Help with making own laser

Dear laserpointerforums,

First is would introduce myself..

My name is sebastian, almost 17 and living in the netherlands

So.. Here's my problem.

After watching tons of video's on youtube on how to make your own laser, i decided to make one myself!

What i already have is a 20x dvd burner diode.

I want to install it into a flashlight just like kipkay does on his video (Typ in youtube: flashlight laser hack)

For this i know that i need:
A diode
A aixiz module
A flashlight
And probably also a cirquit driver to keep it alive...

Are there any other things i may need? (except batteries, soldering iron etc)

And also can anyone help me buying the correct laser?

I want to buy it all from stonetek.org.. Good choice?

Thanks in advance..

Welcome to the forums and read up on the stickies

P.S. Kipkay is a bad word around these parts do NOT ever try to build his laser projects unless you want them to last 5 minutes and waste your money unless its a project he ripped from one of the LPF members

The information can be a bit buried beneath a lot of topics, but it's there. The part list looks quite complete, although the driver is definately necessary. Soldering skills and better building skills than adding ducttape are required too, but that's always good to learn.

Veel succes!

Welcome to LPF. Enjoy your time with us here. Stonetek = good



I have compiled a list of "must read" information, it will make your time with us more productive and pleasant.

Laser Resources (for n00bs and veterans alike!)

http://laserpointerforums.com/f36/looking-build-laser-read-me-47684.html

Sam's Laser FAQ (The Laser Bible)

Sam's Laser FAQ - Preface, Introduction, What is a Laser?, Safety

RP Photonics Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology

Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology - an Open Access Resource of In-Depth Information, Free Articles, Nonlinear and Fiber Optics

I have included a handy guide to assist you in finding what you need.

Thank you all for the information!
In my post i said "can anyone help me buying the correct laser"

I ment driver.. I see 3 drivers at stonetek.com and i am hoping you guys will say i can use the cheapest

I've read the whole Looking to build a laser? Read me! topic, and it realy helped me alot! Thanks!

May I suggest this Jayrob kit for you? It's an excellent mod that uses a driver, and the same host that kipkay did...

http://laserpointerforums.com/f64/fs-mini-mag-kit-flexdrive-red-blu-ray-41030.html#post534256

Hi sSin, and welcome!

When you said Stonetek has 3 drivers on the site, are you sure all are drivers? If you were looking at the page I think you were looking at then the middle item is actually a Dummy Test Load used to set the output of the drivers. If you're gonna be building your own lasers, your gonna be needing one of those at some point too!

Yes, you can use the cheapest driver there. Both of the drivers he sells are well known and liked and both fit inside an Aixiz module. The RCKSTR is a linear driver which means you need to supply a bit more juice and the FlexDrive is a Buck/boost driver which allows less voltage, therefore fewer batteries and thus smaller builds. I would suggest the RCKSTR for a first build, then go for a FlexDrive later on. You could always build your own DDL driver, (plenty of posts on that one! "Home built driver", I think is a post title. Here's another good article by a member of LPF: It can be done - Laser driver and has some details about DDL and Test Loads etc.). These are too big to fit in the nice custom hosts that are available but a good, cheap alternative for learning.

I've bought from Greg at Stonetek myself and the service was excellent.

I hope you have fun.

M

Okay thanks all for the helpfull information.

I'm ready to order at stonetek

Shopping cart:
2x aixiz module
rckstr driver

I find it absurd paying 30 dollars for a dorcy flashlight wich i will only use as host, so i'll try finding one at home, otherwise i'll buy one here in holland

List complete? Or are there any other goodies i should have..? (Solder and iron = @ home)

Edit: Is it advised buying a heatsink? And is the lens of an aixiz module good enough, or should i consider buying a glass lens?

Bump..

I wanna order!

What batteries will you use? Because a rckstr is a linear driver which means that you will need enough power for the diode + the driver(not sure on the driver part) A flexdrive will take the power of a battery and boost ti up to the power required. So if you are using a rckstr then make sure you have enough power.