DIY Laser Power Meter Projects...

For any members that are looking for DIY LPM Projects and
LPM upgrade projects here are some links...


Simple Laser Power Meter Using IR Thermometer by Warske
Simple Laser Power Meter Using IR Thermometer - Laser Pointer Forums - Discuss Lasers & Laser Pointers

DIY: Laser Power Gauge by Benm
DIY: Laser Power Gauge - Laser Pointer Forums - Discuss Lasers & Laser Pointers

DIY: Laser Power Meter by knimrod
DIY Laser Power Meter - Laser Pointer Forums - Discuss Lasers & Laser Pointers

DIY: Laser Power Meter Interface Module by knimrod
http://laserpointerforums.com/f42/diy-laser-power-meter-interface-module-26428.html

DIY: LED/Photo Diode LPM by FireMyLaser
http://laserpointerforums.com/f42/led-photo-diode-laser-power-meter-26827.html

DIY Thermal LPM for under $50 by MarioMaster
http://laserpointerforums.com/f42/diy-thermal-lpm-under-50-a-51129.html


LASER POWER METER MODIFICATIONS AND UPGRADES

DIY Pre-Calibrated LPM for Under $100.00
DIY Pre-Calibrated LPM for under $100.00....

DIY 10 Watt Laser Power Meter by lasersbee
DIY-10Watt-Laser Power Meter Project...

DIY Kenometer Pro Mods...
Kenometer PRO Mods...


Jerry
You can contact us at any time on our Website: J.BAUER Electronics

Even though you sell LPM's, Ive noticed you support DIY Lpm's the most :beer:

Thanks for compiling all the threads!

great thread!

awesome thread

Is it possible to buy an Ophir head and connect it to a LaserBee A meter in place of the original sensor? I guess more specifically, is it a practical project and are there instructions for how to do this somewhere on the forum?

My goal would be to increase the response time of the meter so that the laser would not have to wait for the thermopile to "warm up" before giving an accurate reading.

Feel free to incinerate me if this is a foolish question.

Short answer. No.
The laserbee already has a internal amplifier built in and as such wouldn't be suitable for running an Ophir. Ophir head (20C) already has an internal amplifier built in, so basically all you need is a mV meter with capability to 10-20VDC, assuming you'd use it that high a range. 1mV=1mW
Without some major heatsinking, one can safely run those Ophir20C to 5W with much problems. ~5VDC out analog from the sensor head.

Actually JBauer makes a 5W meter that uses the Ophir sensor but keeps them off the store page due to the limited availability of the Ophir sensors.
it's too bad because the meter looks like it would be nice one to own. It's also a Canadian made product, which is also nice too.
they're ~$800each. It also includes data logging, another HUGE plus.

Thanks for stepping in S_l...
You are absolutely correct on all points...:beer:

There are some Limited Edition 5W LaserBees on
eBay as we speak...


Jerry
You can contact us at any time on our Website: J.BAUER Electronics

lasersbee said:

Thanks for stepping in S_l...
You are absolutely correct on all points...:beer:

There are some Limited Edition 5W LaserBees on
eBay as we speak...


Jerry

Click to expand...

Really! I will check that out right now!
That's cool!

Seoul_lasers said:

Short answer. No.
The laserbee already has a internal amplifier built in and as such wouldn't be suitable for running an Ophir. Ophir head (20C) already has an internal amplifier built in, so basically all you need is a mV meter with capability to 10-20VDC, assuming you'd use it that high a range. 1mV=1mW
Without some major heatsinking, one can safely run those Ophir20C to 5W with much problems. ~5VDC out analog from the sensor head.

Actually JBauer makes a 5W meter that uses the Ophir sensor but keeps them off the store page due to the limited availability of the Ophir sensors.
it's too bad because the meter looks like it would be nice one to own. It's also a Canadian made product, which is also nice too.
they're ~$800each. It also includes data logging, another HUGE plus.

Click to expand...

How do you power the Ophir head? I have seen all this talk of split rail power supply and such...

I have an oddball head with a calibration of 0.3Volts / Watt. How important is the wavelength designation? I never see SH models come up, it is always ERB, or YAG or CO2 it seems like, but the Ebay listings always say it is ok for visible light too.

Thanks for the input.

