new to lasers... need help

i was just kinda poking around on the internet and found alot of cool laser guns i would like to try building.... is there any way to combine several blue/ violet beems to make one really strong beam? and i there anyway to make it portable or even hand held?

Hi coke. Welcome to LPF! Yes there are several ways to combine beams, such as knife edging and other precision optics. Please read all of the stickies (especially safety) and liberally use the search function of this forum. That's how we all learned this stuff

Edit-> It is very difficult to combine beams in a handheld, by the way. A few here have done it, but it is a precision and tight task

When you say 'really strong beam', how powerful are you looking for? Or what are you looking to do with it?
Visible beam at night
Visible beam in day
Burning things
Something else?

combining multiple beams in a portable laser is a tall order (albeit not impossible by any means). the question is, why would you want to when people are pushing these diodes to 2Ws?:thinking:

He wants to make a laser gun with many pulsed diodes. All coming out in one beam. Pretty tall order indeed, albeit not impossible. He said that he saw it on youtube.

coke: start small, learn how to handle lasers safely. after you've been here for a bit and are more used to dealing with lasers in a safe manor, then i can start recommending solid sate lasers that give immense amounts of pulsed energy. lasers like the SSY-1 are by no means a proper first laser.

hi I have a mini mag light and am trying to find a battery to supply my driver with a blu ray dioed I used a 9v before or should I get a different driver. I was able to burn things but the beam wasn't very bright at night I would like to make it powerful enough to see it at night plz help thanks

gumper89 said:

hi I have a mini mag light and am trying to find a battery to supply my driver with a blu ray dioed I used a 9v before or should I get a different driver. I was able to burn things but the beam wasn't very bright at night I would like to make it powerful enough to see it at night plz help thanks

Click to expand...

Woah you're being very vague.

What does a maglite has to do with anything? What do you mean by you used 9V?

Different driver? What's your current one?

405nm diodes we know as bluray are indeed dim for the power they produce. You can't just magically increasy the beam brightness. For that you need higher output power and for that, you need to buy a more powerful diode and drive it at higher powers.

Your post looks like it was typed out in a hurry in like, 5 seconds before racing off to catch a train or something. Take your damned time, it's an internet forum. It's not going anywhere.

okay sorry the mini mag light is a popular flash light using two double a batteries I'm using it as a host. I found a kit for one to hold the heat sink but I made my own. now I ordered the driver and dioed off of stonetek.com and it was a flex drive sorry can't quote the exact name. so since u said the bluray diodes are still pretty dim I will be going with a nichia 445nm 2 Watt + blue laser diode from DLP projector from what I was reading those are pretty powerful. and as I'm new at this and the first one I built was a tinker to see how they work and I used a 9v battery to power my first laser and it went pretty well I was happy with it. so I'm not too sure what driver to use since I will be using two AA batteries I'm just worried that it won't be enough to power it. Oh and I got the mini mag idea off of this sight about a year and a half ago. dam shoulda did more research that ultra fire flashlight looks like a much better host being as it's much higher voltage. and another thing where can I get glass lens for my axis module instead of plastic.

i think this thread answers your question

http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/8-diode-445-build-64296.html#post921887

how the hell does ur thread possibly answer my question I rather get a response from Eudaimonium or someone who knows what I'm trying to accomplish thanks. not trying do be a dick but that thread looked to me like it was a build project

OK so I see several flaws in your setup and plans.

First, Micro FlexDrive V5 currently sold by DrLava here, has a designated input voltage from 2.7 - 5.5 Volts and maximum regulated output current of 1.5A.
See more here:
http://hacylon.case.edu/ebay/laser_diode/MicroFlexDrive_V5_manual.pdf

Next, you didn't specify what type of diode exacty are you using. Can you provide a link to it? There are several types of bluray diodes with various power characteristics.

Then, host you're trying to use, 2x AA - you will find out it is very bad choice for a laser host. First, there's no room for effective heatsinking solution. Second, no room for everything else.
Jayrob here pulled off a few builds in those but they require extensive host modification, of inner workings and all. It's too tough for a novice.

For much better host solution, see the link in my signature, that is I'll copy it here:
Ultrafire WF-501B Combo Pack

This is the UltraFire WF-501B host. It's heatsink is massive enough to accomodate all powerful diodes with respectable duty cycles. And it's made by me, like all heatsinks found on Radiant Electronics.

If you have any further questions, you can post here or ask me directly over Personal Message. Post your progress on the build here, though.

okay u know much more about this than I do I'm sorry I can't give all the facts but the last time I built a laser was a year and a half ago than my buddy broke it. StoneTek Electronics, Your Laser Parts Store was the site I bought a bluray dioed from a 803T sled and an adjustable driver. earlier u said those dioeds are not very bright, well thats what I'm looking to build.... So here's my plan now the host I'm choosing is Ultrafire WF-501B flashlight, and I would like to use 2x CR123A batteries with the WF-501B heatsink. as for the dioed Nichia 2+ WATT + 445nm A-140 diode from a DLP projector. that dioed is also on the stonetek site but he is out of stock so I have to buy from another sorce. as for the driver that's what I'm asking u what would be best for my build with the info I have just gave u

the link will take u to the site

Hm, with two CR123 batteries, there's a variety of switching bucking drivers you can choose from on DX. Here's one that will do good:
$6.97 - 3.6V~9V 800mA Regulated IC Circuit Board for Cree and SSC LEDs (4-pack) - Flashlight Parts and Tools

Pack of five actually

You can glue that at the back of the heatsink. Make sure you insulate the board so that it does not touch the heatsink and possibly short something out.

No modification or current setting to the driver is needed. Just plug and play.

Now, they will not give you anywhere near 2W of power. More like 500 - 600mW.

It's what you get for 800mA of current. And you should't go any higher for your first serious laser. Trust me, over 500mW is insane amount of power.

They can be easily modified for greater power but for now, stick with this.

And one more thing. Diodes are not actually nowhere near 2-plus-watts. HIghest acceptable power for long diode life is 1.5W achieved at 1.5Amps of input current. If you go any higher than that, and especially near 2W, diode will degrade and die really soon, in matter of months. Maybe sooner if you're out of luck.

hey man I really appreciate the help u made this much easier and I found rechargeable batteries will they work just as well and on the inside of that ultra fire flash light is there a spacer for the battery to come in contact for the positive side that I solder the wire too