the first thing (I'm reading a welcome thread that is explaining things to me while this thread sits in another tab to be refreshed) about building a laser.

So the new question, "$250 is my budget, what can I do with it in the 532 / low divergence / TEM00 arena?"

Personally I'd recommend a novalasers X-series for high quality, sleek looks and good specs overall. Also they're typically overspec and you'll get 20+mw more than you paid more. My x-100 has a 139mw peak. For $250 you could get an X-125 which would burn stuff unfocused and produce a brilliant beam at night. This is the high quality/high price option.

If you want value then you could gamble and buy a 200mw green for less money from O-Like.com or Rayfoss.

arcticblueman · Jul 18, 2010

Razako said:
Personally I'd recommend a novalasers X-series for high quality, sleek looks and good specs overall. Also they're typically overspec and you'll get 20+mw more than you paid more. My x-100 has a 139mw peak. For $250 you could get an X-125 which would burn stuff unfocused and produce a brilliant beam at night. This is the high quality/high price option.

If you want value then you could gamble and buy a 200mw green for less money from O-Like.com or Rayfoss.

Thanks for the advice. Heading over to Novalasers now.

So I'm guessing from this advice it costs more to build yourself than to just buy one "ready-to-press-the-button-out-of-the-box"? I've read over in the Arctic thread (yes, I know everyone hates me for referring to that thread for anything :crackup

that you can build an "arctic" for the same (or less money) than the Arctic? Is this not true of green lasers since you can't get the diode for $40?

Gryphon · Jul 18, 2010

445nm lasers like the Arctic and their respective diodes are completely different animal
than DPSS green lasers, hence their price difference. Also the affordability of these
445nm diodes is only a fairly recent development, a month or so ago a 445nm in a DIY
project would have cost some serious coin $$$

Razako · Jul 18, 2010

arcticblueman said:
Thanks for the advice. Heading over to Novalasers now.

So I'm guessing from this advice it costs more to build yourself than to just buy one "ready-to-press-the-button-out-of-the-box"? I've read over in the Arctic thread (yes, I know everyone hates me for referring to that thread for anything :crackup that you can build an "arctic" for the same (or less money) than the Arctic? Is this not true of green lasers since you can't get the diode for $40?

If you're a complete noob at laser DIY I would recommend just getting the arctic. A 445nm probably isn't the best first-time DIY project. If you fry the diode that's $40 down the drain. The best beginners DIY is a simple red laser or a PHR blu-ray diode.

Basically either keep the arctic or get a nice 532nm. Keep in mind that the arctic WILL be awesome if you ever get the thing.

arcticblueman · Jul 18, 2010

How tight of a beam can I expect out of these? I think my biggest "selling point" on lasers are the following three things:

1.) I want the brightest beam I can get (as to be able to see it even while wearing eye protection (this may be a newbie question because I don't think the "brightness" is going to change the effect of the glasses filtering out ALL of that wavelength, what I mean to say is: "I'm guessing no matter how bright the beam is apparently, it's going to be non-existent with a good pair of shades?"

2.) I want to be able to focus / defocus if possible - I like the idea of using it as a flashlight out in the woods. Someone had a green laser and the "dot" they had was about 2 feet wide down on the beach when they were shining it from about 10 stories up. I'm guessing this was achieved by defocusing the beam or just a crappy laser that wasn't tightly focused to begin with. It had to have been well into the 100mW range though because they were blasting my puny $45 cheap China greenie that I would guess is at around 15-25mW.

3.) Beam divergence. I want the tightest beam I can get given a long distance. Is it possible to get a divergence of less than 12" @ approx. 2 miles?

arcticblueman · Jul 18, 2010

Razako said:
if you ever get the thing.

That's what worries me. I had an order in the 49xxx range and got cold feet and canceled when some asshat here made the joke "They might just charge all your cards at midnight and take the money and run". I got over it right after I cancelled my order and reordered but now I'm clear up in the 59xxx range. FML.

ME-->:yabbmad: :gun: <-- someone do this to me for canceling

Prototype · Jul 18, 2010

1.) If you're wearing proper goggles, you can't see the beam, sorry.
2.) CNI offers high quality focusable greens, but you pay for the quality and have to go through a group buy on here or pay through wire transfer to China and pay shipping, and the laser may cost more than the group buy price.
3.) I'm not sure you can achieve that good of divergence without a beam expander, which is another several hundred dollars.

