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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Laser in british columbia?

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Jan 31, 2011
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HI I was wondering if there was any place to buy the nessesary supplies for building a 1Watt or a 200mw-150mw laser. im new at this stuff so i dont even have a solder, but my local home depot has a cheap one i could get. I also need a aixiz module, but i cant buy anything online because my parents says its too risky...anyone got any ideas?
thx
 





rhd

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You could probably find a Blu-Ray burner in a BestBuy or FutureShop that would do the trick... then you'd need a module and lens, which you could possibly scavenge from an existing laser pointer. You'd also need a driver, which you could probably build from parts available at the Source.

That's going to cost you a lot of money, and your odds of success would be incredibly low.

More to the point, if you're of the age that your parents still call the shots on your use of the internet, then you're too young to be playing with 1W lasers.

Hmm... That kind of a arrogant comment really would have pissed me off at your age. Let me rephrase it a bit.... "At your age, I would have been way too immature to be playing with 1W lasers" :)
 
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lol no its just that my parents dont trust buying stuff from the internet...they believe that they could get scammed/creditcard info stolen, etc...and im 15 right now, so im not that young to be playing with lasers. I've always wanted a laser that could burn and stuff...so yea, and dont worry, im not offended.

also, i did not know that i could use a module and lens from an existing laser pointer. can the ones from the dollar store work? thx
 

rhd

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Mikey:
Glad you don't hate me :) I built my first diode at about age 12 (I'm closer to 30 than I am to 20 now!). "Building" involved buying a diode for $75 from the gorilla man at Active Surplus on Queen St. in Toronto. I remember it well. Built an enclosure and direct drove that thing with 2x AA batteries for years. It must have had the lens built right into the diode module, because I never had to worry about anything like housings, lenses, or hell - even a driver! I don't think laser pointers existed yet - or if they did, you couldn't buy them in stores.

I digress. To be honest with you, and to save you a lot of money and frustration, you can't do this without the ability to purchase online. The lack of housing (aixiz module) and lens are what will sink you more surely than anything else. When I said you could scavenge a housing from another pointer, that was a big "long shot". A dollar store pointer probably wouldn't have guts that you could take apart and reuse, and if it did, the plastic lens would be toasted by a more powerful diode. And even worse - buying a full out burner drive just to extract the diode, may be ultra expensive if you're purchasing it in a retail store. However, the most terminal hurdle you're going to face, is the lack of any good locally available safety glasses. I've never seen those anywhere in the *real* world.

I think you're out of luck. You might want to try finding a website that has all the stuff you'd need in one location, and offer to mail them cash. It's super sketchy, and far more dangerous that just ordering properly. However, if your parents endorse and support your desire to build a laser, but they just don't want to do online shopping, then it might be the only approach that would work.
 
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alright...dam it...well im gonna keep on trying to get my parents to buy it, if not, ill just have to work something out. And just for future use, whats some good sites where i can buy modules, etc etc... im not even sure yet what some of the supplies are used for and what they do! :lasergun:
 
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if your careful with a 100mw laser then you could be OK, but you mentioned possibly a 1 watt laser whitch is extremely dangerous and reflections even off semi dull surfaces could potentially harm you.

so, yes if you enjoy waking up and seeing, then GET SAFETY GLASSES! the ones I showed are at the more expensive end but it's a small price to pay for vision.
 
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ok and one thing, whats a good laser mw that will be able to burn things, pop balloons, etc...but will not be too harmful. is a 100mw good?
 

rhd

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Yes. Search the forums for debate on the topic. No need to have the debate here. Answer is yes.

You don't need to spend $80, but you need to at least get $10 versions. Long story short, with nothing at all, your vision will be toast before your eye's blink reflexes can even trigger.
 

rhd

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100mW is a great starting laser power. If I was to make a recommendation, I'd say:

LPC-815 diode
DIY LM317 DDL driver
Aixiz Module and Lens (plastic lens is fine at 100mW)
eBay red laser glasses (again, fine at 100mW)

I think you can do all of that for < $30
 
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i just found a site that may have some supplies in surrey i think...im emailing them to see.
 
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Like RHD said search is your friend. Also buying stuff around town really wont be that easy. Is there no way you can set up paypal on your own account or convince your parents? there are a bunch of credible dealers on here and there is always Ebay which is pretty safe.

I have built blu-ray lasers and am going to be building myself a 445 shortly.
 




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