Homemade laser setup burning a black screwdriver

Okay this is my first DIY laser. I found out the LD is only from a 4X burner. But it sure does burn. It is running at 150 mA and at 2.82 volts. I know I know everything should be soldered but I made sure nothing disconnects. Also if you note I am using a 9V battery. Not a good idea for the sake of the LM317T. It gets hot quick. Prolly gonna use 2 CR2 lithiums. Well hope you enjoy the video.

Re: Homemade laser setup burning a black screwdriv

Nice..I know you must be having fun. What do you think of the beam...it should be very bright when looking towards it..but be careful..

Re: Homemade laser setup burning a black screwdriv

Oh when focused at infinity I can take it outside at night and see the beam!! Not the brightest but its only a 4X LD. Wow I cant imagine a 16X from Senkat. Plus it is only running 155 mA. I can pop balloons at 3 feet. ;D. I am just having so much fun with this. I do need CR2 Lithiums though because from a 9V battery and the LD only running at 2.72 volts that LM317T gets hot quickly. I run it about 30 seconds max and then let everything cool down about 1 to 2 minutes. Well thanks for replying Gazoo, and for helping me along the way.

P.S. The beam inside with the lights off and a little fog is REALLY bright. Man I gotta try to get a GB LD.

Re: Homemade laser setup burning a black screwdriv

Yeah, that sounds about right with the brightness. But here is another suggestion...remember that when the voltage drops below 6 volts, so will the current going to your LD. So I would suggest a regulator with a lower drop out voltage...or a battery with more voltage. Or rechargeable CR123's. The cheapest solution would be a better regulator.