Homemade POT Regulator

i took a POT from a disassembled DVD drive and read it as a 2.5 ohm - ~550ohm. i also have one 10[ch956]F and one 22[ch956]F cap in series to reduce voltage spike. i researched countless hrs on numerous of forums and threads on how i would assemble a regulator. i plan to hook it up in parallel with a drocy jr. 45.

Would this be an adequate regulator? i am seeking advice from a more experienced individual.

Here are some pics, just add h t t p : / / to the beginning of URL.

Wide angle:
img185.imageshack.us/img185/9866/img1011ma2.jpg

Macro:
img407.imageshack.us/img407/9079/img1013ua4.jpg

There is a useless IR LD as a test.

A simple resistor and capacitor circuit (while it does work) is not a good idea for running a laser diode. If you happen to have a new set of batteries that are a higher voltage than the previous ones, you will be giving the diode more current. Also as the batteries die the current will drop. Regulators will keep the current constant regardless of battery voltage or condition.

Common drivers are either the flexdrive from drlava (3-6v input) or one that's LM317 based (5-30v input)

The flexdrive boosts voltage and will worth with just about any type of diode - an LM317 needs a few volts above the diode voltage to operate properly.