Razako · Jul 18, 2010

arcticblueman said:
How tight of a beam can I expect out of these? I think my biggest "selling point" on lasers are the following three things:

1.) I want the brightest beam I can get (as to be able to see it even while wearing eye protection (this may be a newbie question because I don't think the "brightness" is going to change the effect of the glasses filtering out ALL of that wavelength, what I mean to say is: "I'm guessing no matter how bright the beam is apparently, it's going to be non-existent with a good pair of shades?"

2.) I want to be able to focus / defocus if possible - I like the idea of using it as a flashlight out in the woods. Someone had a green laser and the "dot" they had was about 2 feet wide down on the beach when they were shining it from about 10 stories up. I'm guessing this was achieved by defocusing the beam or just a crappy laser that wasn't tightly focused to begin with. It had to have been well into the 100mW range though because they were blasting my puny $45 cheap China greenie that I would guess is at around 15-25mW.

3.) Beam divergence. I want the tightest beam I can get given a long distance. Is it possible to get a divergence of less than 12" @ approx. 2 miles?

1-You won't see the beam at all wearing proper goggles. If you wanna see the beam you'll have to point it at distant objects outside or into the sky.
2-Neither the X-series or the arctic are focusable. You might find some focusable green lasers on O-Like.com and rayfoss.
3-12'' spot at 2 miles? No way. Maybe with a laserglow Hercules and X10DR beam expander(about $1000+ for the cheapest combo).

arcticblueman · Jul 18, 2010

Okay, so you can't see the "dot" at 2 miles, then. I don't understand why they say some lasers will "go" over 100 miles? Is this only indicating to the user not to be a moron and "point" at the faintest "blinking dot aka a plane" in the sky because the laser can hit it?

I just don't see the application of a laser that can "go" >100miles if you can't see the spot the laser is aiming at. Seems like a stupid thing to even point out when selling a laser?

Razako · Jul 18, 2010

arcticblueman said:
Okay, so you can't see the "dot" at 2 miles, then. I don't understand why they say some lasers will "go" over 100 miles? Is this only indicating to the user not to be a moron and "point" at the faintest "blinking dot aka a plane" in the sky because the laser can hit it?

I just don't see the application of a laser that can "go" >100miles if you can't see the spot the laser is aiming at. Seems like a stupid thing to even point out when selling a laser?

Oh believe me you'll be able to see the dot from an arctic or good green laser at 2 miles. It might be as big as a car, but you'll see the dot.

arcticblueman · Jul 18, 2010

Razako said:
Oh believe me you'll be able to see the dot from an arctic or good green laser at 2 miles. It might be as big as a car, but you'll see the dot.

But I mean any practical purpose such as aiming two dishes at each other for data communication would be pointless? I've mentioned this before and someone told me just to use a compass, yeah yeah, but I want to be a nerd and use the "ub3r l33t meth0d" LOL - no I don't talk like that, just exaggerating how cool I think it'd be to use "laser assisted dish aiming".

Also, on a side note, if the beam has been scattered to the size of a car, does it carry any danger to the eyes? I'm paranoid as all get out with the near-UV nature of the Arctic and anytime the "blue" is coming near my eyes, I want glasses. Just thought I'd ask. Seems like by 2 miles the harmful nature of the beam would be so scattered that it would only seem like a normal source of light like a very bright blue spotlight being shined at you from 2 miles away.

Razako · Jul 18, 2010

arcticblueman said:
But I mean any practical purpose such as aiming two dishes at each other for data communication would be pointless? I've mentioned this before and someone told me just to use a compass, yeah yeah, but I want to be a nerd and use the "ub3r l33t meth0d" LOL - no I don't talk like that, just exaggerating how cool I think it'd be to use "laser assisted dish aiming".

Also, on a side note, if the beam has been scattered to the size of a car, does it carry any danger to the eyes? I'm paranoid as all get out with the near-UV nature of the Arctic and anytime the "blue" is coming near my eyes, I want glasses. Just thought I'd ask. Seems like by 2 miles the harmful nature of the beam would be so scattered that it would only seem like a normal source of light like a very bright blue spotlight being shined at you from 2 miles away.

1-I honestly don't know how it would work for the 2 dishes. You'll just have to try it and see. If it doesn't work out you still end up with a cool new gadget

2-In terms of safety the beam should be dispersed enough at 2 miles that you could look briefly into it without suffering immediate eye damage, but it would still be really damn bright. Laser light will always seem way brighter than other sources due to the way your eyes focus the coherent light better. Basically I'd still recommend the glasses if your face would be in the beam or anything. Better safe than sorry.

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