First Laser, can't buy stuff online at the moment

A Laser 5mW+ IS NOT illegal. Pointing it at people or machines, however is.

udanis said:

A driver can supply constant current to a diode. With a resistor the current is based off of the power supply voltage. That is the simple answer, there is a lot more too it though lol

Here is a driver:
http://www.o-like.com/userfiles/image/red laser diode driver /red diode driver 1.jpg
http://www.o-like.com/userfiles/image/red laser diode driver /red diode driver 2.jpg

Click to expand...

I do not suggest those drivers, The pot pretty much doesn't work on the ones I have tried

Toaster said:

I do not suggest those drivers, The pot pretty much doesn't work on the ones I have tried

Click to expand...

I was just showing him pictures

Toaster said:

A Laser 5mW+ IS NOT illegal. Pointing it at people or machines, however is.

Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for pointing that out

@udanis: yea, I am aware of what a driver is and looks like and thank you for pointing out exactly what it does.



Can someone please give me a list of items that can and cannot be salvaged for laser diodes of AT LEAST 5mW?

Will these work?
-CD-RW drive
-DVD-rom drive on a pc
-DVD player
-Gamecube

if none of the above will fire a 5mW laser beam then I'll either buy one off of amazon or buy an old HD-DVD xbox drive-thing

Also, is it possible to build your own driver? I cannot find any on amazon

i suggest you read the stickies and this first http://laserpointerforums.com/f51/i-want-build-laser-thread-52972.html

renegade109 said:

Ok, thanks for pointing that out
@udanis: yea, I am aware of what a driver is and looks like and thank you for pointing out exactly what it does.
Can someone please give me a list of items that can and cannot be salvaged for laser diodes of AT LEAST 5mW?
Will these work?
-CD-RW drive
-DVD-rom drive on a pc
-DVD player
-Gamecube
if none of the above will fire a 5mW laser beam then I'll either buy one off of amazon or buy an old HD-DVD xbox drive-thing
Also, is it possible to build your own driver? I cannot find any on amazon

Click to expand...

NP
DVD Burner, Blue-Ray or HD-DVD Drive
Search for things before you post?
Laser driver - It can be done

@Kookapeli: Yes, I am aware of the stickies but was still a bit confused. I needed to confirm a few points myself as I found it hard to believe that a dvd player laser would not work (humans naturally believe good news better than bad news... bad news, in this instance, being that I do not have a dvd burner at my disposal and would have to spend money XD)

@udanis: that it? seems like a very limited list... however, I did find that there are xbox HD-DVD laser replacements sold on amazon for as low as $13-20 so getting a blue diode will not be a problem . Also, thank you for the link on how to build a driver, that makes things SO much easier now that I don't have to buy one from a random site that my dad wouldn't trust, lol. And yes, I did search (see reason for double-checking above). I also found a good laser module too.



So here's what I need [(CHECK) indicates I can obtain these parts]:
-Xbox HDDVD laser diode (CHECK)
-driver parts (CHECK)
-laser host (CHECK)
-lense (CHECK)... do I need it though? If yes, then will a plastic one work?
-heat sink.... probably won't need one and I havn't checked amazon yet (gotta leave somewhere now but I'll check later).


Thanks guys for all your help and I can't wait to get started on this!

If you get an Aixiz style module the lense will come with that. The lense is needed so you get your round dot and or beam, otherwise it will be like a coloured flashlight

got it, thanks for all your help!