Possible diode goldmine...brother in laws used computer shop

Hi,
I am rather new to laser building and was looking for some good hints and advice. I have seen in multiple threads where used or broken DVD and BluRay drives can be salvaged for diodes. This got me thinking....my brother in law has a large web based computer refurb store. Everytime I go visit his shop he always has a large garbage can full of computer drives, parts, etc. I was wondering what I should look for in these broken computer parts and drives that may contain usable laser diodes? I know for a fact he tosses CD and DVD drives out on a daily basis. Are there certain types, brands, etc I should have him set aside? If so, please let me know...anyone who gives me some advice here I will toss a few diode hosts your way if I can indeed finds them in his garbage.
Cheers!
Jeff

12X16X20X24 dvd burners have nice 660nm red diodes ,you can extrackt them easy and run them on watever 150 180 200 220 mA to get something like 180 200 220 mW.

I keep getting my diodes from DVD-rom players often to play and burm them to death

weeba2kv said:

12X16X20X24 dvd burners have nice 660nm red diodes ,you can extrackt them easy and run them on watever 150 180 200 220 mA to get something like 180 200 220 mW.

I keep getting my diodes from DVD-rom players often to play and burm them to death

Click to expand...

That said, any DVD driver burner diode is going to be at best an LPC-815, worth about $5.

If by chance there was a Blu-Ray burner in the trash, that could contain a 405nm diode worth up to ~$45 if it's a 12x burner, or < $20 for 6x / 8x.

TOTALLY forgot to say that rhd thanks for the extra =)

Thanks...I will email him tonight...I am having a baby in a few days and he will be driving up...I will have him load up a box or two and see what I come up with.
We'll see what happens!
Jeff

Well to hell with the lasers, GRATZ ON THE BABY!!!

Thanks! My firstborn at age 42.... Life's gonna change drastically...
What's interesting is just as the baby is coming I fell into this hobby. My previous was HiFi diy audio...amps, tubes, speakers, etc....very time consuming and expensive. This is a nice little hobby that's not near as time demanding and expensive. Also, most of it can be done in my kitchen instead of the garage. I think I am going to give up building speakers and amps for a while and take up laser building now. For any diy audio buffs reading, soon I will ne listing hundreds...no, thousands of dollars worth of audio gear, speakers, drivers, amps, tubes, etc over at Swap Meet at Diyaudio.com. Just gonna keep a few things I love and a few parts for one or two more projects down the road...the rest is history. This stuff just fascinates me...ever since 1984 when my highschool science dept got a red laser...I remember it well...it was about the size of a large shoebox and projected a red dot down the hall, maybe 20yds, had a dot the size of a tennis ball. I think they paid well over a grand for it! Looking back, it was a total piece of junk compared to the cheapest $2 pen laser you can buy today.
Funny how I recently just stumbled into this...a medical equipment rep dropped off a box of green laser pointers at my office the other day...there was so many I decided to tear one open...that led to a little research on the web which led to this site which led to the purchase of a DIY 1.6w blue. Since I got it, I can't stop playing with it! Now I gotta build some....guess I am an addict of the worse sort...

Another thing to look for are old computer power supplies. These things are great for either just testing out electronics with or for building a fully functional "lab style" laser.

rhd said:

That said, any DVD driver burner diode is going to be at best an LPC-815, worth about $5.

Click to expand...

Having a semi unlimited free supply of those things isnt a bad thing though

Jmillerdoc said:

Thanks! My firstborn at age 42.... Life's gonna change drastically...

Click to expand...

lol yes it is.

Congrats on your little one, and welcome to the hobby.

Also, with all those drives, they contain 3 magnets. 2 square-ish ones on each side of the lense, and 1 disc shaped magnet on the piece that holds the cd/dvd/br disc.

If you get a ton of those drives, I'm willing to pay for those magnets. Value on those would be about $1 for 12 magnets.

About to be a Daddy at 42 ?
Make sure you have a digital camera and take lots of pictures. Download them weekly. Back them up monthly.(Burn then to disk.)
On their first birthday you will be saying "But I remember going to the hospital just a couple of months ago..."
On their second birthday you will be saying "Wasn't it just a few weeks ago you were trying to walk ? Hey come back here !"
As far as doing the laser hobby in the kitchen... good luck with that. You better have a really big kitchen. The baby stuff will cover a lot of space and you are going to be awfully tired to keep cleaning everything up. You might find it much easier to have it located where it isn't in danger of getting splashed with formula/baby food.
I think you might find it much more rewarding to spend as much time with your child for the next couple of years before they get to the stage of not wanting you around. It goes by soooo quickly.
-My son is now 2 1/2 and I'm in my mid to late 40's. Been there. Done that. My brother has children in their mid and late teens. My sister has them early to mid teens. I know what's coming my way and I'm tellin' you to invest your time now while you can.
It's totally worth it !

Thank you for all the kind remarks and great advice about the baby....I have a dedicated video camera and digital camera as well as a 1TB radioshack hard drive set aside for keeping memories.

I spoke with my brother in law yesterday...he has several drives he has already put in the back of his SUV for me...not sure what will come but after I have pulled a couple of diodes for myself I will list everything he brought here and anyone interested can have it for free. Now that he knows what I am looking for, he said he will place a dedicated receptacle in his shop...every time I go there to visit I will gather everything and bring it home...maybe every two months or so. Hopefully this will lead to a decent supply of parts for all of us to play with.

With the baby coming I may forget immediately to post the first stash so those of you interested feel free to shoot me an email in the next couple of weeks...I probably won't strip every drive down to it's respective pieces if there is a ton of them...I think the sled has all the usable parts so maybe I will pull those out for cheaper shipping.

I know he has power supplies he tosses too..I have salvaged many parts from these in the past for my audio projects. I am sure I can get a few power supplies now and then too.

Hopefully a week from now I should have a box of drives sitting in my garage...will let everyone know soon....

I would love to get some sleds to "play with" too. Hmmmm. My brother is a computer tech on the side. I should be able to get something from him....:thinking:

Don't rely on your HD ! My friend kept delaying backing up his HD a couple of years ago. When it crashed he lost the only copies of his third child's birth through first birthday as well as everything else from that time frame for the whole family. If you lose a TB of data you will lose a whole lot more. (I burn back ups every month or two. The copies become very useful for taking to family or making prints too.)

With the baby coming you WILL forget a lot more than just posting.
But don't worry. You will get used to not sleeping and having to do things on autopilot. Before long it will be over. But start working on those "smile" muscles right now cause you are going to be working them out just as hard !
We'll still be here when you are ready and can think straight.
You are about to experience things that are wonderful/frightening/funny/exhausting like you have never known.
I wouldn't give them up or change them for anything ! (Well, maybe some of those diaper changes...)

:shhh: