Low-powered DT0811 for a prop (noob-alert)

Hi, everybody. This is my first laser project, though not my first foray into electronics. I just bought a DT0811 Xbox 360 405nm laser diode off of eBay for $15 ($20 with shipping) and I want to try to make a small ~5mW laser for a Team Fortress 2 cosplay prop (I'm making BLU Sniper, this is for his rifle's laser sight). I know Blu-Ray is more purple than blue, but a truly blue laser was waaaaaay out of my price range and I figured I'd go with purple rather than green.

I'd like to be able to remove the laser from the prop to use as a pointer. As such, I'd like it to have 2 switches, one on the prop's trigger and one on the back when it's being used as a pointer. I don't know if it's possible to make something like this easily, but that's why I'm here.

All I have right now is the diode and I'm planning on getting an Aixis housing and making my own driver, but I have a few laser questions I couldn't answer by lurking. Is it worth it to make my own driver or should I go with a pre-built one? Do I need a heatsink for a low-powered laser? Will it be easily visible at 5mW? I want this to be as safe as possible without being invisible.

Also, does anyone know of a housing or something to make it look close to the original model (posted below)?

Thanks

shouldnt be too hard... but blu ray doesnt go far... i can barly see my dot a block away n its about 100mw

the dt0811 can do 75-80mW pretty easily. I'd crank it much higher than 5mW. Blue ray goes far, but you wont be able to see it far away, although someone standing far away will be able to see it. Our eyes cant focus on it very well at large distances, so to us it looks like it may not even be lighting up a wall 200ft away, but someonw standing right at that wall will see it nice and clear.

A violet laser sight sounds good, but doesn't work very well in practice. If it is just for "show" and you can "fog up" the air for your "shots" it would look cool. However, using it as an actual sighting tool, would produce very disappointing results.

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

A violet laser sight sounds good, but doesn't work very well in practice.  If it is just for "show" and you can "fog up" the air for your "shots" it would look cool.  However, using it as an actual sighting tool, would produce very disappointing results.

Peace,
dave

Click to expand...

It's just for show, since this is just a prop. I'll be walking around a convention with it and using it in photoshoots, so I don't want it to be too high powered. If I had been doing RED Sniper, I would have just bought a cheap red keychain laser pointer, but I tend to make life difficult for myself when it comes to costumes and props.

By the way, are low-powered blu-ray lasers safe to point at non-eye body parts for a short period of time? I ask because we might want to set up a photoshoot with the back of someone's head in my laser sight.

Icetigris said:

It's just for show, since this is just a prop. I'll be walking around a convention with it and using it in photoshoots, so I don't want it to be too high powered. If I had been doing RED Sniper, I would have just bought a cheap red keychain laser pointer, but I tend to make life difficult for myself when it comes to costumes and props.
By the way, are low-powered blu-ray lasers safe to point at non-eye body parts for a short period of time? I ask because we might want to set up a photoshoot with the back of someone's head in my laser sight.

Click to expand...

OK.  Get a can or two of "liquid smoke."   Your photographer should know about it.  It will help you "visualize" the beam.  Of course you could use a fog machine or even incense if it was in an enclosed area.


It is perfectly safe to shine 4054nm light on a person's body.  Just not into their eyes.

I have a 10mW (AixiZ) module you could buy.  It has a Rkcstr driver so you can use a simple 9V battery to power it.  It will look like this, but with different colored wires.


You could easily make a "housing" to place this into that would look like the module in your graphic above.  I will sell it to you for $40, shipped in the US.

If you go ahead and build your own, the only way that I can think of to have it "triggered" and to be able to use it as a pointer, you are going to have to build it into a host that utilizes a tail switch. When used as a pointer, the "normal" tail switch would be used. When used as a "triggered" sight in the prop, you would exchange the tail switch for one with wires out the power circuit coming out the rear. That way the wires could be switched and connected to the trigger mechanism.

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

[quote author=Icetigris link=1235789045/0#4 date=1235856051]
It's just for show, since this is just a prop. I'll be walking around a convention with it and using it in photoshoots, so I don't want it to be too high powered. If I had been doing RED Sniper, I would have just bought a cheap red keychain laser pointer, but I tend to make life difficult for myself when it comes to costumes and props.
By the way, are low-powered blu-ray lasers safe to point at non-eye body parts for a short period of time? I ask because we might want to set up a photoshoot with the back of someone's head in my laser sight.

Click to expand...

OK.  Get a can or two of "liquid smoke."   Your photographer should know about it.  It will help you "visualize" the beam.  Of course you could use a fog machine or even incense if it was in an enclosed area.


