Hello Everyone,
I have read most of the tutorials, and they were very helpful, but there are still a few things I dont quite understand. I have been interested in building a laser for quite some time, but I have never soldered or worked with electronics so I am trying to understand all of this and hopefully not screw anything up....
I have ordered these parts :
PHR-803T Diode in Aixiz Module Housing
405nm PHR-803T Blu Ray Diode in Aixiz Laser Module Housing [PHR-803T in Aixiz module] - $19.83 : High Tech DealZ, Simplifying the LASER Hobby!
Rkcstr MicroDrive V3 Adjustable driver
Micro-Drive V3 adjustable driver (assembled) - $13.00 : rkcstr.com, Micro-Drive and laser diode electronics
Test Load KIT
Test Load KIT (AKA Dummy load, unassembled) - $5.75 : rkcstr.com, Micro-Drive and laser diode electronics
MXDL flashlight DX SKU 3405
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3405
People were saying the test load kit made things much easier to set the current for a driver. I'm not sure if i got this figured out, but I was thinking i could just attach batteries to the driver, and then a multimeter to the other side of the driver to read the current. Can someone please explain how this test load kit is supposed to work, and what are the advantages over setting current with the driver alone?
One other thing I was curious about..... Heatsinks, I didnt order one. Do I really need one? I saw jayrobs looked really nice and fit perfectly for this host I chose. But I wasnt sure if i needed to spend the 23 bucks or whatever it came to. Do people build lasers without heatsinks ever? What if I were to use a low current (I was thinking around 90ma)
One last thing.... If anyone has any advice/tips or things to watch out for when I am trying to solder for the first time please let me know. I was going to put together the test load kit first since it was so cheap, so I was hoping I could learn how to solder with that.
Anyway, if someone could shine some laser light on these questions for me, that would be great haha.
Thanks guys
I have read most of the tutorials, and they were very helpful, but there are still a few things I dont quite understand. I have been interested in building a laser for quite some time, but I have never soldered or worked with electronics so I am trying to understand all of this and hopefully not screw anything up....
I have ordered these parts :
PHR-803T Diode in Aixiz Module Housing
405nm PHR-803T Blu Ray Diode in Aixiz Laser Module Housing [PHR-803T in Aixiz module] - $19.83 : High Tech DealZ, Simplifying the LASER Hobby!
Rkcstr MicroDrive V3 Adjustable driver
Micro-Drive V3 adjustable driver (assembled) - $13.00 : rkcstr.com, Micro-Drive and laser diode electronics
Test Load KIT
Test Load KIT (AKA Dummy load, unassembled) - $5.75 : rkcstr.com, Micro-Drive and laser diode electronics
MXDL flashlight DX SKU 3405
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3405
People were saying the test load kit made things much easier to set the current for a driver. I'm not sure if i got this figured out, but I was thinking i could just attach batteries to the driver, and then a multimeter to the other side of the driver to read the current. Can someone please explain how this test load kit is supposed to work, and what are the advantages over setting current with the driver alone?
One other thing I was curious about..... Heatsinks, I didnt order one. Do I really need one? I saw jayrobs looked really nice and fit perfectly for this host I chose. But I wasnt sure if i needed to spend the 23 bucks or whatever it came to. Do people build lasers without heatsinks ever? What if I were to use a low current (I was thinking around 90ma)
One last thing.... If anyone has any advice/tips or things to watch out for when I am trying to solder for the first time please let me know. I was going to put together the test load kit first since it was so cheap, so I was hoping I could learn how to solder with that.
Anyway, if someone could shine some laser light on these questions for me, that would be great haha.
Thanks guys