A Unique Request...maybe?

Hey guys. I've been lurking on these forums for a while now but finally decided to make an account, introduce myself, and become an official member of this awesome community. I've got kind of a unique request that may or may not be well received, so hopefully I don't offend anyone here. If so, my apologies ahead of time.

I've owned a few lasers in my life but nothing capable of anything close to burning. I was messing around on YouTube the other day and it occurred to me that a laser that is capable of burning could be the solution to a problem I have been trying to solve for a while now, and may be fun as all heck to boot! The problem is I couldn't find any threads detailing relative capabilities of different diode/driver setups (at least that I could follow with a good understanding) and had to resort to videos to guesstimate something good for my pursuits.

I've got some gnats and fruit flies who've taken up residence in my home the past couple of weeks, and while I've managed to reduce the pests to a very small number in just a few days with other measures, I'm noticing stragglers always remaining. Now, the problem here is that they always buzz about the living area 5-10 feet from my couch and land on the walls, table, ceiling, etc. It's very annoying. I've been looking to get into lasers for a while now, and I'm sure you can see where this is going. I hesitate to ask this of you all, but I really don't see the difference in toasting a gnat and poisoning him with aerosolized death or simply squashing him.

Obviously safety is a concern here, and I do plan on purchasing the necessary glasses and only using this method when at home alone so no bystanders could be caught by a wild reflection. The meat of the question, however, is not if it's possible, but rather what diode, driver, and lens do you guys recommend to accomplish this task? I had toyed with the idea of running it with a 1 Shot Timer Circuit to make sure the thing runs <1 Second per button press to make sure I don't toast my lovely wall paint. However, I'm not sure if its feasible to do so or not.

I've still got a long way to go before I attempt to build a laser of that strength since I'm new to the hobby, but in the mean time I'd like to know what to work towards. I'm sure everyone here is familiar with styropyro's videos about DIY laser builds. He had one using a 12x 405nm diode mounted on the end of a toy gun that seemed more than powerful enough for what I'm considering. Is something in that power range feasible to attempt after a few cheaper builds?

Again, I hesitated to even post this question but seeing as most people don't have a problem swatting or spraying a gnat or fly in their home, I finally decided to ask. If you find this offensive, I apologize. Thanks ahead of time and I look forward to working with you all in the near future. Hopefully one day I can offer some insights to some other guy/gal new to the hobby. Cheers!

:thanks:

Pointing a laser on a flying object which changes behavior faster than out eye can track? This sounds way too complex. Even if you can program something to burn the flies, simply a vacuum cleaner will do a much better job at getting them away (we use this at my home, quick, efficient, and no dead flies everywhere). It is possible, but nowhere near practical.

doubleone44 said:

Pointing a laser on a flying object which changes behavior faster than out eye can track? This sounds way too complex. Even if you can program something to burn the flies, simply a vacuum cleaner will do a much better job at getting them away (we use this at my home, quick, efficient, and no dead flies everywhere). It is possible, but nowhere near practical.

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Thanks for the reply! They are actually stationary 90% of the time I see them. They tend to cling to the walls and ceiling a lot, providing a still target to aim for.

I live in a remote area deep in the forest and have a similar problem every year in the spring and summer. It's too hard to target them, also you need to do it without safety glasses or you can't see good enough, this means targeting them from 8 or 10 feet away, and even then you're stretching safety limits. I would advise you not to bother with it, but if you want to try here's what you need: The PLTB450B is perfect for this, get the module with 1.8A X-drive and G2 lens, the $100 module. https://sites.google.com/site/dtrlpf/home/diodes/osram-pltb450-1-4w-450nm The one I built meters at 1913mW, be careful not to point it in one spot more than a couple of seconds to avoid burn marks, it can even set paper in flames, so it's a bit of a fire hazard if you get careless. Another possibility is this one: https://sites.google.com/site/dtrlpf/home/diodes/9mm-445nm the one I built with a 2.2A Survival Laser driver and G2 lens does about 3W or better, see my build thread here: http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/assembled-445nm-9mm-stainless-steel-host-pic-heavy-85997.html this is even more powerful and will just about instantly smoke or burn anything so you need to be very quick to avoid leaving burn marks, this laser has a duty cycle of 35 seconds, again it is a potential fire hazard. If you don't or can't have a PayPal account and need to buy stuff only with a Visa/MC then I can tell you what places to buy from.

