Hi everyone.
Though I would show my latest 'home made' laser based around the 445 nm diode (1 W) . I turned the body of the laser on a small metalworking lathe using an aluminium bar (1.5" (40 mm) stock diameter). The Aziz holder fits inside the front half and a 20 mm thread used to connect the head to the body. I made a very simple driver using just two capacitors on the input and output of a 'L78SO5CV' regulator. The driver cost less than £1 ($1.40) to buy the three components from an electronics outlet. I am currently using a 6V lead acid battery (from an old motorcycle) as the power source, with the regulator on the positive lead. I tried using two CR2 batteries inside the casing but these don't last and are quite expensive (as we are all aware). So this laser has leads extending out of the back connecting to the battery. In the images I have the laser connected to a PSU with digital readout for current and voltage. Notice that the read out on the PSU gives 5.8 V and 0.73 A (power usage 4.23 W). Most of this power is dissipated as heat through both the diode and the regulator.
Though I would show my latest 'home made' laser based around the 445 nm diode (1 W) . I turned the body of the laser on a small metalworking lathe using an aluminium bar (1.5" (40 mm) stock diameter). The Aziz holder fits inside the front half and a 20 mm thread used to connect the head to the body. I made a very simple driver using just two capacitors on the input and output of a 'L78SO5CV' regulator. The driver cost less than £1 ($1.40) to buy the three components from an electronics outlet. I am currently using a 6V lead acid battery (from an old motorcycle) as the power source, with the regulator on the positive lead. I tried using two CR2 batteries inside the casing but these don't last and are quite expensive (as we are all aware). So this laser has leads extending out of the back connecting to the battery. In the images I have the laser connected to a PSU with digital readout for current and voltage. Notice that the read out on the PSU gives 5.8 V and 0.73 A (power usage 4.23 W). Most of this power is dissipated as heat through both the diode and the regulator.