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That's a really nice laser and I'd be excited about it. Fire it up and post pictures. I'm curious about the beam quality. Did you also get a heatsink with it? Typically these units need to be mounted to an external heatsink.

Usually the black plastic button (shown on the right in your picture) comes with a small piece of circular double-sided tape stuck to it. The driver of a laser module is intended to go inside the black plastic shroud (shown on the left in your picture) that comes with the kit. The shroud is...

Check this product: https://www.custom-laser-pointers.com/astronomy The power is much less than what you ask for but consider using a generic adjustable finder-scope mount for a laser that meets your power requirement is a possible solution. What type of rail are you mounting it to? Will it be...

I've got some that will look good on your pens. Clear vinyl with good print quality, 1 × 1 inch. See my post below for photos: https://laserpointerforums.com/threads/pen-laser-thread.93892/post-1546891

I've found that the manufacturer's power ratings are correlated with (or based on) peak efficiency calculated from Power Out / Power in. From this, the peak efficiency of this diode is about 7.6 % which it achieves at approximately 100 mW. I would guess this is a 100 mW rated diode, if DTR's...

They're worth whatever a collector is willing to pay for them. Without collector value, the direct diode lasers aren't really special aside from the "tacticool lightsaber" aesthetic they have going on. The 532 nm green one is more interesting than any of the others. I'd say that one is worth the...

Yes, you want a Powell lens. A cylindrical lens will not produce a uniform intensity across the line. I buy optics from Edmund Optics. Expensive, but you can be sure of the quality and service. You may be able to find what you need on Ebay as well.

The housing used to be made from brass. Likely the new models are made from some kind of cheap, lightweight alloy. I like the idea of USB rechargeable lasers. I've built one using a USB charging circuit from Adafruit. They use miniUSB or USB-C which is more convenient for me. The problem is that...

I used this AI to write some simple Bash scripts to help with my work. It got the job done. It's not great with writing haikus and there are limits to its training data (I can stump the AI with obscure topics) but it does do some things well. I'm pretty impressed with it but I don't think we are...

Great job! That turned out nice. I like the solution you used for modifying the driver. It's also really cool to see that old host. I forgot about SKYlasers...

It might be worth reaching out to Laserglow or another distributor (depending on your location) to place an order through them. Given the very high import tax, shipping, etc., (not to mention lower overall interest, so lower quantity discounts) ordering direct from CNI is more costly now than it...

Nice! Looks great. For red diodes, I prefer longer focal length lenses, like the G-8. The longer focal length gives better divergence and reduces the line artifact. You will likely need to modify the lens placement in the lens nut in order for it to work well with the standard 12 mm modules.

Welcome! The forum isn't as active as it once was but you will still find plenty of great resources here to learn from. Good luck with your build and be sure to share it here when it's complete. It would be nice to revive the DIY community here.

Very nice. I'm jealous. If I had more time for hobbies... It looks great and it's good to see the finished product! I'm curious - what's the total power consumed by the system? I bet this is one of your less efficient lasers (if you account for the vacuum TEC, and fans) but it'll be interesting...

I have access to many scientific journals through the university I work at. If there's one in particular you'd like to read, send me the link and I can probably get access to it. I have a 570 nm module to repair so I'm also interested in the pump diode specifications.

I agree with the caveat that these are generally not IR filtered. It likely won't be hazardous at the distances we're talking about but it's worth noting. As someone that does a bit of bouldering and has lots of laser experience, I'm certain 5 mW won't be very visible in direct sunlight but...

Yeah, I hear you. I think verifying operation is a good thing to do. One other thing worth looking into - when I purchased a CNI 30 mW 589 nm module a few years ago, the import fees were like 30% the cost of the item. This is a significant cost at $500 / unit. So whatever shipping method is...

I'm kinda interested in one of the modules but not a host. Is the idea that it's a package deal? If I were to be involved in this, I'd prefer no power testing before shipping. For example the lot could be randomized or pre-determined based on serial number (e.g. lowest to highest serial...

The effect you are going for is called "total internal reflection." Read up on this topic to get a better idea of what it is you want to accomplish and which factors are important to consider. Also note the safety concerns outlined by others.

Really nice work. You can get a less elliptical beam (i.e. more circular/square) by matching the focal length ratio of your lenses to the divergence angle(s) of the diode's fast and slow axes. I built this system into a laser pen back in 2018 (with some aberrations due to space limitations) and...