Alan

Pi R Squared said:

I live in a remote area deep in the forest and have a similar problem every year in the spring and summer. It's too hard to target them, also you need to do it without safety glasses or you can't see good enough, this means targeting them from 8 or 10 feet away, and even then you're stretching safety limits. I would advise you not to bother with it, but if you want to try here's what you need: The PLTB450B is perfect for this, get the module with 1.8A X-drive and G2 lens, the $100 module. https://sites.google.com/site/dtrlpf/home/diodes/osram-pltb450-1-4w-450nm The one I built meters at 1913mW, be careful not to point it in one spot more than a couple of seconds to avoid burn marks, it can even set paper in flames, so it's a bit of a fire hazard if you get careless. Another possibility is this one: https://sites.google.com/site/dtrlpf/home/diodes/9mm-445nm the one I built with a 2.2A Survival Laser driver and G2 lens does about 3W or better, see my build thread here: http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/assembled-445nm-9mm-stainless-steel-host-pic-heavy-85997.html this is even more powerful and will just about instantly smoke or burn anything so you need to be very quick to avoid leaving burn marks, this laser has a duty cycle of 35 seconds, again it is a potential fire hazard. If you don't or can't have a PayPal account and need to buy stuff only with a Visa/MC then I can tell you what places to buy from.

Alan

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Thanks so much for the info! I know the idea is a bit wack but it'll give me something to fiddle with and maybe smoke a pest or two in the process. If I ever get it working I'll be sure to let you know. Right now I'm pretty new to the craft and will probably try to get a couple of milder builds under my belt before I attempt something like you've suggested, but I definitely plan to get there once I have more experience. Glad to hear it's at least feasible. Thanks again!

Note that the bugs can see the dot moving towards them, so they get scared and usually scurry away. Pi, I've been wondering, what's the advantage of the PLTB450B over other basic 445 diodes, like the M140s? Did ya just choose it for the higher wavelength or is the divergence better?

Gabe said:

Note that the bugs can see the dot moving towards them, so they get scared and usually scurry away. Pi, I've been wondering, what's the advantage of the PLTB450B over other basic 445 diodes, like the M140s? Did ya just choose it for the higher wavelength or is the divergence better?

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I thought about that and wondered if they would. I actually thought about fabricating a custom "blaster style" housing for the laser with a picatinny rail on top to mount a red dot on. That way I could get on target before squeezing the trigger. Seems to me dialing a red dot to match a laser focal point 10 or so feet away wouldn't be too tough as long as your distances were consistent.

Makes sense. What about a sort of cup attachment on the end of the laser to make sure the bug doesn't fly away or move?

Gabe said:

Note that the bugs can see the dot moving towards them, so they get scared and usually scurry away. Pi, I've been wondering, what's the advantage of the PLTB450B over other basic 445 diodes, like the M140s? Did ya just choose it for the higher wavelength or is the divergence better?

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Partly for the wavelength, it's a little more blue and maybe brighter, I can see a visible difference, but someone had also said it has a smaller beam so a higher power density, I never did any measurements but this appears to be true, I definitely prefer it over an M140. Here are the photos from that build: Blue450nm Story by Pi-R-Squared | Photobucket the total cost for laser parts was only $140. I should probably post a build thread before building my next laser.

Alan

Gabe said:

Makes sense. What about a sort of cup attachment on the end of the laser to make sure the bug doesn't fly away or move?

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Hey there's an idea. I may have to try that. Of course that would require me to get up off of my couch to trap them. This is a lazy man's venture after all haha. Still, outside the box thinking. I like it!

Ah, right. Forgot the goal was to avoid getting up. What colour is the paint on your walls?

Gabe said:

Ah, right. Forgot the goal was to avoid getting up. What colour is the paint on your walls?

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White, thankfully. I assumed it would take a bit longer to burn a white surface. Is that correct?

Absolutely, yes. You're quick to respond, I like that haha

Gabe said:

Absolutely, yes. You're quick to respond, I like that haha

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Great! Makes me feel better knowing I can cook gnats faster than paint haha. I'm on my phone at the moment so it dings when I get the email stating there was a reply. I try to be quick when I can lol.

Ah, I wish I could get my email to constantly update so I could know when something happens in LPF. What are you planning for a first laser? Or, what lasers do you already have?

Gabe said:

Ah, I wish I could get my email to constantly update so I could know when something happens in LPF. What are you planning for a first laser? Or, what lasers do you already have?

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I haven't got any specific plans for a first build yet, but definitely something with cheaper components so I can familiarize myself with the craft without breaking the bank. I know I'll break a few things, likely diodes, so I don't want it to put me out too much money while I learn haha! Probably a simple weak red pointer, pen style, or similar. The only lasers I own now are gun mounted lasers for shooting purposes. They're green with a barely visible beam but the dot is fairly bright. They're low power compared to the monsters you guys build lol.