My first build - 2W M140 diode laser

[aaronnoraa]

I'm curious to see what you think of that diode through a G2 lens.. you'll gain 5% or so but I personally wasn't happy with the output that my M462, which has the same output divergence as the M140, was delivering through a G2. I ended up using a G7 and was happy with it (much happier than a 3 element, nearly the same beam quality but much more output with the G7) and the G7 has slightly more loss and a slightly inferior beam divergence than the G8.

 

[paul1598419]

I have an M462, but haven't gotten around to using it in a build yet. So, I can't speak to the divergence on those, but for the M140s the G2 works fine for my dozen or more builds with that diode.

 

[nzoomed]

I might end up getting a G7 also and try both, I guess there is no harm in having a collection of different caps if I end up building more lasers anyway.

 

[GSS]

I might end up getting a G7 also and try both, I guess there is no harm in having a collection of different caps if I end up building more lasers anyway.

Just double check by reading some posts about the G7
There are some fitting issues "mostly threading" I think when used on Dtr's and maby other modules??

 

[aaronnoraa]

My G7 was a bit tight to thread but I bought mine shortly after they were first made available by Podo so I'm not sure if that has been remedied. Since it required a bit of effort to get it in I ended up using a razor blade that I had filed the edge flat for safety to turn the lens, I was worried about a flathead screwdriver slipping off of the lens and scratching/shattering the lens or stripping the screw valley or twist divot or whatever it's called. The wide profile of the razor made it impossible to slip off of the lens.

From what I've gathered a G8 may be superior in both output and beam joy so it may be worth considering..

Edit: words, typos, formatting, predictive text failure, punctuation, self-doubt-backpedaling and flair.

 

[aaronnoraa]

I have an M462, but haven't gotten around to using it in a build yet. So, I can't speak to the divergence on those, but for the M140s the G2 works fine for my dozen or more builds with that diode.

I could understand why the decreased apparent brightness due to wavelength may have much more value in using a G2 for an M140 vs M462.. or if you usually have the beam confined to a short distance and divergence isn't as much a factor. That's wonderful that you have an unused M462, given they will probably never be made again.. I turned the current on mine down from 1.84A to 1.6 shortly after discovering that there would be no more. I keep getting the urge to buy an eBay 7675 since they supposedly stopped production on those a while back as well, then there were a bunch of fakes that were 7875's sold as 7675's.. but recently it seems there's been legit units available for reasonable prices due to some inexplicable reason.. Driven a little hot they have a unique look different from that of the M462 or an NUBM07, that feels like I can't attribute to just color and divergence alone.

 

[paul1598419]

I have a build with the NUBM7675 at 1.8 amps doing ~1790 mW. Also have one in my stock too. I got them both sometime ago on eBay for ~$30.00 each. After my lesson about the Sharp 473nm to 480nm diodes only being available for a short time and I only got one of those, I have tried to not repeat that mistake.