I need someone with patience

ok heres the break down. i saw the youtube video on the minimag laser burner. Went nuts when i saw it. looked around and found this forum (awsome by the way) found a website called edmundoptics and looked for a laser diode saw a sharp 654 nm 10mw diode for $25.00. ordered it. got it in . put it in the flashlight and the thing barley lights. then posted in mod section for help and someone told me that the laser i ordered is to weak that i need dvd burner laser. I thought what i ordered was one. i have no idea what im doing. can someone take my hand and guide me.
all i want is to get my maglight to burn stuff. it looked so nice in the video and now i searched ebay for dvd lasers and theres stuff the doesnt make any sense to me. the only thing i found that i dont even know if it will work is from STONETEK. they have a sony 16x assembled in a axis module for 26 bucks.



i did a search for a green laser diode. nuthing i keep getting already assembled laser for like 200 bucks!!! i would like a green one if possible. someone shed some light my way. Im walking into walls overhere!!!

thanks guys.
P.s i looked in the search bar also but u gotta kinda know what ur reading and diode,driver, nm, mw. could all mean the same to me i have no idea

Well, a bit sad. Because you could have gotten a 250mW diode from an ACTUAL DVD BURNER for the same price (NEC Optiarc 20x).

You will not get green diodes because they don't exist.

Regardless, if you pick up a DVD burner, yes, a DVD burner, then you'll be on the road to... lighting matches and cutting electrical tape... in no time.

by the way is there anything i can do with the laser i bout from edmundoptics since i now cant return it.?

To make a proper burner, you are going to need to build (or buy) a proper driver to power your 16x diode. Daedal's curcuit is the best, but it probably won't fit inside of a minimag. Try the mini dorcy mod or the MXDL mod. If you don't want to build your own, you could always buy this laser from DX for $50 and some change.

I have no idea. 10mW is practically nothing for a red, and at 654nm it's going to be 10 times less brighter than practically nothing. The dot may be visible, and if you wire it into a torch with some good current regulation (since you did pay $25 which could have bought you a 50mW Kaidoman green laser), it'll make a great toy for pets. But it won't burn anything without being super duper ultra focused, and if you have the equipment to do that, then you need to kick your employer's arse because university departments should not be under budget or looking to make lasers from DVD burners!!!

what do u think about that sony preassembled one from stonetek?

Ask the others. In my opinion you can't go wrong with the 200mW red prebuilt laser from DealExtreme (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11315).

As far as it goes however, Stonetek has a very high rep on here.

You can definetely go with Stonetek.

my recommendation is go to experiments and mods (which your in) and go to the thread stickied at the top. there are common threads of interest. find a walkthrough there even one I made showing you how to make a dvd burning laser from start to finish.

seeing as how i don't think you have much experience working with electronics i'd go with what others have suggested which is to buy a prebuilt laser

As kenom has already mentioned. If you are patient, you can go read through the threads in the Experiments and Mods section. Not only will you find the information you are looking for but a lot of other great stuff as well.

Funny thing about this forum is when I joined I was just interested in making a burning red laser. I had basic knowledge of what resistors and capacitors did, but bare bones knowledge. Witht he help of many people here I have learned so much and have become interested and fascinated with things like electronics, optics, light in general, etc. And with the help of Knimrod, I even built my own laser power meter from Radio Shack parts. So yeah if you have patience and read everything you can on this board and ask ITNELLIGENT, INFORMED questions that haven't already been answered mutltiple times, then you willl learn a lot and most likeyl be able to build your own. ALthough i can't promise you won't fry some diodes. Depending on how much money you have, you may be better off buying something pre-made. If you got some money to spare, the feeling of making your own is hard to put a price on.

Unfortunately you fried that one diode you bought from edmundoptics, 2aa batteries will give it too much power.

I suggest getting this... http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11315 It will do everything a homemade one will but its premade so nothing to break while trying to make it, and its easily focusable.

...lazer... ;D ;D ;D

Go with the dealextreme or stonetek as both will be great. the dealextreme is based out of china though so expect to wait a month.

I also sell the laser diodes themselves rated 245mW pulsed power and 90 CW power for $18.
Check out my site below.

If you want to build a nice red burner, I will give you information on my build.
http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1204144556

Here is a list of everything you will need. Take time to read the threads that I have linked here. This is a very good build. It is a 'pumped up' version of Daedal's original 'DIY Laser Torch'. Daedal is commonly referred to as DDL.

I sell the completed lasers. But not the parts to the lasers.

As far a individual parts, the only thing I sell is the heatsink. $20 dollars plus shipping. To the U.S., the shipping is $3 bucks. PayPal: jayrob@inreach.com

I make heatsinks for only two MXDL models. Check this thread:
http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1202452073/0

I can give you links to where you can buy the other parts for the build:
Host: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4171 (red build)
Open can diode drive to harvest: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118003
Another good open can diode drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129018
AixiZ module: http://stonetek.org/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66&products_id=191
Meredith Module and 5.6mm adapter: http://www.mi-lasers.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?search=action&keywords=diode_optics
Batteries: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8683
Charger: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.936
Driver parts:
LM317: http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=LM317TNS-ND
3 ohm resistor: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=003-3  (I am including a free 3 ohm resistor with every heatsink)
Silicon diode: http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=1N4001DICT-ND
Capacitor: http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=478-1911-ND

Daedal has a very good guide on the building of this host here:
http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1186966870

My build is just an ‘upgrade’ of Daedal’s original build.
The differences are:
* The open can diode (long)
* The heatsink
* The use of the 3 ohm resistor, instead of 2 x 10 ohm resistors and a pot. No pot, and just the 3 ohm resistor at the LM317 will give you the 420mA's. (about 250mW’s with an acrylic lens – 300mW’s with a Meredith glass lens)
* Heatsink needed! As well as 2 X 3.6 volt lithium rechargeable batteries.

His thread doesn't mention the silicon diode and cap, but he shows pictures of those components in his build.

I have a couple of documents and ‘tips’ on doing this build using my custom heatsink. In my ‘Driver Tips’ document, you will find a good schematic of the original DDL driver.
http://www.sonic.net/~jayrob/MXDLDriverTips.doc
http://www.sonic.net/~jayrob/MXDLHeatsinkTips.doc
Jay

I think its kinda unfair for people to keep telling him to buy a pre-built laser from DX, though it is easier and about the same price. Building your own laser and learning about all of this is worth alot. When i first joined i didnt know anything, now i have built a couple (more on the way), learned alot more than expected and have built a good little collection, all of wich wouldnt have happend if someone would have redirected me to a prebuilt $50 laser. soo... thanks LPF! and good luck audigy-187 with your new hobby!!