New to lasers. Looking to create a burner.

I saw the Laser Pointer Burner video made by Kipkay and was looking to create my own. It seems I can get a 150mw 405nm Blu-Ray diode for 30 bucks. (link). That's $10 cheaper than a 200mw 650nm "Standard" laser diode. (link). Plus the Blu-Ray light already comes with the Axiz housing.

What advantages does blu-ray have over green or red, if any? I'm looking to get the best bang for the buck. Not looking to spend over $50 total for this entire project, and do have some basic soldering experience.

Thanks,
-Kfriede

Before Jerry catches wind of this, I suggest you do a lot of reading here, as it's probably the best site on the internet for learning about lasers, second to only Sam's Laser FAQ. That 150mW diode is most likely a PHR-803T diode, which cost about $12 here, and from reputable sellers. They also are NOT 150mW diodes, they are good to about 120mA, but that's a bit much, but 110mA will give you about 100mW, more with the right lens, and that's 100mW or so, which will burn. This is one of the factors that determines diode life, we really push these diodes, as they are from XBOX-360 HD-DVD readers, and shouldn't be able to take the abuse, but they can, they're tough little guys. Sometimes, people like IgorT or Dave (Daguin) will buy some diodes, just to kill them, to test their limits. That's the way we know what they can take. Another factor that determines life, is heat. When the diode gets hot, it starts to become less effective, and it then tries to draw more power to correct itself, but in essence, it's but tying it's own noose. Another factor to take into account is a driver, which regulates current to the diode. The FlexDrive by DrLava is just about the best driver we can get, there's also the rkcstr, and the DDL, which are all good. The Flex is the best of all 3 though. Good luck and welcome to the forums.

Edit: Also, KipKay isn't the best to be getting any laser advice from, just so you know

Thank you for your reply,
First of all, who is Jerry? Lol. Second, Do the colors have anything to do with performance or do they all generally perform the same?
I guess I'll have to do some looking around here for some starter guides and parts.

Thanks,
-Kfriede

Jerry is LasersBee, he's a nice guy, but he doesn't like it when people post without reading, so I tried to be nice about it. Color doesn't really effect performance, until you get into green and blue (which are DPSS), so higher powers cost alot more, because of the crystals needed and the loss due to said crystals. Except in blue's case, where even 5mW's can cost hundreds of dollars.

Oh I see. Okay. Thank you for your help Prototype.

I think you need to expect using $50 or more, especially if you want the laser in a host.

Diode + aixiz $15
Driver $10 - $30
Heatsink - $15+
Host - $15+

And personally, I prefer violet over red - cooler, deeper colour, plus better burning and cool fluoresce tricks.

Yeah so far i'm looking at JayRobs 18650 host/heatsink kit. I'll probably go blu-ray.

You've made a good decision. If building one floats your boat. I think it's half the fun. Be sure to use the proper current for the diode that you select. DrLava's Flex driver thread has great info.

Hi,

According to me, I will prefer you to go for green laser pointer as it goes too far and can burn the objects of long distance.

So, it can be better to go for green pro lasers, also blu-ray is also good to use.


Thanks!!