newbie laser enthusiast

Hello fellow members!
my name is Jon from Indonesia!

i am trying to build a simple laser security system like on this video


i already made the sensor system and it worked. the problem is , for this system i use a simple pen laser so the power depletes through time ( the laser uses 3 cell batteries AG13) and what annoys me that i have to pinch the button so the laser can start. I am wondering , is there anyway i can crack the laser from the pen so i can build a stand alone laser system that power source come from ACto DC adaptor? can anyone recommend or links that explains this , thank you!

Advice: do not post a video of kipkay in this forum.

Benur said:

Advice: do not post a video of kipkay in this forum.

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Hey, lets not start this. The OP has asked a very valid question and by the sounds of things has already built it.



RMK12,

Can you post pictures of your set up and the specs on the laser pen you are using?

Also be sure to stop by the welcome section and introduce yourself. Welcome to the forum!

I have to agree with Benur on this one

rmk12, KipKay isn't very well liked on this forum haha, try and avoid posting more of his "unsafe" videos.

Anyways, welcome to the forum and have a extrodinary time :beer:

Tha Greenlander said:

I have to agree with Benur on this one

rmk12, KipKay isn't very well liked on this forum haha, try and avoid posting more of his "unsafe" videos.

Anyways, welcome to the forum and have a extrodinary time :beer:

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ooooh , i see. sorry i dont know about these "rules" haha. Thx for the advice everybody :yh: . on the next post i'll upload my set haha

rmk12 said:

ooooh , i see. sorry i dont know about these "rules" haha. Thx for the advice everybody :yh: . on the next post i'll upload my set haha

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Not a problem man, do not worry about it haha :san:

this is my sensor circuit , i use a comparator using LM 393 , LDR sensor , and potensio also some resistors .
for the laser , i use a class lila laser product , output < 5 mW Wave length 630-650 nm
like this picture

Don't take what the other guys said to heart, EDIT: By that I meant don't let it discourage you from the hobby. Kip Kay has a bad reputation because he doesn't advocate good laser safety (or good common sense), however in his video you posted he suggested a 5mW laser which is eye safe .

One of the problems you will run into using a pen like that is getting it out of it's pen host without damaging anything. I have a couple diodes that could probably be driven by USB. I'll test it out and get back to you. Have you tried taking the pen apart at all?

EDIT: I just hooked it up and it works perfectly!!! So you could run one of those USB power cords that hooks into the wall with it. I'd be happy to send you the diode I have but it's incredibly cheap and shipping would be killer! I got the laser from fasttech.com

Javalin said:

Don't take what the other guys said to heart, EDIT: By that I meant don't let it discourage you from the hobby. Kip Kay has a bad reputation because he doesn't advocate good laser safety (or good common sense), however in his video you posted he suggested a 5mW laser which is eye safe .

One of the problems you will run into using a pen like that is getting it out of it's pen host without damaging anything. I have a couple diodes that could probably be driven by USB. I'll test it out and get back to you. Have you tried taking the pen apart at all?

EDIT: I just hooked it up and it works perfectly!!! So you could run one of those USB power cords that hooks into the wall with it. I'd be happy to send you the diode I have but it's incredibly cheap and shipping would be killer! I got the laser from fasttech.com

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Haha, do follow what Javalin is saying, I in no way want to drive you away from this hobby, all I wanted to say is try and mention the name KipKay on LPF

Javalin said:

Don't take what the other guys said to heart, EDIT: By that I meant don't let it discourage you from the hobby. Kip Kay has a bad reputation because he doesn't advocate good laser safety (or good common sense), however in his video you posted he suggested a 5mW laser which is eye safe .

One of the problems you will run into using a pen like that is getting it out of it's pen host without damaging anything. I have a couple diodes that could probably be driven by USB. I'll test it out and get back to you. Have you tried taking the pen apart at all?

EDIT: I just hooked it up and it works perfectly!!! So you could run one of those USB power cords that hooks into the wall with it. I'd be happy to send you the diode I have but it's incredibly cheap and shipping would be killer! I got the laser from fasttech.com

Click to expand...

wow, what does USB driven laser diode looks like? here i think nobody sells that.

i already cracked up the pen before, but i dont know where to connect the wires from the AC/DC adaptor . Then i mistakenly applied about 20 V to the laser so it burnt . So , here i am trying to make no mistakes anymore hehehe.

inside the pen, it looks like this




Also, i am curious, can i just connect the positve cable to the spring inside the pen? and hook the ground to the body instead of breaking up the whole pen to power up my laser?

Anw, thanks for the good response so far folks!

One of the first things I ever did with a laser was to pull out the module from a cheap red laser pen haha.
I see you've already done that so.
You'll want to connect (isn't it the negative? for the most part the spring connects to the negative lead) the 'positive' cable to the spring and the other cable to the body. If you're sufficiently annoyed with the button on the module, you could jump that and connect a different switch to the wires I guess.
A small 5mw pen like that should run for a very long time on a few AAAs, so you could build a battery holder or something.
You did mention that it runs on three AG13 cells, which are individually rated at 1.5v, right?
If that's the case, I suppose it might be possible to just use a single 18650 cell.

The diode I am using didn't originally use USB I had to splice a USB cable into the leads. In your picture I see the front unscrews which is good because you will have to solder the connections on the button so you don't have to hold it down. You will have to push the diode out but be careful not to crush the driver or break the pins!

If you want to keep the pen together you can solder a wire to the spring for your negative before you put it back together. Then wrap and tape a wire to the pen body for your positive. The reason I suggest USB is because it runs off 5V and for the diode I tested 5V worked just fine, it might prove to be tough finding a traditional wall adapter that runs off less than 9V. Cell phone chargers would be a good place to look for less voltage.

Okay, so last night I wired my diode into a USB cable and plugged it into the computer:


Then I found my phone charger that converts AC to USB so I could run it all night:


When I woke up it was still lasing just fine! EDIT! Got home from work, still going strong! ANOTHER EDIT! 48 hours straight and it's still going strong!

Can you order diodes from fasttech.com? The diode I tested was this one - https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10005940/1453713-5mw-650nm-red-laser-diode-module-head-5-pack

Your pen will probably work since each of those cells puts out 1.5V for a total of 4.5V, but will take a little bit more work.

If you have any questions, let me know.