It is perfectly safe to shine [highlight]4054nm[/highlight] light on a person's body.  Just not into their eyes.




I have a 10mW (AixiZ) module you could buy.  It has a Rkcstr driver so you can use a simple 9V battery to power it.  It will look like this, but with different colored wires.


You could easily make a "housing" to place this into that would look like the module in your graphic above.  I will sell it to you for $40, shipped in the US.

Peace,
dave[/quote]


wow, Dave new wavelength? ;D ;D

elitesniper said:

It is perfectly safe to shine [highlight]4054nm[/highlight] light on a person's body.  Just not into their eyes.

wow, Dave new wavelength?  ;D ;D

Click to expand...

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Fat fingers

I just got the driver parts I needed for under $7, so I'm going to try to build my own. I got the DT0811 sled and I see where the diode is, but is there a tutorial on DT0811 diode extraction? I just don't want to break it. Also, do I need to heatsink this or is the housing enough?

Icetigris said:

I just got the driver parts I needed for under $7, so I'm going to try to build my own. I got the DT0811 sled and I see where the diode is, but is there a tutorial on DT0811 diode extraction? I just don't want to break it. Also, do I need to heatsink this or is the housing enough?

Click to expand...

The heat sink on the DT-0811 violet diode is a pain in the a**.  When you look at the sled, there will be two diodes.  One will have four pins and one will have three pins.  The one with three pins is the violet diode.  The rectangular part of the heat sink pries away from the sled easily.  There is a "half round" heat sink in the middle of that with the diode in it.  The half round comes out easily as well.  Now comes the pain.  You must cut through the side of that half round heat sink in the rear portion.  Here's the biggest pain.  There is nowhere to clamp down on the heat sink to hold it while you cut it.  I hold it in my fingers and use a small triangular file to cut through the heat sink in two different places.  If you hold it in your fingers like me, be very careful of the window.  The windows break fairly easily.

You should place the diode into an AixiZ module and provide heat sinking for it.

Peace,
dave

So about the heatsinking, I've heard that people have made them out of aluminum washers. Is that a viable option if I can't get something worked out with my university's machine shop? I'm thinking if I can get a job queued up for the machine shop, I'll make a heatsink that looks like the case of the sight and have the power supply somewhere else (like maybe in the scope).

Do you need an outer housing (like the flashlight shells I've seen all over the place here) or could I just have the heatsink be the housing? I might make my own case if I figure out a way to get the switch setup the way I'd like it. I have magical plastic skills ;D

daguin said:

[quote author=Icetigris link=1235789045/0#4 date=1235856051]
It is perfectly safe to shine [highlight]4054nm[/highlight] light on a person's body.  Just not into their eyes.

Click to expand...

Edit:100th post.

Icetigris said:

So about the heatsinking, I've heard that people have made them out of aluminum washers. Is that a viable option if I can't get something worked out with my university's machine shop? I'm thinking if I can get a job queued up for the machine shop, I'll make a heatsink that looks like the case of the sight and have the power supply somewhere else (like maybe in the scope).
Do you need an outer housing (like the flashlight shells I've seen all over the place here) or could I just have the heatsink be the housing? I might make my own case if I figure out a way to get the switch setup the way I'd like it. I have magical plastic skills ;D

Click to expand...

Washers will work if you connect them "tightly". They are not the best way to go, but better than nothing.

The power supply can be anywhere you can get wires to.

The module does not NEED a case. It just makes the laser portable and protected. The heat sink CAN be the "housing." That is basically what most of our builds are

< daguin is in awe of magical plastic skillz>

Peace,
dave

I gave my 14 year old a 811 diode at about 10 mW to draw on phosphorescent stuff. Indoors you can see the dot 30-40 feet away. And more in the dark

You can run it for 4-5 minutes before it starts to get warm. The only heatsink being the AixiZ lens module like in Dave's image above

Why not just spend like $60 and go for the next level? ......6X Blu-Ray!

wolfblue said:

I gave my 14 year old a 811 diode at about 10 mW to draw on phosphorescent stuff. Indoors you can see the dot 30-40 feet away.  And more in the dark

You can run it for 4-5 minutes before it starts to get warm. The only heatsink being the AixiZ lens module like in Dave's image above

Click to expand...

Good to know. I probably won't have mine on for longer than 5 minutes, just for pictures and stuff. I don't think the machine shop thing was happening anyway.

pianoman2011 said:

Why not just spend like $60 and go for the next level? ......6X Blu-Ray!      

Click to expand...

Well, I already have the DT0811 diode and I'm getting close to budget on this prop. I still have to buy supplies for the rest of the costume too D:.