Welcome to Laser Pointer Forums - discuss green laser pointers, blue laser pointers, and all types of lasers

LPF Donation via Stripe | LPF Donation - Other Methods

Links below open in new window

ArcticMyst Security by Avery

No experience, need advice!

Xenon

0
Joined
Aug 20, 2011
Messages
3
Points
0
I have no experience in lasers at all, apart from using old school ones from the dollar store, lol.

I just want to know, about how much does it cost to make a laser? I don't really know much about MW and NM and all that stuff but I am willing to learn. I just want to make a laser that can show a beam in daylight, and look cooler at night :p Maybe pop some balloons or light a match?

I bought a blu ray player for cheap a couple days ago, hopefully I can use it somehow.

I would love to know the costs, and if someone could link me to a great tutorial for people who have no experience to do this from the ground up?

I tried searching around, found this site, but when looking on this site, I couldn't find many basic tutorials. Hopefully someone can help! :D
 





DTR

0
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
Messages
5,684
Points
113
Not sure how basic you need but Check out the tutorial link in my sig. It has quite a few tutorials.:beer:
 

Xenon

0
Joined
Aug 20, 2011
Messages
3
Points
0
Thank you for replying, I really appreciate it.

See I think Im going to need a bit more basic, an example you have one saying 40MW 635 NM I don't exactly know what those numbers are, mega watt and.....?

I need to know basically, which one of those can I build with a blu ray player?
 

Fenzir

0
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
699
Points
0
showing a beam in daylight is not going to happen unless you can spend quite a lump sum of cash. To have a laser that you can see the beam at night is par for the course around here.
The blu ray laser is certainly the most interesting wavelength to me, how it can activate glow in the dark materials :).
As simple as it gets:

mw (milliwatt) is power of a laser. 100mw will burn a match, pop a baloon and sting your hand (not 650nm, though as it is not absorbed by your skin and nerve receptors).

nm (nanometer/nanometre) is color in wavelength (sometimes abbreviated WL). The most common colors in handhelds are 405 blu-ray, 445 blue-violet, 473 sky blue, 532 green, 561 "plant" green, 589 amber, 594.1 fire orange, 635 redorange (high powers get very expensive, ~20mw is relatively cheap), 650 red, 808 Near Infared (I have a 700mw and it is dimmer than a 1me 650nm) , 980 (completely invisible). (might have missed a couple)

Also, advances are being made towards the broadened use of 510nm.

Bolded ones are considered "extradornary wavelengths" and will be more costly for the powers. ex. $600 for 15mw of 589 when you could get 50mw of 532 for $25.

Also, check this out for luminous efficacy, basically how bright each wavelength is to humans. Not completely accurate, but it's a ballpark idea.
Luminous Efficacy
 
Last edited:

Xenon

0
Joined
Aug 20, 2011
Messages
3
Points
0
Alright, well what I really need is, a parts list, and a tutorial on how to put everything together :S
 
Joined
May 10, 2011
Messages
1,878
Points
48
Have you read the" I want to build a laser thread" if not its I'ts in my siggy
 

rhd

0
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
8,475
Points
0
The most common colors in handhelds are 405 blu-ray, 445 blue-violet, 473 sky blue, 532 green, 561 "plant" green, 589 amber, 594.1 fire orange, 635 redorange ...

I wish you were telling the truth ;)
 




Top