New to this, A few questions...

Hmmm ok i want to build a laser... I know i need a host to put the laser in, the laser diode, a module, a driver, and a heat sync. I know how to put it together. I have questions on the electrical end and specs and such. Ok lets say i built my laser with the darby flashlight, a sony 16x dvd burner diode, used the fusion driver, and a heat sync for the darby, what mw would/should i expect? Am i assuming correctly that using the driver i can change the mw? is it the higher the volt output the higher the mw? What is the difference in Drive and pulse? Could I get 200 mw from this setup? and what would my on/off cycle times be? Can i use a digital voltmeter to set my output on the driver? see i have a lot of questions like this, All of the tutorials ive seen tell how to put it together, not how to set up the driver, and how to know you mw etc. thanks and responses will be appreciated

The way a driver works for a laser diode is via current control. It's exactly the way you think about voltage circuits except backwards. In a normal voltage regulated circuit, the voltage is set and never varies. The current automatically adjusts to keep the voltage constant. With a laser diode driver, the current is set and the voltage varies to keep the current constant. The current is what you will be setting when you adjust any of the drivers. You will be able to measure the current input to the laser diode on almost all the drivers as they are built by measuring the voltage drop across a small resistor (set by the designer of the board, usually 1 ohm or similar) or you can use your own resistor on a board that doesn't have a test point. The output of the laser diode is not as cut and dried as the current input. Every diode varies a little bit and the only way to know exactly what it is doing is by using a laser power meter. Heat sinking will allow you to run the laser with a much better duty cycle but what that duty cycle is is a function of the size of the sink and the material it is made from.

ok well i suppose my question is, how to I know how to set the driver, and where to set it?

There will be a small potentiometer on the board (little square thing with a slot for a phillips screwdriver). Turning this "pot" adjusts the output of the driver. You will need a dummy load such as 3 or 4 diodes to set the current. Never run a current regulated circuit without some kind of load across the output. After it's set at the mA you want then remove the dummy load and install the laser diode. If you are using a standard driver supplied by one of the members here, they usually have instructions for setting the current included with their circuit boards.

ok i read a tutorial that i hadnt found yet... lets just say that the diode i buy says its a 150 mw diode, what would i want my ma to be? how do you know this, are there any tutorial on this subject?

hmm im looking at a diode data sheet and it says current max is 170, does that mean 170ma max and the operating voltage max is 3.0. are these the standards i would go buy on the diode?

yes those are the standards. just make sure you are setting the diode to the CW output rating and not the pulsed output rating. each should be stated on the spec sheet.