The Ophir heads are 300nm-10.5uM rated. The Ophir20CA use a dual rail 18v supply,
-9v ground +9v and one leg of the sensor out must be connected to common ground to get any kind of reading. Virtually all the Ophir heads I've seen have 300-10.5um response. Also most are 1mV/1mW calibrated. What model do you have?

Seoul_lasers said:

The Ophir heads are 300nm-10.5uM rated. The Ophir20CA use a dual rail 18v supply,
-9v ground +9v and one leg of the sensor out must be connected to common ground to get any kind of reading. Virtually all the Ophir heads I've seen have 300-10.5um response. Also most are 1mV/1mW calibrated. What model do you have?

Click to expand...

150C-A-.3-Y


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

THANK YOU for helping with this!

I probably should have waited for a 1mV/1mW version but I got a decent deal on this new in the bag and I didn't think it would be that hard to build an led box that would readout the power and convert from .3 to mW.

150C = 150W rated head, and as such can use it for CO2 lasers and those massive 808nm bars. You will require a LARGE heat sink to go up to that power level.

I'd say without sinking maybe 6W perhaps?

Check the diagram in the .pdf I made.

That should explain how to hook up the sensor to 2 9V cells.

Thanks for the PDF, the seller also sent me a pair of 12v/1A wall warts so I assume that I could wire them just like you have the batteries and do the mV/mW conversion myself until I can build an LED with a conversion factor.

I'll give it a try.

It will be interesting to compare it to my LaserBee A.

The LBA is very good and appears to be very accurate and as much as Jerry and I butt heads on the forum sometimes, I would recommend his products without reservation - but I'm hoping to have a faster reading alternative and I want to be able to post power outputs on builds with a reading from more than one LPM.

:thanks:

tsteele93 said:

Thanks for the PDF, the seller also sent me a pair of 12v/1A wall warts so I assume that I could wire them just like you have the batteries and do the mV/mW conversion myself until I can build an LED with a conversion factor.

I'll give it a try.

It will be interesting to compare it to my LaserBee A.

The LBA is very good and appears to be very accurate and as much as Jerry and I butt heads on the forum sometimes, I would recommend his products without reservation - but I'm hoping to have a faster reading alternative and I want to be able to post power outputs on builds with a reading from more than one LPM.

:thanks:

Click to expand...

I'd be VERY careful about using the wall warts they're particularly noisy. You'll have to mod them. Or build a dual rail circuit. splitter using the TLE2426.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/511243/how-can-i-recognize-a-tle2426
On the forum is a diagram for dual channel PSU. I'd be using that for a permanent build.
For right now stick to the 2x9V battery option.

Great thread! Does somebody has the circuit of MarioMasters lpm? I can't find it

Well, I decided to go ahead and give the Ophir head a try tonight. Since I have a 445nm that is going over the 2W max of my Laser Bee A, I figured that was reason enough to give it a try.

Seoul lasers, I decided to ignore your advice and go ahead with my plans to use the wall warts that came with the Ophir head. I did reference your PDF file quite a bit though while I was wiring it up. The reason I decided to chance the wall warts was that the Ophir head came with a very similar drawing and some instructions on how to wire it up that lead me to believe that the wall warts would work.

I also didn't have any 9v connectors without stealing some of my kids toys and ripping out the battery hookups. :eg:

Here is what I ended up with...


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

This was after I had packed everything up.

Basically, I stripped the wires on the wall warts, made sure I knew which was positive and which was negative. (Which of course the wires were marked with ridges, but I wanted to be sure.) They are rated at 12v but they were putting out 14.85v.


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

I wired them exactly like Seoul lasers diagram (which was the same as the one sent with the Ophir Head) and used good old ac wire nuts for the connections. Then I plugged the wall warts (facing the same way) into a surge protector with the power cut off. I terminated the sensor wires with alligator clips to make it easy to connect to the Power Meter because I couldn't find my fancy connectors and wires that came with it.

I hooked them up, then I turned on the power switch - fully expecting to blow a circuit or at least activate the breaker in the surge protector - and nothing happened.

So I donned my safety glasses and fired up the stainless steel beast with the G-1 lens. It started out with these readings.


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

At one point I saw .721v (2.16W) but I was only able to take pics of it at .718v , .717v and .716v (2.15W) and it eventually settled in right at .695v (2.08W) and pretty much stayed right there.


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

I think that sums it up - if you have any questions, please ask or if you spotted any mistakes let me know. Thanks!