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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Whats a good cheap buring laser?

Joined
Nov 9, 2010
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Hello all
Sorry if there is a recent board like this but i searched and couldnt find one from this year

whats like the cheapest/cheepy laser that will light a match?
 





TuhOz

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Aug 23, 2011
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a ~650nm red laser. (200-250mW)

You can build one for like $30


And remember safety..
 
Joined
May 10, 2011
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if you are in the us i strongly recommend modwerx.com

but you must get safety glasses, please !!!
 
Joined
Nov 9, 2010
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cool ill look at them

what glasses should i get?

also since im looking them up whats a good burning blue one?
 
Joined
Jul 3, 2010
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Burning blue, burning blue... I feel you're a BIT IMMATURE on this forum, but I assure you that you can find most of the information by reading before asking.

I believe that a true hobbyist shouldn't merely possess a laser, but building one and learning from it and thus truly OWNING one. And besides, its rather a smaller sum of cash to spend if you build one. Plus you learn from it.

All the information you are looking for can be adequately covered in stickies in each section of a forum... whether you are building one or buying one.

But I don't think your first laser should be a 445 laser or something of that sort, since most of them are pushed either to their operational power or greater (which is one watt, and mathematically unsafe, no joke). Start with a violetta 405 or a red 650.

Best Regards. Iso.
 
Joined
Nov 9, 2010
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i've been using lasers for years and i know a good deal about laser safety
i wont let anyone touch my lasers becuase i know how dangerous they are
i currently have a 50mw green laser that i used for an astronomy class (didnt blind anyone in the class) and a few other various laser that are <10mw
the reason i got the 50mw is becuase i didnt feel comfortable having something that burn out peoples corneas in under a second but i wanted something i could easily be seen in the night sky for my class
now after having the green one for sometime would like to try out one that could burn a match and do other nifty tricks like that
the reason i made this board was to ask you guys if there was like a standard laser that burns things everyone gets becuase its cheap and reliable
(im a photography nerd too and if you were to ask anyone in the photography community what you first zoom lens should be they will say the cheap yet awesome 55-250mm canon)
the reason i asked about a blue burning one is becuase i still do astronomy and blue can be easily seen in the sky as well (not so much for red as i understand)
i didnt really want another green one


actually building one sound fun so I will read up on it
could you (laser) point me to any good guides or give me any tips on what all i will need to build one?
i would be a total newbie on laser building so any advice will be greatly appreciated
 
Joined
Jul 3, 2010
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This text is quite dense... please read through it.

Alright then. Since you are willing to learn, Ill teach you the basics. But first, let me ask you what your definition of cheap is, since many builds here range from 20$ up to 170$ depending on the quality and design of the laser.

There are three components to a laser-emitting device. Power source, driver (current regulation), and diode. Thats all there is to it. Purchase a red diode for around 10 dollars, and that will get you started. Then get a driver (another 10 dollars) and solder on leads to the appropriate pins. This will regulate the power flowing to the diode so the batteries won't blow it out. Finally, purchase a power source. For red diodes, you will need 3 Volts of power and roughly 200-400 milliamperes of current for it to operate. Laser power output is determined by how many amperes are flowing in the diode (which can be adjusted on the driver board... more on that later).

For an absolute beginner build, here are the parts list... You may want the following parts. Furthermore, you can put it in a flashlight or some other 'host' which houses all the materials in a nice package that operates literally like a flashlight.


LPC-826 Red Laser Diode 650nm
Groove 2 Laser Diode Driver or Rckstr Microdrive v3 (both are suitable)

and those are the main components you need.
You may also want to buy 4.2v lithium batteries that can fuel this laser. Typically, people use either an AA size battery called a 14500 or a special larger battery called an 18650. These are used in laptops.

Set the driver to ~300mA to get 250mW (if I recall correctly) of 650nm light. To set the current, you will need to construct a test load and measure how many milliamps are flowing in the circuit. More on this in the links I provide. Solder on connections to the driver board, input and output. You may want to have a switch, so place it between the power source and driver, not the diode and driver. And there you go. Basic laser emitting device.

The cheapest laser-producing apparatus (I wouldn't really call it a pointer) can be built for a low 20-30 dollars.

DIY: How to Build a Burning Red Laser - YouTube

Styropyro does a nice job on his work here, and most lasers, when gutted to their absolute basic components and build designs look like this. It gets a bit more complicated when you put it in a flashlight, as a new electrical pathway must be provided to complete the circuit for electricity to flow and thus power the laser.

This is the most basic guide I can come up with. Putting it in a flashlight and beyond are far too complicated to explain in a single post. The concept is very, very simple, but there are a lot of small details.

Here are some useful links

http://laserpointerforums.com/f51/i-want-build-laser-thread-52972.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f51/dtrs-reviews-tutorials-modifications-compilation-53944.html

The first link will lead you towards a highly in depth overview.
The second will lead you to an aggregate of very high quality tutorials on how to put lasers in flashlights. These tutorials use high power 445nm diodes like I have told you about, but you can easily substitute them out with the setup I have provided you.

Lastly, remember to search around on the forums! More than 99.9% of all the questions you may have have already been answered. This forum has been around for years, and questions like these have been floating around waiting to be answered.
 




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